This document summarizes a presentation on the seven habits of dysfunctional HR organizations and how they impede the impact of people analytics. It identifies common dysfunctions like a disconnect between business needs and HR's capabilities, a focus on programs over measurable outcomes, HR analytics reporting outside of the CHRO, and politicization of analytical outcomes. The presentation argues that acknowledging and addressing these dysfunctions is necessary to maximize the potential impact of people analytics on organizations.

1. Seven
Habits
of
Dysfunctional
HR
Organizations:
How
they
Impede
Analytics
Impact
&
How
to
Address
Them
Mark
Berry
People
Analytics
2016

2. • VP,
HR
– CGB
Enterprises
• “HR
Trendsetter”
– HR
Magazine
(2015)
• Bersin “WhatWorks”
Award
for
Innovation
in
Analytics
(2014)
• Workforce.com
Optimus
Silver
Award
for
Business
Impact
(2014)
• 20+
years
as
HR
leader
• Past
life
as
licensed
professional
clinical
counselor
• MBA
(operations
mgt),
MA
&
BA
(psychology)
• Failed
“trend
setter”,
“thought
leader”,
&
“strategic
business
partner”
• Husband,
dad,
and
aging
ultra
endurance
athlete (and
fading
fast)

3. How
– if
possible
–
can
you
apply
this
to
the
subject
matter
of
today’s
presentation?

4. Syn-­‐op-­‐sis:
• Context:
We
are
working
to
“build”
analytics
capabilities
within
HR
• Diagnosis:
The
“journey”
– however
– can
be
challenging;
measurable
outcomes
&
impact
is
constrained
within
many
organizations
• Etiology:
Cause
is
due
– to
a
great
degree
– to
“dysfunctions”
within
HR
organizations
• Treatment:
To
succeed,
we
must
acknowledge
&
address
the
dysfunctions
• Outcome:
When
we
do
so,
we
maximize
analytics’
potential
for
impact
on
the
organization
“a
brief
summary
or
general
survey
of
something”

5. Why
is
Change
So
Difficult?
• Experience
as
a
clinical
counselor,
practitioner,
&
consultant
• Change
is
often
quite
difficult
&
not
related
to
the
focus
of
change,
but
rather
the
“family”
affected
by
these
changes
• Failing
to
acknowledge,
understand,
and
address
these
affects
the
long-­‐term
viability
of
our
efforts

6. 19th Annual
Global
CEO
Survey
(2016)(PwC)
• Most
CEOs
see
data
and
analytics
technologies
(68%)
as
generating
the
greatest
return
for
stakeholder
engagement,
far
more
than
engagement
(talent
management
– one
of
HR’s
most
common
focus
areas
-­‐ didn’t
even
appear
on
the
list).
Harris
CEO
Survey
(2015)
• 80%
agreed
that
their
company
cannot
succeed
without
an
assertive,
data
driven
CHRO,
who
use
relevant
facts
to
deliver
an
informed
point
of
view.
• 74%
agree
that
their
company’s
HR
organization
needs
to
be
more
data-­‐
driven
(ie,
fact
based)
in
workforce
decision
making.
Human
Capital
Trends
2015
(Deloitte):
• 75%
of
companies
surveyed
believe
that
using
people
analytics
is
important,
but
just
8%
believe
their
organization
is
strong
in
this
area
–
almost
the
same
percent
as
2014.
CEOs
are
Not
the
Constraining
Factor

7. Issue
– It
Seems
– is
HR
HR
Trends
&
Priorities
for
2016
(McLean
&
Company)
• Non-­‐HR
respondents
were
1.8
times
more
likely
than
HR
respondents
to
see
their
HR
department
as
tactical.
• HR
spend
is
fully
inverted
– both
respondent
sets
see
HR
strategy
as
most
important
function,
but
spending
is
lowest
in
this
area.
• HR
respondents
view
every
HR
function
as
more
effective
than
non-­‐HR
respondents
– in
the
case
of
HR
strategy,
the
misalignment
is
38%
vs.
24%
(more
than
50%)
– the
least
aligned
function.
• Respondents
rated
metrics
&
analytics
as
the
least
effective
HR
areas.
• Providing
flexibility
in
benefits
and
driving
engagement
were
the
most
implemented
trends
–
neither
of
which
showed
up
as
priority
on
any
of
the
major
CEO
surveys.
Human
Capital
Trends
2016
(Deloitte)
• Only
30%
of
business
leaders
believe
HR
has
a
reputation
for
sound
business
decisions;
only
28%
feel
HR
is
highly
efficient;
only
22%
believe
that
HR
is
adapting
to
the
changing
needs
of
the
workforce;
&
only
20%
feel
that
HR
can
adequately
plan
for
the
company’s
future
talent
needs.
HR
is
not
keeping
pace!

8. Human
Resources
Cycle
of
Dysfunction
1.
CEO
beliefs,
values,
&
priorities
2.
Business’
most
pressing
needs
3.
CHRO
capabilities
&
orientation
4.
Focus
on
activities
(programs)
vs.
impact
5.
Improper
positioning
of
analytics
6.
Competition
for
resources
7.
Politicization
of
outcomes

9. Diagnosis:
“You
know
you
have
a
dysfunctional
HR
organization
if…”
1. …There
is
a
disconnect
between
what
your
CEO
&
leadership
team
need
&
and
what
your
HR
organization
has
the
capability
or
inclination
to
provide.
2. …Business
focus
is
on
traditional
HR
“programs”
vs.
strategically-­‐focused
impactful
people
initiatives.
3. …Your
CHRO
&
HR
leadership
team
lack
the
capabilities
to
translate
legitimate
business
imperatives
into
impactful
people
initiatives
or
understand
the
importance
of
realizing
measurable
impacts.
4. …Your
HR
Centers
of
Expertise
(CoE)
are
more
focused
on
“programs”
than
“outcomes”,
few
or
none
of
which
measurably
impact
the
business.
5. …Your
HR
analytics
team
reports
to
someone
in
HR
other
than
the
CHRO.
6. …Your
centers
of
expertise
–
including
analytics
–
compete
for
the
same
resources.
7. …Communication
of
outcomes
is
as
much
a
political
as
an
analytical
exercise.
1.
CEO
beliefs,
values,
&
priorities
2.
Business’
most
pressing
needs
3.
CHRO
capabilities
&
orientation
4.
Focus
on
activities
(programs)
vs.
impact
5.
Improper
positioning
of
analytics
6.
Competition
for
resources
7.
Politicization
of
outcomes

10. A
Few
Qualifiers
about
My
Dysfunctional
Family
• Issue
is
not
about
“bad”
CEOs
or
CHROs.
• Compulsion
is
to
seek
“comfort”
or
“change”
– not
necessarily
evidence-­‐based
outcomes.
• Placement
as
“shared
service”
or
“CoE”
maintains
status
quo
at
expense
of
impact.
• Result
is
further
constraining
of
limited
resources,
setting
up
“competition”
vs.
“collaboration”.
• “Politicization”
of
HR
analytics
is
easy
to
understand
-­‐ but
must
be
addressed
for
what
it
is.
• Outcome
is
self-­‐fulfilling
&
self-­‐perpetuating.
Absence
of
impactful
outcomes
maintains
HR’s
place
in
credibility
hierarchy.

11. Treating
the
Dysfunctional
Organisation
• CEO
Bias
&
CHRO
Capabilities:
Is
treatable
to
the
degree
that
HR
leaders
establish
credibility
as
evidence-­‐fueled
business
leaders
who
are
“experts”
in
people
levers
of
business
success.
We
have
to
build
capabilities
– both
in
terms
of
business
&
people
savvy
– to
win
the
credibility
&
respect
of
the
CEO.
“If
we
continue
to
do
what
we’ve
always
done…”
• Business
Imperatives
&
HR
Initiatives:
HR
programs
must
closely
align
with
&
support
the
outcomes
from
key
business
initiatives.
Must
avoid
the
tendency
to
focus
on
providing
programs
vs.
realizing
results.
We
must
get
past
our
partisanship,
territoriality,
and
fear
of
evaluation.
We
need
to
embrace
a
mindset
of
doing
what
works.
If
it
doesn’t
work,
we
need
to
stop
doing
it,
and
do
something
different.
• Positioning
of
Analytics
&
Competition
for
Resources:
Analytics
programs
should
not
compete
with
existing
CoEs for
limited
resources,
but
rather
be
viewed
akin
to
an
“audit”
function,
evaluating
the
impact
of
existing
programs
&
identifying
opportunities
to
improve
HR’s
impact
on
business
outcomes.
• Quantifying
the
Impact
of
People
Initiatives
&
Avoiding
the
Politicization
of
HR
Analytics:
When
we
do
these
things
&
quantify
the
impact
of
HR’s
efforts
on
key
business
outcomes,
we
help
to
reshape
the
CEO
biases,
redefine
CHRO
capabilities
&
credibility,
&
begin
to
disrupt
the
cycle
of
dysfunction.
• Recognize
When
You
Find
Yourself
“Trying
to
Teach
a
Pig
to
Sing”:
Some
organizations
– unfortunately
–
will
not
change.
In
those
cases,
your
ability
to
address
the
above
is
severely
affected.

12. 1. Leverage leadership’s value of analytics.
2. Acknowledge & seek to solve for HR’s credibility gap.
3. Position HR analytics relative to the CHRO for mutual success.
4. Focus on business-­relevant analytics opportunities.
5. Minimize perceived resource “competition” by creating “networks of expertise”.
6. Proactively address dysfunctional HR issues. But be realistic.
7. Demonstrate “functionality” through your initiatives & outcomes.
How
Do
We
Get
There?

14. Mark
Berry
email:
mark.berry@cgb.com
LinkedIn:
smarkberry
twitter:
s_markberry