The role of storytelling in People Analytics and Data Visualisation

If you can not tell a story with data you are not going to be able to get an action, the action that you need

Many people I speak to in our field tell me that storytelling is the ‘last mile problem’ in people analytics.

If you don’t tell the story in a compelling way that resonates with your audience, then it is highly likely that no action will be taken. That means all the hard work of collecting, cleaning and analysing data will be a waste of time. 

My guest on this week's episode of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast is Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic. Cole honed her skills in Google's fabled people analytics team and now works with people and organisations to help them become better at storytelling with data, making sense of data, and weaving insights into compelling stories that drive action.

To communicate effectively with data we need to think about our audience, design with them in mind, use colour sparingly to focus attention and words that tell our audience why we want them to look there and what the takeaway is

You can listen by clicking on the image below or by visiting the podcast website here.

In our conversation Cole and I discuss:

• Why good storytelling is so important when it comes to visualising data and presenting analytical insights
• Three tips to improve your storytelling with data skills
• How to adapt your story depending on the audience
• Whether AI and Automation is a threat or an opportunity for HR

This episode is a must listen for anyone in a workforce or people analytics role, HR business partners and indeed any HR or business professional who has to communicate data as part of their role.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

To listen to the Podcast and read the transcript of the discussion with Cole, head over to myHRfuture by clicking on this link: The importance of storytelling in People Analytics.

WATCH THE VIDEOS

As well as the podcast, there are a couple of videos available on the myHRfuture YouTube channel highlighting two of the topics Cole and I covered in our conversation. Below is the first video featuring Cole outlining: How to improve your skills in storytelling.

You can also see Cole's Answer to the question we are asking all our guests in Series 7 of the show: AI and Automation - is it an opportunity or threat for HR?

GET INVOLVED

If you enjoyed listening to this week's podcast episode, I'd be grateful if you could take the following steps:

1. Please subscribe to the Digital HR Leaders podcast and weekly newsletter to make sure you don’t miss an episode.
2. Please take the time to rate the show on iTunes. We rely on your feedback and support to make the podcast, so this is very helpful!
3. Who would you like to see me interview in future episodes? Let me know in the comments below.
4. Lastly, don’t forget to share on social media with your friends and colleagues, your support is always greatly appreciated!

THANK YOU

A huge thank you to Cole for such a fascinating and enjoyable discussion and for sharing her time and considerable expertise. You can connect with Cole on LinkedIn as well as follow Cole on Twitter and visit her storytelling with data website. You can also order her seminal book Storytelling with Data as well as Cole's new book Storytelling with Data: Let's Practice! I am happy to highly recommend both.

Thanks also to Ian Bailie, Manpreet Randhawa and the myHRfuture team, and last but not least Crunchr for sponsoring Series 7 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast and video series.

Do join next week when my guest will be Dirk Jonker, Founder and CEO of Crunchr, when we'll be discussing Why People Analytics needs to behave like a start-up.

CATCH UP ON THE DIGITAL HR LEADERS PODCAST

If you haven't listened to all of the episodes of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast, you can catch up now by clicking on the links below.

• EP 31: Piyush Mathur - How Johnson & Johnson uses People Analytics to drive business outcomes
• BONUS EPISODE - Heather Whiteman, RJ Milnor & Ian Bailie (Live at PAFOW) - How to develop the HR skills of the future
• EP 30: Katy Gray - How Arup uses reward data to drive behavioural change
• EP 29: Uri Ort - What is the future of talent assessment?
• EP 28: Zara Nanu - The role of People Analytics in Gender Pay Analysis
• EP 27: Julia Shaw - How can technology reduce bias in the workplace
• EP 26: Stela Lupushor - How HR can be a Catalyst for Change
• BONUS EPISODE: Volker Jacobs - How to scale Employee Experience
• EP 25: Julie Digby - How HR Drives Transformation and Org Design at Mars
• EP 24: RJ Milnor - How McKesson uses ONA to identify what drives high performance in sales
• EP 23: Rupert Morrison - Rethinking Workforce Planning & Organisation Design
• EP 22: Dawn Klinghoffer - The Evolution of People Analytics at Microsoft
• EP 21: John Boudreau - Reinventing Jobs: The Future of Work and it's impact on HR
• EP 20: Tanuj Kapilashrami - How Standard Chartered designed an exceptional Employee Experience
• EP 19: Anna Tavis: What is Agile HR and how are companies adopting it?
• EP 18: Sarah Johnson: How to use employee surveys to create strategic value
• EP 17: Leena Nair - How HR drives business value at Unilever
• EP 16: Keith McNulty - HR 3.0: more data driven, more agile and more business focused
• EP 15: Jason Corsello - The Shift From HR Tech to Work Tech
• EP 14: Jill Larsen - How does the CHRO successfully partner with the CEO
• EP 13: Frida Polli - How AI and Behavioural Science can reduce bias in recruiting
• EP 12: Ian O'Keefe - The Workforce Analytics journey at JP Morgan Chase
• EP 11: Dave Ulrich - The role of HR in the Digital Age
• EP 10: Jordan Pettman - How Nestlé uses People Analytics to measure Gender Pay Gap and Equity
• EP 9: Catalina Schveninger - The Evolution of Corporate Learning at Vodafone
• EP 8: Richard Collins - How is Automation, AI and Analytics changing recruiting?
• EP 7: Katarina Berg - Spotify's CHRO on Leading HR in a digital world
• EP 6: Nick Holley - How HR can become more business relevant 
• EP 5: Eden Britt - How to build a People Analytics team in a global organisation | The People Analytics journey at HSBC 
• EP 4: Yvette Cameron - How Blockchain will disrupt the Future of Work and HR Technology 
• EP 3: Didier Elzinga - How to Create a Culture First Company 
• EP 2: Edward Houghton - The Head of Research at the CIPD on Driving Business Performance with People Data 
• EP 1: Sharon Doherty - How to transform HR to be more digital and building a culture of diversity

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David is a globally respected writer, speaker, conference chair, and executive consultant on people analytics, data-driven HR and the future of work. As an Executive Director at Insight222, he helps global organisations create more cultural and economic value through the wise and ethical use of people data and analytics. Prior to joining Insight222 and taking up a board advisor role at TrustSphere, David was the Global Director of People Analytics Solutions at IBM Watson Talent. As such, David has extensive experience in helping organisations embark upon and accelerate their people analytics journeys.