PODCAST - #HRHappyHour 201 - Putting the Fun into Analytics

HR Happy Hour 201 - Putting the Fun Into Analytics

Recorded Thursday January 29, 2015

Hosts: Trish McFarlane, Steve Boese

Guests: Mike Psenka,  Senior VP of Workforce Analytics,  Equifax Workforce Solutions

Ed Pertwee, Head of Workforce Planning, BT

Jennifer Payne, Editor, Women of HR

Listen to the show HERE

In the latest HR Happy Hour Show, Trish and Steve recorded a live HR Happy Hour show from the recent Brandon Hall Excellence conference, where Mike, Ed, Steve and Trish conducted a panel discussion on how to leverage data and analytics for HR and organizational success.

Mike and Ed both shared some excellent examples, (both in the panel and in the HR Happy Hour podcast), of how, where, and to what effect data and analytics are making an impact in workforce planning, compliance, and to improve business results. There are some amazingly powerful applications for using data in a wide variety of contexts - where to locate company facilities, the effect of demographic shifts on performance, and how long commute times impact engagement and satisfaction.

Additionally, Steve defended Carmelo Anthony of the Knicks, Trish let us know that the number '201' should not be said as 'two hundred and one', and we learned that a husband should never question the strength and intensity of his wife's labor contractions.

You can listen to the show on the show page here, and using the widget player below, (email and RSS subscribers will need to click through). 

Check Out Business Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Steve Boese Trish McFarlane on BlogTalkRadio

 

As always, you can listen to the current and all the past shows from the archive on the show page here, on our HR Happy Hour website, and by subscribing to the show in podcast form on iTunes, or for Android devices using Stitcher Radio (or your favorite podcast app). Just search the iTunes store or your podcast app for 'HR Happy Hour' to add the show to your subscriptions.

This was a really fun show with some fantastic guests and I hope you enjoy listening!

Manager Tracking

In case you missed it, we had a really fun, interesting, and dare I say engaging conversation last night on the very special 200th Episode of the HR Happy Hour Show and Podcast. You can catch the replay of the show here, or download to iTunes or your favorite podcast app - just search for 'HR Happy Hour'.

The show, titled 'The Final Conversation on Employee Engagement?', had many highlights, (and was lots of fun too), but for me probably the one nugget that resonated the most was when Mike VanDervort shared how at a former employer, a large retail organization, HR and leadership realized that understanding how managers physically walked around the stores, in what speed and direction, and with whom they talked with and for how long, was a key to better understanding employee engagement. I don't want to put words into Mike's mouth, check out the replay of the show to hear his full comments, but to me this kind of insight while obvious on one level (management by walking around has been a thing for ages), is probably more valuable now than before due to the tremendous advance in wearable technologies, GPS-like tracking (even indoors), and our better ability to collect, analyze, and interpret data.

Check out the pic below, (email and RSS subscribers may need to click through if the image does not render), it is an example of advanced visualization data on player movement from an NBA game. 

The visualization above, of the movements of the 10 players on the court, the ball, and relative to the 24-second shot clock, provides both coaches and the players themselves insights into their performance on this play, and can help them make adjustments for future games, understand how player movements are coordinated with each other, understand where and how the movement of the ball impacts player positioning, and finally, use a data-driven approach to evaluating individual performance. This kind of deep dive into player movement is made possible by advanced video capture technology installed in NBA arenas, and powerful new software tools that can make sense of and display the massive data sets, in almost real-time.

Let's jump back to the retail store manager example then. Just as the NBA is embracing advanced tech that captures player movements in order to make better decisions and improve team and player performance, Mike's example of the store manager incorporates those same concepts. If store leadership had a better understanding of how the best store managers actually, physically moved around the store, and where and how they chose their interactions, who they collaborated with, (the retail store version of sharing the ball in the NBA), they might be able to copy, or at least take the repeatable and transferable elements of successful manager interaction and movements to other, less successful stores and managers. With modern wearable technologies to track movements, record interactions, and supplemented by internal GPS or iBeacon tech, there is almost no reason why a large retail operation could not develop 'manager movement' maps similar to the one you see above from the NBA game. 

Sure, the 'manager' map would move a little slower, and may not be as compelling a view, but the insights it could give to improve manager performance, (and then increase employee engagement, which is the context we were discussing on the Happy Hour Show), is I think quite attainable. 

Already retail operations are experimenting with tracking technologies that locate, identify, and then target shoppers with custom ads and offers based on where they are in the store, their past shopping history, and what the retailer thinks will help convert a sale. I can definitely see a time when similar technology is brought to the HR technology stack, and instead of pinging a customer to a sale in Aisle 7, that due to some signals about low stock on the shelves in a certain department, it will then alert a front-line manager to spend some additional time with the employees on the receiving dock.

It's cool, it is powerful, and I think it is coming...

Have a great weekend!

LIVE Tonight - #HRHappyHour Show 200 - The Final Conversation on Employee Engagement?

HR Happy Hour #200 - Celebrating the Final Conversation on Employee Engagement

Broadcast LIVE - Thursday January 22, 2015 - 8:00PM EST

Listen LIVE (and after the show to the replay) on the show page here, or using the widget player embedded below

Hosts : Steve Boese, Trish McFarlane

Guest: Paul Hebert

Call in 646-378-1086 to be a part of the show

Check Out Business Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Steve Boese Trish McFarlane on BlogTalkRadio

For the celebratory 200th Episode of the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve and Trish will broadcast LIVE just like in the old school HR Happy Hour Show days, this Thursday at 8:00PM ET.

Long time friend of the show and frequent guest Paul Hebert will be along for the ride as we talk employee engagement, hopefully for the last time ever on the show. We have beaten this subject TO DEATH and still we are no closer to 'solving' engagement, or even deciding if it can be solved.

So this week on the show we will beat the topic around one last time, see if there really is a solution to engagement, and maybe and finally move on to more interesting subjects. Like robots. And the Internet of Things. And basketball.

Additionally, we will have some fun looking back at the history of the HR Happy Hour and have some laughs at Steve's expense.

This will be a really fun show, especially since we will be back LIVE this Thursday at 8:00PM ET.

Hope you can join us and jump in to the conversation on the Twitter backchannel - use hashtag #HRHappyHour to join the fun.

PODCAST - #HRHappyHour 198 - What HR Will Be Talking About in 2015

HR Happy Hour 198 - What HR Will Be Talking About in 2015 (and some things HR needs to stop talking about)

Recorded Thursday January 8, 2015

Hosts: Trish McFarlane, Steve Boese

Listen HERE

For the first HR Happy Hour Show of 2015, Trish and Steve dug into some of the topics that HR leaders and pros will be talking about in 2015, and hit a few topics that (Steve especially) thinks HR needs to let go of this year.

Loosely based on a post Steve led off the year with, (and that can be found here), Trish and Steve talked about some of the big 2015 topics in HR - predictive analytics, retention, talent having the upper hand, and HR as marketing. We also hit some of the the things that maybe HR needs to step back from, whether from overuse, lack of success, or simple silliness. And let's just say your humble hosts didn't agree 100% on all of these ideas.

Additionally, Steve was SHOCKED to find out the actual HR people spend at least part of their Sunday mornings having discussions and debates about HR issues on Facebook, Steve made a case for wearing the same outfit to work every day (Trish strongly disagreed), Steve was unable to pronouce the word 'ephemeral', and your hosts had to work around an unexpected middle of the show interruption by some garage door installers (sorry, the little glitch hits at about the 18 minute mark, we did our best to smooth it out in the editing room).

This was a really fun and hopefully thought-provoking show and we hope you check it out.

Listen to the show here, or using the widget player below (Email and RSS subscribers click through)

Check Out Business Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Steve Boese Trish McFarlane on BlogTalkRadio

As always, you can listen to the current and all the past shows from the archive on the show page here, on our HR Happy Hour website, and by subscribing to the show in podcast form on iTunes, or for Android devices using Stitcher Radio (or your favorite podcast app). Just search the iTunes store or your podcast app for 'HR Happy Hour' to add the show to your subscriptions.

Happy 2015 from the HR Happy Hour!

What HR will be talking about most in 2015, (and what we need to stop talking about)

My completely unscientific, biased, personal, and guaranteed to be 100% accurate take on what HR, work, and workplace technology topics we will be spending endless cycles dissecting and analyzing in 2015, followed by a short list of topics that we have, have, have to stop it already with lamenting.

These 'hot' topics were complied from a scientific review of all the stuff I saved, tweeted, bookmarked, or emailed to myself over the holiday break, because since I read everything, that is the only research that is really needed. Also, and as an aside, I still email myself stuff all the time and every time I do that I feel like a noob. Oh well, here goes...Mark Rothko, Rust and Blue, 1953

What HR will be talking about most in 2015:

Predictive Analytics - Amazingly in three short years we have moved from talking about Big Data, to talking about analytics, and in 2015 we have arrived at even better analytics - the 'predictive' kinds. This is despite having (mostly) not all that much to show for all the focus on Big Data and regular analytics. But in 2015, expect to see HR tech companies espouse the power of their solutions ability to use data to 'predict' which employees will quit, which ones will perform well, which ones most likely to steal your Chobani from the break room fridge. 

Retention - 2015 is going a be a fantastic year for some folks in the talent game as churn (and therefore recruiting) activity ramps up even more. More organizations are growing than are shrinking, more talented employees are ready to move, the 'quit' rate is climbing, and the best, most in-demand talent is completely in charge. Keeping your best, most difficult to replace people happy is going to be job #1 for HR in 2015. 

Branding/Marketing/Attraction - In other words the hard job of 'selling' the company and its opportunities to talent that has the power. In 2015 this conversation is going to have to start expanding beyond just the external candidate facing aspect, and become much more of a complete, strategic priority. Marketers always remind us that it is much less expensive to keep, renew, and occasionally upsell existing customers than it is to try and find brand new customers. The same type of logic I think applies to people in the organization as well. It is easier, cheaper, and probably a better long-term play to keep working, investing, developing, and yes marketing to the existing employees than to always be on the hunt for external talent.

What HR needs to stop talking about in 2015:

'Social' HR - If you are someone, in 2015, who is still trying to get more HR folks engaged on social media I beg you to let that go. Twitter has been a thing, and a popular, well-known thing, for YEARS. If someone has not been able on their own to figure out if there is some value there for them by now THEY NEVER WILL. Lots of folks, possibly even me too, had some fun, got to travel to events, and got to pretend we were somehow cool or smart because we had a bunch of followers. That was fun. In 2010. In 2015 it is kind of sad. Please let this one go.

Candidate Experience - I think treating candidates respectfully, professionally, and communicating the status of any of their applications in a timely manner is important, and basic. Everyone should do this. I think spending any more time on 'experience' beyond ensuring those elements are in place is likely a less than optimal use of any organization's time and resources. If you have ALL your other internal talent management challenges in order, then sure, focus more effort on candidate experience. Then again, if you did have all of your other talent management challenges in order it is pretty likely you provide a perfectly satisfactory candidate experience as well.

Employee Engagement - Only 30% of employees are 'engaged'. That has become an immutable truth of work and workplaces. It is right alongside 'Average annual salary increases will be 3% this year' as the most expected headline of the year in HR. And so maybe it is time to just accept it. Lots of people are not 'engaged' and probably will never be no matter what. Quit worrying about it. Worry about if they show up, they get their jobs done, they don't leak the company intranet to the North Koreans, and they don't microwave leftover fish in the lunch room. We (collectively) have spent ages of time, effort, and energy trying to 'fix' engagement and we have (so far) failed. Maybe it's time to take a year off.

Ok, I am out. What say you? Am I close on this? Off the mark? 

Have a great week and a fantastic 2015!