How Hendra Wijaya is Revolutionizing Data-Driven HR at BreadTalk Group Singapore

In a world where data reigns supreme, people analytics has emerged as a critical driver of organisational success. Hendra Wijaya , the Director of People Analytics at BreadTalk Group Pte Ltd , is at the forefront of this transformative shift.?

Through our insightful conversation, he shares his unorthodox journey into the field, the strategic imperatives behind his team's work, and his vision for the future of this rapidly evolving discipline. Prepare to be inspired as we uncover the insights propelling Breadtalk's HR function into a new era of data-driven decision-making.

How would you explain your job to a non-tech friend?

Hendra: Think of us as an air traffic controller. The air traffic controller's role is to guide pilots through the busy airspace and ensure planes land safely at their destination. To do that, they rely on different data, like weather patterns or the positioning of the airlines. And through that, they make informed decisions to guide the pilots accordingly.

It's very similar to HR analytics. Essentially, our role is to help our companies maximise their human capital investments. To do that, we rely on data, such as employee surveys or turnover patterns, channel strategy, and things like that. Through that data, we guide more value-added decisions, you know, make policies or plans that are beneficial or win-win for both the company and the employees.

What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

Hendra: I actually don't have much background in HR or analytics. Or rather, I don't have formal education in both. I graduated with a marketing degree from SMU.

Somehow, along the way, I picked up my first job in the HR team. After that, I did 9 or 10 years of analytics work outside HR. I was able to blend these two in my analytics role. So, in a sense, it's something transferable - the skillset required for HR analytics and other roles. Think of it like driving in a foreign country - the rules and signs might be different, left vs right hand drive, but the skills required to drive are the same and you adapt to the conditions and laws of the country.

How did you get started in people analytics?

Hendra: I was very fortunate to get an internship in the Organisational Learning Department of a Hotel Management Company. We were rolling out training programs across the estate and I was initially tasked to review training completion rate and trainer efficiency. That eventually evolved to understanding of any correlation between training completion rate and guest satisfaction score, or if there is any relationship between training and the hotel's financial performance compared to its competitors.

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I probably didn’t realize it then, but that's essentially one of the scope of work that people analytics practitioners today have to deal with.

Reflecting on your career, what's the most significant achievement or project you're proud of in people analytics?

Hendra: I'm very grateful that I've been working on quite a few meaningful projects. If there's something I would like to highlight, it's really having the opportunity where I am today—to build HR analytics from scratch for a local company. As we shared earlier, it's still fairly new for many companies, but this company is very progressive and forward-looking and is investing in HR analytics.

We've transitioned from a gut-feel approach to much more fact-based decision-making. For example, the TA (talent acquisition) team now asks about the ROI of recruitment fairs they're invited to attend. Previously, they just attended most fairs, but now they measure the ROI of each and differentiate recruitment strategies between different job types.?

Those are some of the progress we've made.

And what started in HR has also bubbled up to the rest of the organisation. There's a much bigger appetite now to leverage data to identify new business opportunities for the company.

I find this work incredibly rewarding. Building an HR analytics function from the ground up has allowed me to apply my analytical skills meaningfully. I'm excited to continue refining our approach and driving even more impactful insights for the business

How do you make people analytics insights digestible and actionable for leaders?

Hendra: First, the preparation stage is crucial. I ensure that my analysis is directly tied to the business objectives. I have to put myself in the shoes of the leadership team and understand what matters to them. For example, a DEI analysis may not be as relevant right now as understanding our foreign worker reliance ratio impacts the bottom line. Focusing on what's truly important to the business has been key.

Secondly, when doing the actual analysis, I've learned to hone in on 2-3 actionable insights rather than going down rabbit holes. As analysts, we can easily get carried away exploring new variables and complexities. But for business leaders, simplicity is key. I discipline myself to distill the analysis down to the most critical takeaways so they can focus on and implement those priorities.

Lastly, I've placed a much stronger emphasis on the communication and storytelling aspects. Historically, I've spent most of my time on the analysis itself, leaving little time to package and present the insights properly. Now, I dedicate sufficient time to strategising how to convey the information. The audience, the appropriate format (e.g. PowerPoint vs. Excel), and the ideal level of depth. Importantly, I don't just present problems but also offer potential solutions. I always ensure that there are clear next steps and accountability in place.

Focusing on these three elements - alignment to business priorities, concise, actionable insights, and compelling communication - has greatly impacted my analytics work. It's a continual learning process, but these practices have served me well.

How do you keep up with the latest innovations and best practices in people analytics?

Hendra: I follow quite a few thought leaders in this space, but two in particular have benefited me the most—David Green and Dr. Fermin Diez. They provide very regular updates and deeply thought-provoking insights, often leading me to consider how I could introduce similar practices within my own team.

In addition to these influential figures, as I mentioned earlier, I also attend various external engagement events, both online and in-person. Speaking with people from different organisations always uncovers little nuggets of best practices I can adopt for my company.

More recently, I've also been looking into how consultants approach this work. I'm curious to learn from their methodologies and frameworks, as there may be valuable lessons I can apply to enhance our internal analytics capabilities.

Overall, I try to maintain a growth mindset, continually seeking out new ideas and perspectives that can inform and elevate my work. Building this well-rounded knowledge base has been instrumental in my development as an HR analytics practitioner.

Where do you see the future of people analytics in the next 5-10 years?

Hendra: There are increasingly advanced solutions available today, like Visier, that can handle much of the heavy lifting of technical data processing and reporting. As more companies adopt these types of software platforms, the value-add of the HR analytics professional will shift.

Rather than solely delivering reports and conducting analysis, the role will become more about interpreting the data insights and translating them into meaningful, actionable recommendations for the CHRO, CEO, and other business leaders. It will be more about telling compelling data-driven stories and driving strategic decision-making rather than just producing the analytics.

Additionally, there will be a growing focus on the ethical use of employee data. Today, there are sometimes clear guidelines on what data can and should be leveraged. Employees may also have concerns about how their information is being utilised. So, HR analytics professionals will likely need to navigate this more carefully, ensuring transparency and gaining buy-in while still deriving maximum value from the available data.

Overall, I see the role evolving from a pure analytics focus to more of a strategic advisory function—one that can bridge the gap between data insights and impactful business outcomes. Software solutions will increasingly handle the technical heavy lifting, allowing the HR analytics professional to concentrate on interpreting, storytelling, and driving strategic change.

What advice would you give someone starting in people analytics?

Hendra: Don't start because technology companies will eventually take over our role! But in more serious terms, take a more active approach to learning. Don't just wait for projects to fall on your lap. Speak to more people, your various stakeholders, and try to understand the things that worry them, areas where you can provide support and add value.

There's always something they need support on. So talk to more people, take an active approach instead of waiting for projects to come to you, and dedicate time to self-improvement. It could be one hour a week or 10 minutes a day, but essentially, actively look into your personal growth.

P.S. Interested in how to measure your managers’ effectiveness via people analytics? Download our latest guide on this exact topic.