What steps can HR leaders take to humanise the work experience?

We’ve just wrapped up Series 32 of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast at Insight222, which was sponsored by our friends at Worklytics. While the conversation with guests in each episode explored a myriad of different topics, the one common question asked in each episode was: What steps can HR leaders take within their organisation to humanise the work experience?

A summary of each episode together with associated links follows:

EP1: HEATHER E. McGOWAN - Rethinking Leadership for the Future of Work

In the first episode of the series, I was joined by? Heather E. McGowan , Future of Work Strategist and co-author (with Chris Shipley ) of the books: The Adaptation Advantage, and The Empathy Advantage. Heather and I discussed the four shifts that leaders need to embrace in the digital era.

There are four shifts that a leader needs to embrace. First is a shift in mindset. You're not managing people and processes anymore, you're enabling success. The second is a shift in culture…you've got to shift from peers as competitors to peers as collaborators. The third shift is a shift in approach…from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation. And then finally (the fourth shift is) a shift in behaviour. We used to have our leaders myopically drive productivity at any cost, grinding people to dust, burning people out, didn't matter, with domination, fear, even humiliation, didn't matter. Now we need leaders who can create effectiveness through inspiration, who can create performance through empathy.

In our conversation, Heather and I also discuss:

• How the pandemic transformed the way we work and the four significant shifts in leadership it has led to
• The link between empathy and performance
• The importance of HR in the ‘human capital era’, and the dangers of burnout in the profession
• Practical steps individuals can take to transition and benefit from the 'empathy advantage' in their personal and professional lives
• The implications of technological advancements like generative AI on companies and the future of work
• Efficient ways of training and developing employees in a rapidly changing skills landscape

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

Connect with Heather on LinkedIn and find out more about her books and work at heathermcgowan.com.

EP2: KAREN DILLON AND ROB CROSS - Empowering HR and People Analytics Leaders in Managing Microstress

Microstresses may be hard to spot individually, but cumulatively they pack an enormous punch.

In the second episode of series 32, my guests were Rob Cross and Karen Dillon , the authors of my favourite book of the year so far: The Microstress Effect: How Little Things Pile Up and Create Big Problems — and What to Do About It. A book that Daniel Pink called “a revelation”, and of which Dave Ulrich said: “I read this brilliant book and said ‘Yup, yup, yup’ over and over again.”

In our conversation, Karen and Rob define ‘microstress’ – small moments of stress that infiltrate both our work and personal lives. Because each individual microstress is so small they seem manageable on their own but compound over time and can be debilitating and damage our physical and emotional health. Rob and Karen explain the science, outline tools to identify microstress, and provide guidance on how to push back on it.

In this episode you’ll learn about:

• How to differentiate microstress from conventional stress and understand its unique implications;
• How the brain responds to microstress and the long-term effects on neurological and physical well-being;
• Three categories (capacity-draining, emotion-depleting, and identity-challenging) and 14 key sources of microstress that hold us back;
• Strategies for combating microstress and how to foster well-being at the individual, team and organisational level;
• Three things ‘ten percenters’ do to fight back against microstress;
• Practical steps for HR and people leaders to implement practices that alleviate microstress in the workplace.

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

Connect with Karen on LinkedIn, follow her on Twitter @KarDillon, also connect with Rob on LinkedIn, and on Twitter @RobCrossNetwork?and find out more about the book and Rob’s work at robcross.org.

EP3: PHILIP ARKCOLL - How can people analytics and network data support a successful return to the office?

In the middle episode of the series, my guest was Philip Arkcoll , CEO and founder at Worklytics, a Y Combinator backed data analytics platform that provides metrics and meaningful insights into how remote and hybrid teams collaborate and get work done.

In our conversation, Phil explains the impact of onsite network density on how employees feel about in-person work:

If you come into the office and you have 20% to 30% network density with your peers, you rate hybrid work a lot lower. If you have 50% density (or more), then you're far more likely to rate that it's a success.

Onsite density is the % of your close collaborator network that is co-located at the office with you on a typical day. The higher your onsite density, the higher your perception that time spent in the office is valuable.

Phil and I also discuss:

• The pros and cons of remote and in-office work;
• The challenges in transitioning back to the office and how companies have managed this successfully;
• How to foster employee trust and privacy with people data;
• The future of Organisational Network Analysis (ONA) and how it can be used to understand and manage collaboration, innovation, employee experience, inclusion and wellbeing.

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

Connect with Philip on LinkedIn, on Twitter @parkcoll, and find out more about Worklytics.

EP4: IAN O’KEEFE - How To Scale People Analytics Through Experimentation and Productisation

A guiding principle when you think about (experimentation), is that you do no harm…What does it mean? I think it really means that you're giving people more choices, you're creating variations on information that's helpful for people, and you're working backwards from the managers and employees that you're trying to serve to create a more personalised, helpful experience for them to bring their best to work every day.

My guest for the penultimate episode of the series was Ian OKeefe , Head of Talent Analytics and Data Science at Amazon. In the episode, Ian and I discuss the role of experimentation in people analytics and how to productise and scale people analytics in order to drive organisational success.

With a wealth of experience working in people analytics leadership roles at leading companies such as Google, JP Morgan and Amazon, Ian has witnessed first-hand how as people analytics teams mature and the need for insights expands, a product mindset becomes essential.

In our conversation, Ian and I also discuss:

• How the the people analytics discipline has evolved over the years
• Different types of people analytics operating models observed in various organisations
• The skills and capabilities required for successful productisation of people analytics
• Practical tips and learnings for HR and people analytics leaders looking to embrace experimentation and productisation
• Predictions on the future of the people analytics field and the potential role of generative AI

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

Connect with Ian on LinkedIn.

EP5: ELIZABETH ALTMAN AND ROBIN JONES - How to Build a Thriving Workforce Ecosystem

As technology enables new, more efficient forms of working, and roles become more project- and outcomes-based, workforces are evolving into workforce ecosystems requiring updated strategies, leadership, and management practices.

One of the best books I’ve read in 2023 is Workforce Ecosystems: Reaching Strategic Goals with People, Partners, and Technologies, which examines the growing phenomenon of workforce ecosystems and how they will shape the future of organisations.

In the final episode of the series, we explore the Workforce Ecosystem with two of the book’s co-authors: Elizabeth J. Altman and Robin Jones (the other authors are Jeff Schwartz and David Kiron ).

Elizabeth, Robin and I discuss:

• The key components of a thriving workforce ecosystem;
• The interplay between workforce ecosystems and broader business strategies;
• The shifts required for HR leaders to successfully orchestrate a workforce ecosystem;
• How to develop a diverse and socially responsible workforce ecosystem;
• Examples from companies including: Novartis, Ceridian, Cisco, and Unilever

Robin also talks about the five categories of technology that need to be integrated into the workforce ecosystem:

The first one is what we call work tech, and that's the technology that's really driving productivity, automation, collaboration. The second one is workforce tech - systems that help manage workforces and help workers. The third category is workplace tech… (they) unify and integrate physical and virtual work and make teams more productive. The fourth one is credentialisation and verification tech - (these) help organisations verify who the workers are, what skills they have. Then, the last one is where technology is actually the participant in the workforce.

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

Connect with Elizabeth on LinkedIn and Twitter @lizaltman while you can connect with Robin on LinkedIn. You can also find out more about the book, Workforce Ecosystems.

WATCH THE VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS OF SERIES 32

As well as the full podcast recording of each episode, there are two videos per 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 32 as well as Laura Morris , Catherine Coppinger , Erik Schultink and the team at Worklytics for sponsoring this series of the podcast. Thanks too to Manpreet Randhawa , Stefan Kesi? , Jasmine Panayides , and the team at Insight222 and myHRfuture for bringing the podcast to life.

The podcast will be taking a break over the summer and we will return with Series 33 of the podcast on September 5, with a very special episode featuring the brilliant Lexy Martin .

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

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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 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 Amara )
• 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 )

DOWNLOAD THE LATEST INSIGHT222 RESEARCH STUDY

We’ve just released our new research report: Upskilling HR the Profession: Building Data Literacy at scale, which is now available to download here – or by clicking on the image below.

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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.

MEET 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:

• 7 September?People Analytics World?(Amsterdam)
• 26-28 September - Insight222 Global Executive Retreat (Colorado, US) - exclusively for member organisations of the?Insight222 People Analytics Program
• 17-18 October -?UNLEASH World?(Paris)

More events will be added as they are confirmed.