By Cara Capretta & Bertrand Dussert
It’s not news: Social media usage worldwide has grown at a dizzying pace. Smart CHROs know that the social media phenomenon is not a trend that organizations other than their own have to contend with—it’s an essential business reality that permeates the entire business. How is it, then, that in a recent Argyle survey of top HR executives, 62 percent say they are not using social and collaboration software at work?
The same survey found that while 91 percent use technology to track applicants and recruiting, only 36 percent have an established technology system in place for HR analytics. Yet, the explosion of data across all dimensions of life and work presents a key opportunity to create a sustainable competitive advantage. Why aren’t more HR executives taking advantage of that opportunity?
Social Is HR’s Business
Social recruitment is a good place to start for CHROs looking to leverage social media to affect the bottom line. Companies that use social media as part of their recruitment efforts typically see decreased time to hire and decreased onboarding time needed to reach productivity. But that’s not the only area where social can play a role in HR processes—collaboration and social “listening” are also important.
According to CEB Research presented at Oracle HCM World, the modern enterprise is increasingly dependent on collaboration within and amongst groups and geographies to deliver value. Based on CEB’s High Performance Survey (n=23,339), 60 percent of respondents reported 10 or more people involved in day-to-day work, and half of these reported 20 or more. Additionally, 57 percent of respondents reported collaborating with people outside of their department or function, and 63 percent reported collaborating across different locations. Roughly two-thirds of respondents also reported collaborating with different job levels and teams.
These developments support a role for HR in architecting the future of how work gets done. But CHROs can take a lesson from their peers who have been on the front line of social media adoption. For example, executives in marketing and customer experience use social media for sentiment analysis, directing customer feedback into the departments that need it most. Top CHROs apply the same processes to the workforce, sampling workforce sentiment via internal and external social networks, to understand what helps employees succeed—and what holds them back.
Data-Driven HR: Beyond Reporting to Analytics
Although people often use the terms interchangeably, reporting is not the same as analytics. Reporting helps us to see what is happening in the business, while analytics help us understand why it is happening so that we can come up with actionable insights, recommendations, strategy, and next steps.
CHROs clearly understand that they need metrics. The problem isn’t understanding that data is important—it’s in being able to ask the right questions to move the business forward. A look in the rear view mirror to see where we’ve been (how many high performers did we lose last quarter, for example) is not where CHROs need to focus attention; rather, they need predictive capabilities that help them create true competitive advantage.
For example, the technology exists today to predict turnover and performance in any number of scenarios or contemplated organizational changes. Factors like time in role, past two ratings of an employee’s manager, compensation trajectory, and absenteeism patterns can all have predictive value when combined and modeled in the right way. Any modern core HR system should be able to handle these use cases, and deliver data-driven insights to support a range of human capital decisions on the fly.
Coming Up to Speed—Quickly
As we speak with top HR executives around the globe, it’s become evident that social and analytics are pressing priorities—yet are often the areas lagging behind in an organization’s HR transformation. That’s why we created an exclusive invitational series for CHROs to hear from experts in each area.
Why Social Is HR’s Business (DC, Chicago, LA):
- Overview of what the latest brain research says about why our brains are made for connecting, not only for thinking, along with everyday applications for our social capabilities –Matthew Lieberman, UCLA
- Overview of “Give and Take” research that explains how humans have three different collaboration profiles: givers, takers, and reciprocators, and how that plays out into learning, collaboration, and productivity –Adam Grant, Wharton
- Overview of new CEB research on performance that tells us the highest performing individuals in organizations are “networked performers,” meaning they use their networks to achieve results and increase productivity
- Keynote from the #1 social influencer in the world, Chris Brogan, on what HR executives should know about social media
Why HR Should Hire “Scary” Data People (Dallas and NYC):
- How the continued relentless march of technology and innovation is going to change the world of work in the next 5 to 10 years
- How the explosion in data across all dimensions of life and work present a key opportunity to create a sustainable competitive advantage
- The latest on the current state of data-driven predictions from Nate Silver, one of the leading global authorities on predicting human performance and behavior
- Andrew McAfee on big data, and how it’s solving business problems for companies of all sizes across industries
- Some ideas on questions to ask and first steps to contemplate on the journey to better understanding every human-powered process in your organization
Our aim in hosting these events was to bring together some of the brightest minds focused on these two key themes, and do so in an intimate setting where HR leaders could brainstorm, learn, share, and hopefully grow their understanding of these key areas. We hope to see you there, and look forward to continuing the conversation.
Cara Capretta, Vice President – Human Capital Transformation for Oracle, has over twenty years of internal and external experience in Human Resources. She is a recognized speaker and thought leader in the field of talent management.
Cara is the former President and COO of Lominger International, a Korn/Ferry Company. Lominger is a global provider of competency-based leadership development tools. During her tenure at Lominger, she co-authored several books and product lines including FYI™ for Teams, FYI™ for Talent and The Interview Architect®. Lominger was sold in 2006, at which time Cara became the VP of Strategy and Intellectual Property for Korn/Ferry International, the largest executive search firm in the world. Prior to working in the consulting and commercial product arena, Cara was a Human Resources executive at Nationwide Insurance for 13 years, where she was responsible for enterprise-wide leadership development and succession planning efforts for more than 20,000 employees. She also has experience as a Human Resources generalist.
Cara is a native of Columbus, Ohio where she attended The Ohio State University and graduated from Franklin University. Follow Cara on Twitter @CaraCapretta
Bertrand Dussert serves as HR transformation and technology advisor to Oracle's executive clients, primarly at large global companies with complex HR service delivery needs. When not working directly with clients, Bertrand serves as HR thought leadership speaker and Oracle representative for targeted events, and partners with product strategy to help inform product design.
In his most recent role prior to joining Oracle, Bertrand served in a dual capacity as the global leader for both HR Shared Services and Recruitment Operations at American Express. Bertrand was responsible for a number of key work streams in the American Express Global Recruitment Transformation, and most recently served as a full member of the Transform HR Project Executive Council.
Prior to American Express, Bertrand was Executive Director in UBS Investment Bank’s HR function, led a 125 person strong Global Field Operations team in the HR software industry, and served as a partner in an HR consulting firm that is now part of Korn/Ferry International. Follow Bertrand on Twitter@BertrandDussert