What is the role of HR in helping companies plan effectively for the future of work?

Sponsored by our friends at eQ8

Series 34 of the Digital HR Leaders podcast is brought to you by eQ8, the strategic workforce planning technology that helps you plan for the workforce you need tomorrow, today.? Discover the power of your people, ensure you have the right workforce to meet your purpose, extend the power to plan to every corner of your organisation.? Learn more at eQ8.ai/insight222 .

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We’ve just wrapped up Series 34 of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast at Insight222 , which was sponsored by eQ8 . While the conversation with guests in each episode explored a myriad of different topics, the one common question for each episode was: What is the role of HR in helping companies plan effectively for the future of work?

A summary of each episode together with associated links follows:

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EP1: NICK DALTON – How People Analytics Shapes Decision Making in Modern HR

My guest for the first episode of the series was Nick Dalton , formerly EVP of HR at Unilever, and co-author (with Alan Watkins ) of the absorbing book The HR (R)Evolution: Change the Workplace, Change the World. In our conversation, Nick and I trace the long history of HR through seven waves of change (Paternal, Power, Process, Profit, People, Paradox, and Planet) and explore the pivotal role HR plays today in empowering modern workplaces.?

If you're going to call yourself a profession, you have to have an underlying purpose.? And HR is a function today rather than a profession.? I think we become a profession when we do have a point of view and the ability to prosecute a point of view.

In this episode, expect to learn more about:

• The seven waves of HR and how they have shaped the HR landscape over time;
• The role of people data in HR's evolution and its impact on decision-making;
• Navigating the paradox wave in HR, especially in the context of rapid technological advancements and global uncertainties;
• The characteristics of a paradox HR leader and the scarcity of such leaders in the current landscape.
• How HR can play a pivotal role in steering organisations towards the 'Planet' wave, especially in light of pressing global climate concerns;
• Anticipated changes in HR titles and roles as it continues to adapt to data-driven decision-making and paradoxical leadership, helping to shape the workplace and the world.

?Listen to my conversation with Nick on Apple, Spotify or your podcast app of choice, by visiting the Digital HR Leaders podcast homepage and clicking the corresponding logo.

Connect with Nick Dalton on LinkedIn and find out more about his book: The HR (R)Evolution: Change the Workplace, Change the World .

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EP2: PIYUSH MEHTA - How to Create Personalised Employee Experiences

The role of the CHRO is to make sure that the organisation has top-quality talent at the right place and at the right time, and then find a way to enable that talent to be able to stay on in the company and continue to build that talent engine

In the second episode of series 34, my guest was Piyush Mehta , the Chief Human Resources Officer at 简柏特 . In our conversation, Piyush outlines how Genpact uses technology and analytics to enhance and personalise the employee experience for its 120.000 employees. It is one of the most impressive examples I have heard on how modern HR can enable business success and improve the employee experience.?

In the episode, Piyush shares insights on:

• The impact of HR on business growth and customer satisfaction.
• The four key focus areas for HR: “…the purpose of the organisation; the quality of leaders and manager; the rewards; and the career.”
• Examples of how Genpact uses analytics and technology to personalise the employee experience.
• Four technology tools Genpact has deployed: i) Amber (for continuous listening), ii) Genome (for learning), TalentMatch (for internal mobility), and Watercooler (for maintaining relationships of bridging connections)
• Examples of how Genpact is already applying Generative AI in HR.
• Inspiring ideas on how HR can shape the future of work and business.

Listen to my conversation with Piyush on Apple, Spotify or your podcast app of choice, by visiting the Digital HR Leaders podcast homepage and clicking the corresponding image.

Connect with Piyush Mehta on LinkedIn and on Twitter @piyushmehta322 .

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EP3: ALICIA ROACH AND CHRIS HARE – How to Democratise Strategic Workforce Planning

Strategic workforce planning is hard to explain but crucial to do

In the middle episode of the series, I was delighted to welcome two of my go-to experts on strategic workforce planning: Alicia Roach and Chris Hare , former practitioners themselves – and the co-founders and joint-CEOs of eQ8 , a HR technology platform for strategic workforce planning (SWP). They also like wombats, as you’ll learn by listening to the episode!

In our conversation, Alicia, Chris and I discuss:

• The ‘three-legged stool’ of SWP: Philosophy, Process and Platform.
• The How and the Why of democratising strategic workforce planning.
• The concept of "upstream thinking" and its crucial role in SWP.
• The potential pitfalls organisations face with regards to SWP and how to overcome them.
• The approaches HR and people analytics leaders can adopt to effectively democratise workforce data and gain C-suite level buy-in.

Listen to my conversation with Alicia and Chris on Apple, Spotify or your podcast app of choice, by visiting the Digital HR Leaders podcast homepage and clicking the corresponding image.

?Connect with Alicia Roach and Chris Hare on LinkedIn, and find out more about eQ8 at eQ8.ai/Insight222 . You can also read the article by Chris that we discuss in the episode: Unsung Heroism of SWP as well as the research by Madeline Laurano and Aptitude Research on Unlocking the Power of SWP - this includes the finding Alicia mentions in the podcast that only 14% of orgs take a strategic long-term view to workforce planning.

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EP4: NICK BLOOM - Unmasking Common Myths around Remote Work

Work from home is stabilising at about 25% of days: a five-fold jump vs. 2019. My prediction is the Nike swoosh and eventually it's going to go back up again.? But certainly, the last three years fell, but now, the last year, we are flat.? The return-to-office trend is over.

My guest for the penultimate episode of the series was Nick Bloom , Professor of Economics at Stanford University, and probably the world’s leading authority on remote work – a topic he has been researching for 20 years.

In our conversation, Nick and I dive deep into the history of remote and hybrid working, debunking some myths and addressing its impact on our current work paradigm. We also discuss:

• The past, present and future of remote and hybrid work
• The transformational impact of the pandemic on work and the lessons learned
• Why Nick expects a “Nike swoosh” increase in working from home by 2030, and why most CEOs agree
• Guidance on developing, measuring, and evolving hybrid work policies
• The impact of hybrid work on productivity and performance
• How companies should pay fully remote workers

Listen to my conversation with Nick on Apple, Spotify or your podcast app of choice, by visiting the Digital HR Leaders podcast homepage and clicking the corresponding image.

Connect with Nick Bloom on LinkedIn, follow him on Twitter @I_Am_NickBloom , and access his monthly study on remote and hybrid work at WFHresearch .

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EP5: ALEX BROWNE – Nestle’s 4B Methodology to Strategic Workforce Planning

The future of work is here. HR needs to step up, if it's not done so already. It needs to be a co-pilot for the business.

In the final episode of the series, my guest was Alex Browne , Head of People Analytics Innovation and Data Science at Nestlé. Alex and I discuss Nestlé's ten year journey with strategic workforce planning.

In our conversation, Alex and I discuss:

• The hidden challenges and complexities of strategic workforce planning;
• Insights into Nestlé's approach to blend centralised and decentralised methods in their strategic workforce planning;
• Nestlé's "4B methodology": Buy, Build, Borrow, and Bot.
• The role of technology in Nestlé's strategic workforce planning efforts;
• How Nestlé is preparing for the rise of digital workers and automation;
• The key skills that will be crucial for HR and business leaders in the evolving workforce landscape.

Listen to my conversation with Alex on Apple, Spotify or your podcast app of choice, by visiting the Digital HR Leaders podcast homepage and clicking the corresponding image.

Connect with Alex Browne on LinkedIn.

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WATCH THE VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS OF SERIES 34

As well as the full podcast recording of each episode, there are two videos of each episode available on the?myHRfuture YouTube channel . ?A playlist collating these videos together can be viewed below:

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THANK YOU

Thanks to all our guests in Series 34 as well as well as Alicia Roach, Chris Hare, Angela Shori and the rest of the eQ8 team for sponsoring this series of the Digital HR Leaders podcast. Thanks too to Manpreet Randhawa , Stefan Kesi? , Jasmine Panayides , and the team at Insight222 and myHRfuture for bringing the podcast to life.

We’ll be back with Series 35, which kicks off on Tuesday with a special episode on leading with vulnerability with Jacob Morgan .

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If you enjoy a weekly dose of curated learning (and the Digital HR Leaders Podcast), the?Digital HR Leaders newsletter ?comes out every Tuesday –?subscribe here .

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WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPONSOR A SERIES OF THE DIGITAL HR LEADERS PODCAST?

If you’re interested in sponsoring a series of the podcast, please get in touch with Stefan Kesic at [email protected]

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DOWNLOAD THE LATEST INSIGHT222 PEOPLE ANALYTICS TRENDS RESEARCH

We’ve recently released our fourth annual People Analytics Trends report: Investing to Deliver Value: A New Model for People Analytics , which is now available to download via the link – or by clicking on the image below.

CATCH UP ON THE 2023 EPISODES OF THE DIGITAL HR LEADERS PODCAST

You can access all previous episodes of the Digital HR Leaders podcast going all the way back to our first episode with Sharon Doherty (she/her) in May 2019, by going to the Digital HR Leaders homepage . The 2023 episodes not included in this round-up are:

Series 28 (Sponsored by Gloat )

• The Top HR Trends That Are Set to Disrupt The Workplace in 2023 (with Dave Ulrich , Diane Gherson , and Ian Bailie )
• Unlocking Organisational Resilience Through a Skills-Based Approach (with Susan Cantrell and Michael Griffiths )
• How Standard Chartered is Unlocking the Power of Skills in the Workplace (with Tanuj Kapilashrami )
• How to Build Successful and Collaborative Relationships at Work (with Amy Gallo )
• Navigating the Talent Marketplace of the Future (with Jeff Schwartz and Jeroen Wels )

Series 29 (sponsored by Workday )

• How AI Can Unlock Human Potential and Make Work More Meaningful (with Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic )
• How Yelp Built a Successful Remote Working Culture (with Carmen Whitney Orr )
• How Workday Created An Impactful People Analytics Function (with Phil Willburn )
• How To Ensure Purpose Is at The Forefront of Your People Strategies (with Daniela Seabrook )
• How To Turn People Data into Actionable Insights (with Caroline O'Reilly )

Series 30 (sponsored by Orgvue )

• How Global Brands Manage Successful DEI Programs (with Lauren Guthrie )
• How Johnson & Johnson are Scaling Their Skills-Based Approach to Talent (with Christina Norris-Watts and Doug Shagam )
• Planning for Economic Uncertainty: Workforce Planning in Action (with Oliver Shaw )
• How Meta Developed a High-Performing People Analytics Team (with Alexis Fink )
• Creating a Future-Proof Company Through Organisational Design and Workforce Planning (with Don Miller and Jesse Jacks )

Series 31 (sponsored by ChartHop )

• How Raytheon Technologies Productises People Analytics at Scale (with Aashish Sharma )
• How to Navigate Your Organisation's DEI Journey (with Dr. Ella F. Washington )
• From HR to People Operations: Unlocking the Secrets of Modern HR Success (with Ian White )
• How to Position Employee Experience at the Centre of Corporate Culture (with Aaron Falcione )
• People Analytics, Now and the Future: Insights from Wharton PAC (with Prasad Setty and Dawn Klinghoffer )

Series 32 (sponsored by Worklytics )

• Rethinking Leadership for the Future of Work (with Heather E. McGowan ?????????? )
• Empowering HR and People Analytics Leaders in Managing Microstress (with Karen Dillon and Rob Cross )
• How can people analytics and network data support a successful return to the office? (with Philip Arkcoll )
• How To Scale People Analytics Through Experimentation and Productisation (with Ian OKeefe )
• How to Build a Thriving Workforce Ecosystem (with Elizabeth J. Altman and Robin Jones )

Series 33 - Sponsored by Visier Inc.

• How to Democratise Data for People Manager Effectiveness (with Lexy Martin )
• How to Prepare Your HR Data for EU CSRD Reporting (with Yves Van Durme )
• Boosting Managerial Efficiency: The CHRO's Outside-In Approach to Productivity (with Paul Rubenstein )
• How Novartis Use People Data to Navigate Business Transformation (with Ashish Pant )
• How to Achieve Data-Driven HR Excellence in a Highly Regulated Environment (with Wendy Cunningham and Peter Meyler )

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David Green ???? ?is a globally respected author, speaker, conference chair, and executive consultant on people analytics, data-driven HR and the future of work.?As Managing Partner and Executive Director at?Insight222 , he has overall responsibility for the delivery of the Insight222 People Analytics Program, which supports the advancement of people analytics in over 90 global organisations.?Prior to co-founding Insight222, David accumulated over 20 years experience in the human resources and people analytics fields, including as Global Director of People Analytics Solutions at IBM. As such, David has extensive experience in helping organisations increase value, impact and focus from the wise and ethical use of people analytics.?David also hosts the?Digital HR Leaders Podcast ?and is an instructor for Insight222's?myHRfuture Academy . His book, co-authored with Jonathan Ferrar,?Excellence in People Analytics: How to use Workforce Data to Create Business Value ?was published in the summer of 2021.

SEE ME AT THESE EVENTS

I'll be speaking about people analytics, the future of work, and data driven HR at a number of upcoming events in 2023:

• 30 November - Indeed FutureWorks (Bengaluru)