Talent Analytics: Tips from Super Smart SMEs

Talent Analytics: Tips from Super Smart SME's Skillsoft brought together five of the world's most prominent talent analytics gurus to share insights about the current state of analytics and practical suggestions for evolving organizational capabilities. Here's what they had to say... What's the big deal? Talent is a significant investment. But do organizations truly know how to invest in talent wisely? 55 No. 40% Most organizations The vast majority of hiring, management, promotion and development decisions are made on gut feel, personal experience or invalidated corporate belief systems. 40% spend forty percent or more of their total revenues on their talent. Analytics trumps intuition The evidence abounds... 用 30%{ Higher Stock Retuns Organizations that regularly use data in decisions generate thirty percent higher stock returns than their peers. Top performers are leveraging analytics 5x Top performing businesses are five times more likely to be using analytics than low performers. 3x Top performing L&D teams are three times as likely to be using learning analytics as their peers. Ample room for improvement Who is Just 2% are A 2015 report from Towards Maturity states that only 2% of L&D organizations report that they are currently involved with analytics. doing it? practicing analytics The good news is that 35% are planning to increase their emphasis on building analytical capability. What does that mean for the rest? That could indicate that as much as 63% are not intentionally planning to do much about analytics. While many in the field are quite ambitious about strategic advancements in L&D capabilities, it is clear that more sweeping changes need to happen.fast. Not Planning (63%) Planning (35%) Practicing (2%) Could it be a labeling problem? While much of the recent research may illustrate that few organizations are conducting analytics, the experts are quick to note that it could be a matter of visibility and labeling. Some firms have been applying talent analytics practices for decades (especially as it relates to recruiting), they just haven't called it as such. "Talent Analytics Project" ll What are the benefits? Big Data in talent analytics Increase evidence-based judgements and make more confident decisions Move from allocating investments equally to aligning investments intelligently But analytics is not about instant insights. Big Data's individual measures do not provide insights by themselves. Leading indicators help quantify an idea that leads to an insight. A leading indicator is a measureable factor of performance that changes before the larger trend or condition changes. A measurement map approach helps define what the leading indicators are and how the strategic goals serve as the context for any talent investment. Measurement map puts talent investments in context 2. 1. What skills do we need to invest in our talent to achieve our strategic goals? What leading indicators correlate positively to those business results? What business results need to occur to achieve that goal? What is the strategic goal organization i seeking to achieve? The steps of talent analytics What does it look like in practice? Identify the hypothesis or question. Important tip! Compile the data sources and leading indicators. "Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted." Apply the expertise or software. Interpret the data, - Albert Einstein Present the findings and recommendations to the business owners. What does this mean for the five levels? Learning evaluation goes to a new level According to some experts, it means there is now a sixth level in the Kirkpatrick/Phillips learning evaluation model: NEW 1 Learning Application Business Impact Reaction ROI Predictive Analytics The SME's shared that organizations do not necessarily need to conduct evaluation efforts sequentially. For some initiatives, it may be appropriate to focus on predictive analytics and not the other levels of learning evaluation. Four levels of maturity What are the benchmarks? The industry analyst firm, Bersin by Deloitte, found that an astounding 86% of organizations are focused primarily on reporting - which represents a purely historic view. Only ten percent of organizations have crossed the chasm toward conducting advanced analytics and an even smaller number of organizations (four percent) are using predictive analytics to predict talent outcomes. Level 4: Predictive analytics Development of predictable models, scenario planning Risk analysis and mitigation, integration with strategic planning 4% Level 3: Strategic analytics Segmentation, statistical analysis, development of "people models" (109% Analysis ofdi ons to understand cause and delivery of actionable: Level 2: Proactive-Advanced reporting 30% Operational reporting for benchmarking and decision making Multidimensional analysis and dashboards Level 1: Reactive-Operational reporting Ad hoc operational reporting Reactive to business demands, data in isolation and difficult to analyze 56% How do organizations advance? How to cross the chasm The journey to an optimized workforce that benefits from analytics is not easy, but it surely pays off in terms of stronger talent results. If you are inspired to cross the chasm from ad-hoc reporting to advanced and predictive capabilities, here are the key characteristics to build: Go deep in technical skills or "borrow" some from another department Develop expertise to tell "the story" behind the data Credibility is key so ensure your data quality is high Create action-oriented self-service dashboards Skílls ft Skillsoft is a pioneer in the field of learning and talent management with a long history of innovation. ------------------------ Skillsoft was named a Leader in both of IDC MarketScape's Big Data/Analytics and ITIL/ITSM reports, and as a Major Player in eight other MarketScape reports. About Skillsoft Skillsoft and IBM are building a ground- breaking adaptive learning experience that will facilitate higher talent engagement and outcomes. To learn more, click here To leam more, click here SumTotal's workforce analytics solution provides access to a single, unified learning and talent management model. The data is presented in a personalized, intuitive and highly configurable user interface to track metrics, set targets and identify deviations. To leam more, click here