Analytics allows HR to speak the language of business

A world away from “personnel and paydays,” today’s CHRO is a conductor of People and Productivity. If anything, HR chiefs lose sleep over the same questions that vex the rest of the C-Suite.  What is the real cost of a departing employee? Will video interviews get me to hire faster? How do I keep our training from getting boring? When can I start building my own analytics team? How soon before Alexa and Siri start fielding requests like this — Read my resume. Tell me where I can get a job.

“Analytics allows HR to speak the language of business.”  

The CHRO Exchange (May 17-19, 2017) was kicked off by Mark Gonzales, of employee engagement consultancy Perceptyx,  who clearly relished his role as the MC of CHRO 2017 — asking thought-provoking questions of his panelists.  But the content really got rolling up with Kristin Oliver, drawing on her tenure at WalMart and her current experience heading HR operations at Chico’s FAS, to explain how People Analytics has been a game-changer for HR, building a business intelligence case for its central relevance to workforce planning.

“Work is not a place you go. It’s what you do.”

Next up, InaMarie Johnson of Plantronics entranced us with a vision of the workplace of the future — which happens to be her company’s own high-tech HQ in SoCal.  It’s a place where always-on digital platforms allow employees in the US, Mexico and Europe to communicate seamlessly across offices and time zones.  Quite soon, her own team of engineers will roll out the company’s latest tech, using biophilic sound engineering  to cure the problem of the modern, open-air office — always overhearing other people.

“Find good people. Then create the role.”

There’s not enough room here to discuss all other highlights. But here they are in no particular order. 

• Tushar Pandit, of CDK Global, (modern mobile automotive dealer marketing) showcasing what a company that deploys modern HR Tech at every step and turn, actually functions like.
• Ivelices Thomas, of GardaWorld, clueing in us on the reality of hiring armored truck drivers, who deal with more potential workplace dangers in a day than us desk jockeys will see in years.
• Robert Mellwig, of Two Roads Hospitality — whose actual job title is Senior Vice President - Really Cool People — explained how he deals with workforce training in a scenario where many of his frontline workers do not even have cell phones.
• Tim Shriver, from IBM Watson, detailing how the company’s pathbreaking Artificial Intelligence chatbot can analyze thousands of resumes and fire off hundreds of text responses to applicants in less  time than it takes most of us to read an applicant email.

And oh yeah. After a long day of HR learning, here’s how many of us unwound at the PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Springs — Munching on fish tacos in front of a sleek firepit, perched above the resort’s generously-sized pool. Ah, Florida. 

The CHRO Exchange is the industry's leading event for SVPs and Chief Human Resources Officers in the U.S. Find out more about upcoming events here.