The Perfect Pair: Why CHROs Should Work More Closely With People Analytics Leaders

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A CFO typically arrives at board meetings with a trusted colleague who always has their back. That would be the financial planning and analysis (FP&A) leader, who fields the kind of hard-nosed questions about the fiscal health of a business that board members love to ask.

But when the chief human resources officer (CHRO) shows up, they’re often missing their own equivalent ally: the people analytics leader. For the CHRO, that’s a problem. Turning up to a board meeting armed just with HR basics like turnover and engagement — and without someone who can translate people data to business results — is like bringing a knife to a gunfight.?

The role of people analytics leader might sound esoteric, but it’s nothing new. Companies have always had someone keeping tabs on data related to employees. In the past, those folks were often confined to a bookkeeping role in the now archaic-sounding “manpower” department.?

What’s shifted is that businesses are realizing how powerful the people analytics role is, especially when paired with the CHRO. As the co-founder of a firm that helps companies harness people data to drive results , I’ve seen what a big difference that partnership can make.

Right now, this partnership may be more important than ever. In a shaky economic climate, CHROs face pressure from the boss to step up and influence business outcomes. Nine out of 10 CEOs say their CHRO should play a central role in ensuring long-term, profitable growth. The best way to do that? Make the most of people data.

Here’s how the CHRO and the people analytics leader can work together to deliver value for the business.

Why CHRO and people analytics leader are the perfect pair

In simple terms, the people analytics leader is someone who answers the CHRO’s questions, drawing conclusions from raw numbers. As custodian of the company’s sea of people data, they know how to sift through it and extract relevant insights about how employees impact business results.

Let’s say a company is struggling to retain people in the roles it needs. The CHRO has no shortage of theories and suspicions. Is it the company culture? Onboarding? Pay??

The truth lies in the data, and it’s the people analytics leader’s job to find it.??

Big companies are more likely to have a dedicated people analytics leader, while at a smaller company people analytics might be folded in with another job. But ultimately, the role is important for any business where people drive revenue — i.e., most every business out there.?

A real-life example: at one of our clients, a major healthcare provider, the CEO learned that while weekends were a busy time for lab tests, nothing much happened on Mondays and Tuesdays. So the CHRO asked the people analytics leader to investigate. Their findings: On those slow days, there was no shortage of customers — but there was a lack of nurses with the required skills. Knowing that let the company boost revenue by reallocating staff.?

Having access to this kind of knowledge — on-demand and thoughtfully contextualized — can be a game changer for organizations. Using people analytics can yield an 80% jump in recruiting efficiency, 25% higher productivity and a 50% drop in attrition.?

What’s blocking the partnership?

There’s just one problem. Despite the many benefits their partnership can deliver, the CHRO and the people analytics leader don’t always connect.?

One reason for this is cultural and has to do with the historic role of HR. In too many organizations, CHROs are still boxed into the role of administrators, focused on compliance and policy , rather than business strategy. This equation of HR with internal processes rather than external results short-circuits the kind of insights that a people analytics lead can bring to the table.?

Then, there’s the “analytics” problem itself. When people hear the word “analytics,” they immediately think math — a subject that makes not just CHROs but many senior leaders uneasy. The best CHROs, however, understand that it’s far more important to know what questions to ask than how to crunch the numbers. (Indeed, a new generation of AI-powered digital assistants is making asking questions and getting answers in plain language easier than ever.) ?

Finally, even with all that data at their disposal, many companies have an aversion to knowing the truth about their people situation. Though it sounds counterintuitive, a business might prefer to remain in the dark — especially if shining a light on an issue reveals a problem that demands redress. For example, learning that there’s a gender disparity in management puts a burden on leaders to act.?

Data-backed insights not only drive better performance, but they also grow the leadership cred of the CHRO and provide a seat at the C-suite table.

Setting a CHRO-people analytics pairing up for success?

Getting past those blockers starts with building trust. For the CHRO, it’s key to understand that teaming up with the people analytics leader brings a cascade of benefits. CHROs are deeply invested in how their people work best. Data-backed insights not only drive better performance, but they also grow the leadership cred of the CHRO and provide a seat at the C-suite table.

Consistency and rhythm of communication is equally critical. As anyone knows who has waited a full quarter (or even a fiscal year) to understand why turnover is so high, speed and responsiveness matter. If the CHRO has a question, they should be able to ping the people analytics leader and quickly get an answer.?

Accessibility of data and reporting is important, too. Insights locked in dense spreadsheets won’t benefit anyone, especially if data is dated or distorted. On-demand, up-to-date dashboards with visualizations provide a better platform for sharing and understanding the wealth of people data across an org.?

But data only truly comes alive in context. For people analytics leaders, it’s important to remember the power of weaving numbers into a larger narrative about the company’s people and its overall growth.?

When all of these factors come together, the results can be profound. At Africa’s largest bank , the HR leader and the people analytics leader worked together to give more than 9,500 managers access to people analytics tools. They also built predictive workforce planning models to meet diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) goals — which boosted female representation on the executive team and African representation throughout the ranks.?

Ideally, of course, the relationship between CHRO and people analytics leader is a two-way street. Yes, the analytics lead can sort through the data and fetch answers. But in the best-case scenario, they’re also playing a strategic role — framing better, smarter and more specific questions to ask.?

The payoff for following through? When a CHRO and a people analytics leader work hand-in-glove, they’re able to provide data-backed insights, speak the language of the C-suite and get things done. At the end of the day, a company is nothing but its people. Having a window into what they’re doing and how that impacts the business is the surest path to growth.

Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear what you’re seeing in your own industry, so please share your thoughts into the comments below. For more news and ideas around people data in the workplace, be sure to subscribe .

(A version of this post originally appeared in Forbes ).