The Wharton People Analytics conference leverages the power
of data and analytics to help people and organizations thrive. HRComputes’
Kristina Kohl, Managing Principal, is honored to have attended the conference
serving on an esteemed panel of judges for the Wharton People Analytics Conference
2019 Startup Competition.
Over 30 startups working in the field of people
analytics submitted pitch decks to the competition. The panel had the pleasure
of providing feedback and recommending a winner from the 5 finalists using the
following metrics:
·
Innovation
·
Impact
·
Scientific rigor and use of data
·
Presentation
·
Investment Decision
The
finalists were:
Name
|
Website
|
Innovation
|
Atipica
|
www.atipicainc.com
|
Inclusive
AI Platform for the Talent Cycle to Track and Measure DI&E Hiring Goals
|
OrganizationView
|
www.organizationview.com
|
Text
Insights and Information
|
OrgMapper
|
www.org.mapper.com
|
Leveraging
Networks to Improve Outcomes
|
PayAnalytics
|
www.payanalytics.com
|
Prescriptive
Recommendations to Close the Gender Pay Gap
|
Worklytics
|
www.worklytics.co
|
Data-driven
Employee Experience
|
The range of data driven solutions was expansive ranging
from employee engagement to gender equality. The winner was Margret
Bjarnadottir, Founder, PayAnalytics. For more details visit https://wpa.wharton.upenn.edu/2019-conference-competitions/
The world of human capital management is rapidly changing
as people are recognized as an organizations most valuable asset. Attracting,
engaging and retaining employees is now top of mind for most executives but the
feedback tools such as surveys provide limited insight into what is driving
employee engagement. No one is more aware of this issue than knowledge-based
firms such as Microsoft and Google. As a result, they have developed their own
solutions such as Microsoft’s Workplace Analytics https://products.office.com/en-us/business/workplace-analytics?ms.officeurl=workplaceanalytics&rtc=1
that analyses employees’ calendars and email data to
identify how employee resources are used on projects, in meetings, after hours,
etc. One use case revealed a large manufacturing organization that was spending
300,000 employee hours and $30 million a year on a recurring executive
briefing.
Stephanie Tignor, People Scientist and Analytics Lead at
Humu,
https://humu.com/
discussed the importance of behavior change. When
employees are asked about engagement 70% of the difference between an engaged
and disengaged employee relates directly to the manager. We have all been
talking about the importance of ongoing meaningful conversations and regular
meetings between managers and employees, but execution remains a challenge.
Through digital tools, managers are better able to execute human management.
Humu tool uses a digital “nudge” sending a reminder to managers that includes a
schedule invite for setting up a meeting with employees. This approach
significantly increases the occurrence of meaningful manager and employee
meetings and conversations.
While the conference clearly highlights the advances that
we are making in data science in the area of people analytics, it is also clear
that these tools are not a replacement for human interactions but rather a tool
to help managers in their employee interactions.
It was an honor the be included on the judging panel
where I learned a great deal from my fellow judges as well as from the program
participants. Based on my experience in human capital technology and
organizational transformation, I was able to contribute real world perspective
and an independent perspective. It was a fantastic experience to learn about
cutting edge people analytics technology and the significant impact it is
having on challenging human capital issues such as diversity, inclusion, equity
and engagement.
