4 ways to create a data-driven People Experience team

Two critical pillars of data transformation are technology and people. As companies start to realize the power and impact of data-driven decisions, People Experience teams (also known as Human Resources or People Operations) are expected to base their decisions on measurable outcomes. Within the scope of people experience, it’s possible to gather game-changing data around employee demographics, performance, onboarding and compensation. Because of this, many companies are making large investments in analytics, from tooling to hiring. If you and your team are ready to invest in people analytics, consider these four tips to get started:

1. Leverage the tools you already have

Before attempting to convince your leadership team to invest in fancy people analytics software (such as OracleHR or Zoho People), start working towards the initial ROI through your Applicant Tracking System (ATS), most of which have their own reporting dashboards embedded in their system. Also, connect with your account managers to understand what other insights and features exist in the tools you already use (such as pipeline performance or summary of sources). If you are currently not using an ATS, you can also use Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets to incorporate data to produce meaningful dashboards. This article offers a great explanation on how to do just that.  Once you start collecting data, your ROI will be easier to demonstrate, as will the need for more sophisticated People Analytics tools. 

2. Build an Agile Team

Agile was initially designed to improve the efficiency of software development teams, however more recently, it has become a default team-based operational model for organizations of all sizes from various industries.  If you are working in an agile organization, all teams including your People Experience team should be providing the same services such as hiring, career development, onboarding etc. - but in ways that are responsive to the ongoing changes to the culture and the way of working within an organization. 

Within our talent team, we have incorporated stand-ups, sprint planning, kanban boards and a constant feedback loop to ensure tasks are constantly moving forward and roadblocks are highlighted in a timely manner to avoid delays. This resulted in our team thinking strategically and focusing on long-term objectives which reduced the time, money and resource input to meet the desired results. Another benefit gained from an agile team is the highly collaborative process. At TELUS Digital, we have a team of 7 individuals that manage the people experience journey for every team member. We are set up into 5 cross-functional delivery teams that enable talent management, onboarding, community outreach, career development and team engagement. In addition to our internal team structure, we have practice leads embedded into our hiring process where they support our Talent Partners with the high volume of resumes and partnering with them to review and screen through applicants.

3. Find your champions internally, follow thought-leaders externally

Professionals, especially leadership, love data because rather just listening to the loudest voice in the room, they are able to make better informed decisions. It won’t be hard to find people in your organization who not only see the value in people analytics but, are able to help you reach your ROI goals. 

Find champions who are supportive of your work and can help remove roadblocks, for example, managers and directors who will gain valuable insight from your team’s gender diversity ratio, growth percentage or retention statistics. 

4. Provide insights often

The key to building a data-driven team is to, identify your stakeholders, ensure they’re kept well-informed of the trends, results and insights your project reveals. Your leaders and champions are not working with the data daily, and so communicating (even over-communicating) your results is an important part of your role as project manager. Not only will this keep your leaders abreast of your work, but also because your results should directly impact their business decisions. 

Wrap up

To build an efficient people experience team, consider leveraging existing technology, pivot your team to work as an agile talent team, work closely with internal champions and learn from external thought leaders and lastly, share your insights as often as you can. Analytics can dramatically improve the way organizations identify, attract, develop and retain talent. Data-driven strategies will help talent partners, managers and directors unlock the power of data - increasing rigor, reducing bias, and improving performance. 

If you’re interested in exploring opportunities within TELUS Digital, check out our website! We are hiring for Full Stack Developers, Visual/Interaction Designers, Automation Testers, Product Owners, Digital Analytics & Insights Consultants, Implementation Consultants and more! 

Author bio

Aamna Contractor is a Product Owner of Talent, Onboarding and People Analytics at TELUS Digital. With a background in talent acquisition and a passion for organizational psychology, she is now driving TELUS Digital’s candidate experience, using a data-driven strategy to empower candidates, new hires and the team.