1

DEVELOPING
A DATA-DRIVEN
MINDSET
FOR HR
 S U M
CONTRIBUTORS 2
What’s Andrew Mountney
in this guide Andy is a Founding Partner at Aspen In-House,
and he has been working in the recruitment
p. 3 industry since 2004. You can find his latest
LinkedIn articles here.

Barry Trefftzs
Barry is a Senior Recruiter and Talent

M A
Acquisition Advisor. You can find his latest
How LinkedIn articles here.
Why data
to ‘think’
matters
data
p. 4 - 8
p. 9 - 11

R
Communi-
Where to start The tools cating data
you’ll need results
p. 12 - 18
p. 19 - 21
p. 22 - 23

Y
Developing a
data-drivan
mindset – key
takeaways

p. 24 - 25
 3

what’s in this guide

This eBook is going to help you ‘think’ data. Rather than relying
on gut feeling and intuition, you’ll learn how to get comfortable
with numbers - and you’ll figure how to do it by uncovering the
answers to three key questions:

|| How do I adjust my mindset so that I start using data to

prove or disprove the things I’m doing?
|| What are the key data points I need to consider?
|| What tools do I need to get started?
01
4

WHY
DATA
MATTERS?
 5

why data matters?

Perhaps you entered the HR profession because you like working improve every aspect of your role as a HR professional. It will
with people, first and foremost. If so, the idea of adopting a data- see you putting an end to saying phrases such as “I think”
driven mindset might be the last thing you want to do. or “I believe”, replacing them with “data suggests that” or “the
figures support”.
The good news is that your people skills are still
just as valuable as they ever were. However, the Ultimately, it’s about Ultimately, it’s about moving away from intuition
bad news is that HR professionals cannot continue moving away from and emotion, and towards becoming tactical and
to ignore data and rely on gut feeling and intuition intuition and emotion, strategic by using data to inform, support and
alone. Instead, you’ll need to shift your mindset ever and towards becoming enhance your assertions to drive business results.
so slightly, getting comfortable embracing numbers tactical and strategic After all - what better way is there to ensure your
and data and learning how to use it to your best by using data voice is heard around the board room?
advantage. You’ll be able to use data to prove or
disprove the work you’re doing, combining it with your invaluable
skill and concern for people to do the best job you possibly can.

But beware – this shift in attitude is not just about ‘metrics’.

Instead it’s going to require adopting an approach where you’re
continually referring to and being informed by data to significantly
 6

DATA MATTERS
why data matters? BECAUSE
IT CAN:

01 Why now?
|| be used in workforce planning, operational
improvement and talent management
Data or ‘evidence-based’ decisions are fast becoming the foun-
|| provide a deeper understanding of issues
dation of all HR functions, and that’s because they are the most
and produce evidence-based actions to follow
reliable way to ensure you’re making a positive impact on the
|| provide predictive analytics to pre-empt
business. Rather than aligning HR functions with corporate goals,
and influence the course of an organisation’s future
using data ensures that HR departments are the ones responsible
for shaping corporate goals. It moves you away from reacting to || provide valuable insight into employees’ behaviour,
business decisions and towards driving them instead - an attractive education, gender, age, performance markers
draw towards developing a data-driven mindset. and personality traits
|| be used to reduce bias in recruiting
As PwC highlights in its 2017 Human Resources Technology Survey, || highlight ways to improve efficiency and productivity
“Your workforce is your single largest annual investment. For most in the business by identifying when employees
companies, it accounts for more than 30% of revenue (recruitment, are most energetic and productive, and where
wage,...). So regularly reviewing people data, like hidden labour ‘downtime’ and wellness requires further investment.
costs and turnover trends, can bring to light issues that have held
back your business, or opportunities where your people could work
more effectively”.1
1. https://www.pwc.at/de/publikationen/verschiedenes/pwc-hr-technology-survey.pdf

why data matters?
However, according to recent research conducted by Deloitte, only
8% of companies have usable data, and only 9% feel they have a
good understanding of which talent dimensions drive performance
in their organisations.2 As a result, it’s clear that while adopting a
data-driven mindset is important, few companies feel they’re doing
a good job of it.
02 The Benefits of Using Data
in the Real World
Nonetheless, there are a handful of companies who have grappled
with data and have found that adopting a data-driven mindset
has been useful:
|| Talent acquisition - Hulu
Hulu’s biggest data ‘win’ has happened in relation to talent
acquisition. Speaking to Spencer Stuart, Jim O’Gorman
2. https://www2.deloitte.com/insights/us/en/focus/human-capital-trends/2017/people-analytics-in-hr.html
7
(senior Vice President of Talent and Organisation)
explained: “Through data we were able to challenge long-
held recruitment paradigms for sources of high-perfor-
ming tech talent. We used data to illustrate that certain
pedigreed universities we had historically been hiring from
were not consistently delivering the right type of employee
for us. The data helped us determine the right universities
to partner with.”3
|| Customer service - Ubereats
UberEat’s operations team collects data on the time taken
between the moment an order is placed and when the food
is subsequently picked up. It also monitors travel time to
a restaurant, travel time to a customer, time spent with a
customer, the number of late orders and the number of
unassigned orders. While Uber’s demands on its workers
is creating controversy,4 its data-driven mindset certainly
provides the opportunity to improve customer service.
3. https://www.spencerstuart.com/leadership-matters/2017/november/five-ways-human-resources-can-
maximize-the-data-and-analytics-opportunity
4. https://www.ft.com/content/88fdc58e-754f-11e6-b60a-de4532d5ea35

why data matters?
|| Interview process - Google
Google has used data to identify the fact that the com-
pany learns very little about a candidate after the fourth
interview, refining the hiring process to ensure that time
and resources aren’t wasted. “Based on their statistical
analysis, the team found that four interviews were enough
to predict whether someone should be hired at Google with
86% confidence” reports reWork. “After the fourth inter-
viewer, the increase in accuracy dropped off dramatically
— with each additional interview, the accuracy of the mean
interview score’s ability to predict a hire/no hire decision
increased less than one percent”.5
|| Fraud prevention - Starling Trust
Deloitte’s ‘HR Technology Disruptions for 2017’ white
paper highlights that organisations are increasingly tur-
ning to data not just to assess past and present behaviour,
but to predict events that are likely to occur in the future.
“Starling Trust… can analyse patterns of email and other
5. https://rework.withgoogle.com/blog/google-rule-of-four/
8
communication to build ‘trust networks’,” says Deloitte.
“[This] can actually predict where a security leak or fraud
is likely to occur.”6 Such data might include information
regarding employees’ backgrounds, personality types and
hiring issues, using multiple data points to calculate and
ultimately reduce risk.
|| Retention - Lionsgate
Data is also being used to highlight ways to improve pro-
cesses within organisations. Lionsgate, for example, has
used data to initiate a move away from annual perfor-
mance reviews to quarterly conversations with employees.
“HR business partners work with business units to ensure
these conversations happen,” Ross Pollack (Executive
Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer) told
Spencer Stuart. “When they don’t, the data shows that there
is higher turnover and lower engagement scores. When
they do, these statistics improve.”7
6. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/human-capital/us-hc-disruptions.pdf
7. https://www.spencerstuart.com/leadership-matters/2017/november/five-ways-human-resources-can-
maximize-the-data-and-analytics-opportunity
02
9

HOW TO
“THINK”
DATA

how to “think” data
As you can see, there are many advantages to using data in your
role as an HR professional. But how do you become comfortable
speaking the ‘language’ of business (numbers, figures, pounds,
euros and dollars)? How can you learn to ‘think’ data if you haven’t
previously done so?
01 Start with a hypothesis or question
This is much better than wading through huge volumes of data
and hoping for an insight to jump off the screen. Andy Mountney
(a recruitment specialist with more than a decade of experience)
added: “Take the time to look at one stream of data that could give
you better insight in your role. Look at it over a period of time and
make notes. Then most importantly, find someone else in your
organisation who uses data regularly. [This person] ... does not
have to be from HR unless the data is sensitive. Sit with them,
ask for their interpretation and what they look for, and consider
10
how similar or different it is to your own view. You can evolve
from there.”
02 Think like a lawyer
Developing a data-driven mindset means getting into the habit of
using evidence to support the decisions you’re making. Challenge
yourself to back-up your intuition, feelings, beliefs and experi-
ences with figures of some sort: a lawyer wouldn’t argue without
a statute or piece of case law to support his/her point, and that’s
precisely the kind of attitude you need to adopt too. What evi-
dence do you have that is relevant to the issue at hand?
Siobhan Sheridan (Director of People at NSPCC) emphasised this
point in her conversation with HR Magazine.8 “What this means for
me is critically appraising why we think an approach, or a practice
is the right thing for a particular organisation. What is the evidence
8. http://msgfocus.com/files/amf_mark_allen_group/workspace_9/Evidence-Based_HR_Supplement_
May17.pdf
 11

how to “think” data

that this is a solution to a problem or a way to reach an outcome?

What is the evidence that outcome is actually desirable and how 04 Check your perspective

will it contribute to this organisation? What is the evidence that the

proposed approach actually works? These are questions that my If you’re concerned about drowning in data or losing too much
team constantly ask each other.” precious time to spreadsheets, Barry Trefftzs (Senior Recruiter
and Talent Acquisition Advisor for Orion Novotus) suggests that
you simply remember to ask yourself ‘Am I getting my job done?’.

03 Challenge your assumptions

“Too many times, people want presentation and numbers. But they
don’t add any value to what you’re doing,” he observed. “Make sure
“Selecting the best evidence means challenging our own assumptions the metrics and numbers are adding value - and not just trying to
and looking at other forms of information, like scientific research, appease someone.”
organisational or stakeholder data, as well as experiential evidence,”
according to Mark Hendy, in an interview with HR Magazine.9 He
added: “To become a better evidence-based practitioner, I invest more
time in task preparation. I use that extra time looking to obtain as
much information as I can before making a decision.”

9. http://msgfocus.com/files/amf_mark_allen_group/workspace_9/Evidence-Based_HR_Supplement_
May17.pdf
03
12

WHERE
TO START
IN YOUR
ORGANISATION?

where to start
in your organisation
Now that you have some idea of how to develop a data-driven
mindset, here are some actionable tips for implementing this evi-
dence-based approach in your organisation.
01 Start at the top
It’s essential that CEOs, senior executives and other members of
‘upper management’ have bought into the data-driven mindset
for HR. It will mean they need to be in favour of abandoning old
processes and structures in favour of giving HR a stronger voice
via the insight data provides. Those at the top might feel that a
new approach is disruptive, but if you’re able to communicate
how it can help them to do their jobs, you might just find that they
become key players in driving the change.
Do this by making a business case that presents evidence that a
data-driven approach to HR works. Identify each key player that
13
you need to persuade and anticipate what’s important to them;
what value can you demonstrate, articulate and forecast?
However, while executive support is helpful, you can still go about
being data driven without the backing of upper management. In
fact, you may need to start collecting data and then present your
findings to management in order to get the support and resources
you need to continue the great work you’re doing.
02 Take small steps
Developing a data-driven mindset is going to require lots of
technical resources, time and tasks that previously haven’t been
accounted for, so suggest starting with a small project. Choose
one that’s closely tied to a key initiative and is relatively straight-
forward to achieve, and then aim to show clear results using data.

where to start
in your organisation
Choose something that’s easy to take on as a first project, affor-
dable to manage, and has impact; perhaps you could focus on
improving turnover of hires in their first two years with the com-
pany, for example. Once you can prove that HR delivers data-evi-
denced results, you can establish the case for new processes
and more resources.
03 Identify key data sets to consider
Once you’ve tested the water with a small project, turn your atten-
tion to other key data sets you’d like to tackle. These might relate to:
|| Retention: go deeper than annual turnover percentages -
use data to drill down into ‘why’, and identify at-risk teams
and individuals.
14
|| Career trajectory: can you predict the most successful
path for an individual so you can retain them for longer?
Can your data identify potential leaders, executives and
directors?
|| Optimisation: use data to determine the features of the
working environment that are impacting innovation, col-
laboration and productivity. For example, data could deter-
mine demand-based rostering, predictive data could avoid
over-staffing, and data analysis of historical trends such
as customer behaviour and seasonal factors can ensure
the business is running optimally for best outcomes.
|| Compensation: which types of benefits (and to what
amount) have the highest measurable impact?
 15

where to start
in your organisation

|| Employee experience: what data can you obtain on key

experience drivers such as the physical working environ- 04 Put training in place

ment, culture, and technology? In what ways can you use

the data to improve employee experience in 2018?10
While identifying key data sets, take the time to understand
the business goals of your organisation. This will give you a
clearer understanding of how data can serve the organisation.
Ron Thomas (Director of Talent and Human Resources Solution
at Buck Consultants) said: “Before [HR professionals] collect a
bunch of data they need to know what the company is trying to
do -- most know, but some don’t. If they know the goals, their job
Self-education is the key to developing a data-driven mindset, as
for all but the lucky few who are already data-literate, learning is
essential. You’ll need good quality training if you’re going to be
able to use data to its full of advantage, so make a business case
for your organisation investing in these new and necessary skills.
05 Grow your team

is to assemble the information that will help the company make

decisions.”11
10. http://www.wethetalent.co/experience-at-work/ebook-employee-experience/
11. http://searchhrsoftware.techtarget.com/feature/Ready-or-not-here-comes-HR-analytics
Next time you’re hiring for a HR position, consider looking for
candidates with experience beyond traditional HR functions. For
example, you might want to hire statisticians and other specia-
list-data professionals to work alongside existing members of
your HR department, making the most of their skill and expertise

where to start
in your organisation
in data and strategy to strengthen your team’s skill set as a whole.
You’ll find these candidates in various professions including
finance and technology and, when considering which candidates
to interview, PwC suggests12 considering:
|| Which services should the group provide and how do
these services add value beyond the reporting and analy-
tics efforts already underway (within and outside of HR)?
|| What types of competencies and skills are needed?
|| Where should the function sit within the organisation?
|| Who should lead the effort?
|| How much investment is enough?
06 Address your technical
infracstructure
Drawing insight from data requires collaboration across multiple
departments. As you’ll no doubt find, each department is likely
12. https://www.pwc.at/de/publikationen/verschiedenes/pwc-hr-technology-survey.pdf
16
to have a slightly different method of collecting, storing and using
data as there’s no guarantee that marketing, customer support,
business development and HR are all engaging with data in the
same way. You’ll therefore need processes that see everyone wor-
king in collaboration, which might mean addressing your technical
infrastructure and ensuring you have the tools you need to collect,
store and analyse data.
Consider appointing an individual who can investigate and ‘trans-
late’ the ways in which each department is engaging with data,
bridging the gap and getting everyone working collaboratively
where appropriate.
 17

where to start
in your organisation

6 MISTAKES TO AVOID

While it can be helpful to familiarise yourself with best practices, it can be equally useful to have a certain amount of warning about challenges
that could pose a problem. Here are examples of the most common mistakes to be aware of:

NOT AUDITING YOUR EXISTING DATA: You’ll
need to work with data that’s well-maintained, com-
prehensive and accurate. How can you count on it
otherwise?
NOT TACKLING DATA SILOS: Some silos are
inevitable (existing due to the regulatory or privacy
restrictions), but others will exist because of tech-
nological limitations, or issues relating to cultural
barriers within the organisation. See if you can over-
come these barriers so that data can be shared across as many
functions and business units as possible.
LETTING DATA REINFORCE BIAS: Your data
might show that your company has been successful
with a team of directors that are white and middle
aged, therefore implying that you should continue like
this. But beware of this kind of mistake; you should be
looking at this kind of data in the context of other critical factors
such as diversity and inclusivity, working with the human element
of talent acquisition to review data in its proper context.
 18

where to start
in your organisation

CHERRY PICKING DATA: Try to be aware of your able to demonstrate a legitimate interest for having and using
motivations: cherry picking data or badly inferring their data. You must comply with these regulations in the course
causal relationships will mean you arrive at an inap- of collecting, storing and using data if that data relates to EU
propriate conclusion. If in doubt, have someone citizens, regardless of your organisation’s geographical location.
look over the data without telling them what you’re
‘hoping’ or expecting to see: they might be able to steer you back
on course if you’ve veered off without realising. F O C U S I N G S O L E LY O N T H E PA S T A N D
PRESENT: There’s no doubt that data will tell you
NOT COMPLYING WITH DATA PRIVACY AND lots about the current state of affairs in your orga-
REGULATIONS: 2018 will see the new GDPR nisation, as well as what’s happened previously. But
(General Data Protection Regulations) coming into once you’re more comfortable with a data-driven mind-
force. As Talentsof’s ‘Data Privacy - A Practical set, don’t stay in your comfort zone. Instead, delve into the world
Guide to the No.1 Topic in HR & IT’ eBook13 explores, of predictive analytics to see if you can leverage data to stay ahead
you can think of the GDPR as being a ramped-up version of exis- of the curve. You can use it for workforce planning, predicting the
ting regulations, creating higher standards for data processing. quality of hires and various other functions to add value across
the business.
People will now have to actively opt-in and give you permission
to store, process, use and share their data, or you’ll have to be

13. http://www.wethetalent.co/data-robots-ia/ebook-data-privacy-a-practical-guide-to-the-1-topic-in-hr-it/
04
19

THE TOOLS
YOU’LL
NEED

the tools you’ll need
All this advice is only useful if you have the technical infrastructure
to implement it. Here are the kinds of tools you’ll need if you want
to adopt a data-driven mindset to HR:
|| Talentsoft Analytics
It would be remiss of us not to recommend our own tool
first if you want to build your confidence with handling data.
Talentsoft Analytics provides you with a complete overview
of your workforce, consolidating all the data in one place.
You can apply filters by category for in-depth analysis, and
use the pre-packaged indicators to see in-depth context
insights and lead to easier decision making. Best of all, it’s
cloud-based, user friendly and you don’t need to be a data
scientist to use it.
Try a free trial here.
20
|| Applicant Tracking Software (ATS)
Not only will a reliable ATS make it easy to keep a handle on
where your best candidates are in the recruitment process,
but it will provide you with useful data to continually improve
the way you hire, onboard and retain workers.
|| Survey platforms
Survey platforms will provide you with the kind of insight
you need to monitor employee experience and identify areas
for improvement. There are numerous survey tools available
(many of which have free versions with useful features) to
ascertain how workers are really feeling by exporting and
analysing the data you gather.
 21

the tools you’ll need

|| Training modules
Getting comfortable with data means learning how to ana-
lyse the wall of numbers you’re presented with, and that’s
only possible if you’re willing to commit to educating your-
self. Invest in e-learning (online learning) modules if you’d
like a sound grasp of the basics and intermediate levels of
training, working at your own pace and applying key lear-
ning points to the data you have to have. Then see if your
organisation is willing to invest in some face-to-face training,
and don’t forget that vendors of the tools you’re using will
often be happy to train you, too. After all, they’d rather you
learnt how to use their products to full effect than switch to
a competitor.
05
22

COMMUNICATE
DATA
RESULTS

communicate data results
Now that you know how to ‘think’ data and have a better awar-
eness of the tools you’ll need to stay on track, it’s critical you
know how to communicate data results in a way that leaders can
understand. It’s also important you’re able to identify the right
kind of data to share.
For example, you might be tempted to talk about the number
of hours of training employees have received, but wouldn’t it
be better if you could demonstrate that stronger investment in
training has increased productivity by 23%, correlating to a 6%
increase in revenue? You could even take it a step further, using
this data to forecast the budget required to provide more of this
kind of training.
You can do this by doing what HR professionals do best - flexing
your empathy ‘muscles’. Use what you’ve learnt in your expe-
rience of adopting a data-driven mindset to anticipate what your
colleagues need to hear in order to take your findings seriously.
23
Consider:
|| How familiar with data is the person you’re talking to?
|| What level of data analysis do they need to see, and what
will they be interested in knowing about specifically?
|| What data is most relevant to their targets or
responsibilities?
|| What do they need to know from you in order to commu-
nicate important messages to their teams and managers?
|| How can you translate your results into real world exa-
mples they’ll be familiar with? For example, what does a
reduced attrition rate mean for them on a day-to-day level,
as well as the business’s annual goals?
Ultimately, communicating data results must be done in the
context of one or more business activities - it’s the application
of data to the way your business operates that demonstrates its
true value.
06
24

DEVELOPING
A DATA-DRIVEN
FOR HR –
KEY TAKEAWAYS

key takeaways
Developing a data-driven mindset for HR is not about moving
away from the ‘people’ element of HR. Instead, it’s about adjusting
your attitude so that you’re using data to strengthen your position
as someone who influences the direction of the business, rather
than responding to it. Here are the key points to remember:
|| Identify the goals that are relevant to your business - what
data do you need to look at? You’ll need a solid understan-
ding of the business’s objectives if you’re going to align
your data collection and analysis with it.
|| Get senior members of the organisation on board; they’ll
need to be clear about your role and what data can offer
the business.
|| Start with a small project if you’re new to working with data.
|| Consider how you’re going to develop your skills and com-
petencies to be a data-driven HR professional. You’ll need
to broaden your skills, work across functions and conti-
nually challenge yourself to support your ‘gut feelings’ with
data-based evidence.
25
|| Grow your HR team with individuals who have experience
in data handling and analysis.
|| Avoid common mistakes - audit your existing data,
be aware of data silos, be cautious of bias or ‘cherry
picking’, review data in context, and comply with privacy
regulations.
|| Invest in tools that will make it easier for you to adopt a
data-driven mindset.
|| Consider how you’re going to communicate the results
of your data to the wider business - what do they need
to know, and what business operation can you tie your
analysis to in order to demonstrate value?
 26

ABOUT
TALENTSOFT
LOOKING FOR ANALYTICS SOFTWARE THAT’S EASY TO USE?
TALENTSOFT ANALYTICS ALLOWS YOU TO EDIT
AND EXPLORE DATA WITHOUT ADVANCED IT SKILLS.

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• enables you to build measurable action plans that are
aligned to your organisation’s goals
• helps you to create reports, graphs and personalised shared
(and private) dashboards
• guarantees the reliability of your data thanks to integrated
data quality checks
• integrates analytics across all HR processes.

Talentsoft is the European leader in cloud-based talent manage-

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manage recruitment, training, performance, competencies,
careers and compensation.

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