Evolution of HR analytics: A Middle East perspective

27 April 2015Edward Houghton

Framework for the Future of HR

2014-2015 research highlights

• Smart/agile working and links to productivity• Conflict management

• Impact of legislative changes• Manager skills

• Megatrends series

• Valuing Your Talent: phase 2• Metrics: Asia and Middle East

• Trustworthy leadership• Behavioural science

• Context• Neuroscience and L&D• Behavioural science & reward• Behavioural science & recruitment

• Transformational change

• Changing HR operating Models• Impact of technology and other changes on L&D capability• Beyond the boundary (new HR partnering models)

Business commercial insight & analytics• HR analytics is a growing discipline globally.

• UK research:

1. Valuing your Talent: A new framework for the measurement of human capital [2014]

• Valuing your talent Framework• Case studies of organisations in the UK developing HR

analytics• Insights about the reporting of human capital

2. Talent analytics and big data: the challenge for HR [2013]

• Partnership with Oracle to understand the barriers to better HR analytics in the UK

• Report looked at the application of HR analytics processes to understand specific business issues, and explore talent analytics as a focus

Evolution of HR analytics: A Middle East perspective

Methodology

Case study interviews

• Semi-structured interviews of HR directors and managers from across the region

• Explored:• Context• Approach to HR analytics• Barriers and opportunities• Future aspirations for HR

analytics

• 9 participants, including:• Petrofac• DP World• Federal Authority for

Government Human Resources

• Serco

Region-wide survey

• Online survey of 35 questions exploring major themes:

• Technology• Capability• Aspirations• Experience

• 106 respondents

Findings

• Findings clustered in to six broad themes

1. Establishing strategy and process

2. Organisational maturity

3. Linking HR analytics to business outcomes

4. Technology: from barrier to enabler

5. HR analytics skills & capability

6. Future of HR analytics in the Middle East

1. Establishing strategy and process• HR managers are using HR

analytics to inform both the HR and the business strategy

• Younger organisations are building HR analytics as a core HR process, central to organisational development

• Aspirations focused on the application of HR analytics for the improvement of HR practice; then business practice

• Senior business leaders are challenging HR for HR insights in to business culture and decision making.

HR analytics is helping the organisation to understand/explore… (%)

Our business culture…

Business decision making…

Case study: Federal Authority for Government Human Resources“Developing policies and guidance from HR data”

• Context: FAHR is the overarching public sector service which oversees the management of HR for the ministries and federal authorities in the UAE. FAHR supports 91,000 employees.

• How analytics is being applied: Measuring the effectiveness of its policies and process across federal government and ministries. 17 core indicators are now being standardised across departments.

• Impact of analytics - looking into the future: With standard measures in place FAHR will explore workforce planning and engagement,. The organisation hopes to focus on productivity, by driving employee well-being, a priority for the UAE

‘We don’t have any indicators about workforce planning, which we should have. We also want to understand happiness…a priority in the UAE. We are trying to move from satisfaction to engagement.’

HR Analytics Consultant, FAHR

2. Organisational maturity

• Younger organisations are focusing on building general HR capability; but HR analytics is one of many areas to be developed.

• Investment in analytics is expected to continue at the same level or increase; 16.0% believe that it will increase by 5% or more.

• Multinational context is challenging: a need for data management protocols at unit and group level.

• All case studies recognised that they are at the start of their analytics journey

Planned investment in HR analytics over the next 12 months (%)

‘

‘Analytics is in its infancy stage… we track a lot of data but using analytics to predict the future is not there at the moment. It is a question of drive and appetite to use information in a growing organisation.’

VP of HR business Support, FGB

Case study: Jumeirah

“Driving cost efficiencies using multidimensional data”

• Context: Luxury hotel with a split of 20:80 leadership: operational roles for 14,500 employees. The group is looking to almost double the number of hotels it manages and operates

• How analytics is being applied: Help business planning e.g. cost implications of significant business growth. Driving strategy regarding talent for new growth markets. Financial and HR data is being combined to develop insights.

• Impact of analytics - looking into the future: Balance between short term and long term investments - a single platform to analyse and share across the business is required.

‘Ideally we want to be on a single global platform…we recently launched a programme to have consistent grades fort he executive population….consistent framework of job families, job codes, will make it a lot easier to manage and strategise that data’

Vice President HR, Jumeirah Group

3. Linking HR analytics to business outcomes

• The use of different data sets across the sample of organisations was mixed; showing that embedded systems are an exception.

• Multi-dimensional data is used by few organisations who participated –HR data is in isolation.

• Engagement is the main HR metrics the business uses.

• Nationalisation measures are not standardised – various measures are in use.

Do you use multi-dimensional HR analytics data in your HR analytics? (%)

‘The board concentrates on engagement. At the moment we do everything using engagement data, although we do have many initiatives – but the engagement survey tends to be relevant to everyone.’

HR Manager, Telecomms Company

Case study: First Gulf Bank (FGB)“Developing the emerging HR analytics function following rapid growth”

• Context: Based in the Middle East, employing around 1,700 people, FGB has grown rapidly, which has driven the business to look to the HR function to understand implications for the workforce.

• How analytics is being applied: At FGB HR data = business data. Skilled individuals are being appointed to use HR data and business data together.

• Impact of analytics - looking into the future: The next steps is to link HR measures to business performance and embed clear reporting processes for HR data into line managers. Explore predictive analytics for customer service data and overall business performance.

‘…it is about looking at the resources you have and how motivated they are, as well as looking at some predictive analysis, to see what is going to happen in the future for your business and for your people. That’s our vision.’

Vice President of HR Business Support, FGB

4. Technology: from barrier to enabler

• A key theme in all interviews, from developing capability through to realising value

• Retrofitting HR systems in to existing IT infrastructure is a challenge for some organisations

• Standardised measures are in place for some organisation – but are not shared widely.

• Tension between use of technology to interpret data and steer, and the power of the leadership team to make critical decisions – don’t want to hand over the controls to algorithms.

We have standardised definitions for all the measures/metrics used in our business: (%)

‘There is no single repository… we don’t maximise the value of being a global company without that consistent [global] platform.’

SVP Human Capital, DP World

Case study: Serco“Building new capability to drive performance”

• Context: Serco employs over 120,000 people in 30 countries and is a supplier of public services in the Middle East. Current capability is based around manual data entry and centralised analysis.

• How analytics is being applied: HR is training line managers to understand HR data, and is building capability in the form of a new technology road-map. This includes combined systems and updates HR technology.

• Impact of analytics - looking into the future: A fully integrated system where line managers are able to develop their own insights, e.g. Managers will have access to management information relevant to commercial contracts – all related to performance against targets.

‘The vision, from a Serco manager’s perspective is that they should have access to a user friendly system, and have all the basic HR data and analytics they require in one place… this will enable them to manage all people aspects of running their teams.’

HR Director, Serco

5. HR analytics skills and capability

• Organisations are yet to build dedicated capability.

• Various approaches to building HR analytics capability: “buy or build” debate continues.

• Major new skills needed are data mining, data analytics and reporting, and communication of insights.

• Internal capability levels are hampering impact of analytics as capability differs in multisite contexts.

Does your organisation have a dedicated HR analytics team/function? (%)

‘There can be such inconsistency in terms of competence: you can be in one business unit and it is purely a transaction environment, and you go to another and its very strategic…’

SVP Human Capital, DP World

Case study: FRHI Hotels & Resorts

“Building the talent analytics capability”

• Context: FRHI Hotels & Resorts employs 42,000 employees in service based roles across the Middle East, Africa and India. Organisation operates in a high turnover sector and is beginning to develop a talent analytics capability

• How analytics is being applied: HR analytics is used to understand the relationship between talent and performance. Individual hotel HR managers analyse their own data and are able to manage their sites accordingly. They receive training around the capture and reporting of data, and basic analytics techniques.

• Impact of analytics - looking into the future: HR data is to become further available to the business to inform the growth strategy. HR analytics will become more about adding value to the value of hotels it operates with its clients e.g. by illustrating the value of good leadership.

‘The company will grow by 60% in the next four years and in this region 100% in the next four years. We have a lot of talent to retain and find.’

HR VP, FRHI Hotels & resorts

6. Future of HR analytics in the Middle East

• HR analytics will continue to grow as an interest area for organizations in the Middle East.

• Investment in capability is required by organisations to ensure growth meets aspirations.

• Organisations aspire to become HR analytically literate, and see predictive capability as the gold standard.

• Transparency and accessibility to data by the business is high on the agenda for HR managers.

Does your organisation apply any statistical modelling tools to predict future trends across your workforce? (%)

‘Ultimately what I would like to see is that it would justify the existence of the function…the kind of data it should generate should prove why you are actually there.”

SVP Human Capital, DP World

Case study: Petrofac“Using HR analytics to mitigate against the challenges of a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environment)”

• Context: Petrofac employs over 20,000 individuals in 31 offices worldwide in highly technical roles. Economy pressuring organisation to predict future talent requirements to inform business strategy.

• How analytics is being applied: Talent pipeline development – having recognised through analytics that its workforce is susceptible to pressures from changing demographics, in particular aging workforce.

• Impact of analytics - looking into the future: The business is now looking to integrate talent management data in to investment in capabilities across the workforce. Recruitment and retention are focus areas.

‘In two years I believe we will have a track record demonstrating where we’ve identified key data, taken action, and had a positive impact on the business. We’re in the early stages but this is where we’re starting to build capability.’

Director of OD & Capability, Petrofac

RecommendationsKey recommendation

Focus on creating value for the business: apply analytics to current and potential future issues

• Integrate current capability to tackle issues today.• Demonstrate how analytics is adding value for business, not

just HR.• Focus on business needs.

Establish organisation wide standards and protocols

• Define internal standards and policies.• Train HR and managers to apply standard measures.

Partner with IT to develop systems which are fit for purpose

• Build capability in a modular way, relevant to current needs.• Ensure IT investments cater for HR analytics.

Combine technical capability with HR specialist knowledge: manage the build/buy ratio

• Recruit or train individuals with expert knowledge and ensure they are in teams with HR experts.

• Develop a capability plan for sourcing a HR analytics talent and share it

Concentrate on foundation analytics before reaching aspirational predictive capability

• Complex predictive analytics require significant investment and expertise, organisations should develop foundation capability in the first instance.

• Data quality, data housing, and analytical capability should be developed up front.

• Share insights and build internal backing by answering “business fundamental questions” first.

Future research

CIPD

• Further HR Analytics research in Asia and the UK.

• Valuing your Talent: development of HR and business measures that drive business performance.

• Global survey of HR analytics.

Research community

• Sector and size effects on analytical capability.

• Development of an analytical maturity model for the Middle East.

• Skills/capability gap analysis.

• Innovative approaches to HR analytics

Summary

• Youth of organisations provides wealth of opportunity for organisations to lead HR analytics practice.

• Skills and capabilities are a barrier but investment in analytics capability is expected to continue or remain level.

• HR managers interviewed recognised that HR analytics is a critical aspect of the “HR adding value” debate – and expect use of HR analytics to grow.

Thank you for your listening

Q&A