Spotify's CHRO on leading HR in a digital world

The biggest change over the 20 years plus that I've been in HR is that it's become much, much more strategic. It is much closer than ever to the business...

The focus on HR continues to intensify, and with it so does the importance of the role of the Chief Human Resources Officer. The CHRO role becomes even more critical in a hyper growth company where balancing culture and talent with the use of technology and data, can prove the difference between success and failure.

But what does the role of CHRO actually entail, and how has it evolved in our digital world?

That's the topic for EP7 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast and video series, where my guest is Katarina Berg, who combines the role of Chief Human Resources Officer with also leading Strategy Operations and Global Workforce Services at Spotify.

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

In our podcast, Katarina and I discuss:

• The key responsibility to the CHRO, and the unique challenges involved in leading HR in a hyper growth company
• The importance of developing and evolving the right culture to support business growth
• Spotify's approach to using people data and how this has helped drive business outcomes, and employee experience
• We also look into the crystal ball and ponder what the role of HR will in 2025

This episode is a must listen for current and aspiring HR leaders eager to develop a winning culture, and also harness digital and analytics. 

Support for this podcast is brought to you by ClickIQ - find out more at www.clickiq.co.uk.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

To listen to the Podcast and read the transcript of my interview with Katarina, head over to myHRfuture by clicking on this link: What Does it Mean to be a CHRO in a Digital World? 

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 Katarina and I covered in our conversation.

Firstly, Katarina explains how Spotify uses People Analytics.

For more on the people analytics journey at Spotify, please see Katarina's article included as part of the Best HR and People Analytics Articles of June collection.

Then Katarina tackles the question I ask all my guests on the Digital HR Leaders show: What will the role of HR be in 2025?

A SMALL FAVOUR

If you enjoyed listening to and watching the discussion with Katarina, I'd be grateful if you could take the following three steps:

1. Please subscribe to the Digital HR Leaders podcast and weekly newsletter to make sure you don’t miss an episode.
2. Who would you like to see me interview in future episodes? Let me know in the comments below.
3. Lastly, don’t forget to share on LinkedIn and Twitter with your friends and colleagues, your support is always greatly appreciated!

THANK YOU

A huge thank you to Katarina for sharing her time and expertise. You can connect with Katarina on LinkedIn and I also recommend you follow Katarina on Twitter as well as regularly checking out the Spotify HR Blog, where Katarina and her team share the story of innovating with HR in a hyper growth company.

Thanks also to Ian Bailie, Manpreet Randhawa and the myHRfuture team, and finally to ClickIQ for sponsoring Series 2 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast and video series.

Next week my guest on the podcast will be Richard Collins, Co-Founder of ClickIQ, on how automation, AI and analytics is changing recruiting. Make sure you tune in for that one.

CATCH UP WITH ALL THE FIRST 25 EPISODES OF THE DIGITAL HR LEADERS PODCAST

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

• 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

PRESS PLAY ON YOUR CAREER: JOIN THE myHRfuture ONLINE ACADEMY

Invest in your career and learn the HR skills of the future. The myHRfuture Academy, of which I am part, provides you with an on-demand platform where you can get access to short, bitesized learning content to help you build knowledge in the skills that you need to prepare for the future of HR. Join here to get access to exclusive content on People Analytics, Digital HR & HR Technology, Design Thinking, Workforce Planning, Consulting & Influencing and Stakeholder Management.

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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. 

SEE ME SPEAK AT THESE EVENTS IN 2019

I’ll be chairing and/or speaking about people analytics, data-driven HR and the Nine Dimensions for Excellence in People Analytics model at the following events until the end of October 2019. 

• 1-2 Aug - People Matters Tech HR, Gurugram, India
• 3 Sept - New York Strategic HR Analytics MeetUp - Careers in People Analytics: fireside chat with experts, New York
• 5-6 Sept - People Analytics & Future of Work, Philadelphia
• 9 Sept - Leading HR in the New World of Work, Data Driven HR Panel (11.00 EST) - Online Conference, Hacking HR
• 24-26 Sept - Global Executive Retreat, near London, UK (for Insight222 clients only)
• 22-23 Oct - UNLEASH World, Paris
• 4-6 Nov - HR Summit & Expo, Dubai