{"id":806,"date":"2022-04-19T01:28:36","date_gmt":"2022-04-19T05:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-peopleanalytics\/?post_type=hck-submission&p=806"},"modified":"2022-04-19T01:28:36","modified_gmt":"2022-04-19T05:28:36","slug":"people-analytics-tapping-into-the-promise-and-warding-off-the-potential-peril","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-peopleanalytics\/submission\/people-analytics-tapping-into-the-promise-and-warding-off-the-potential-peril\/","title":{"rendered":"People Analytics: Tapping into the Promise, and Warding off the Potential Peril"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

Data Literacy and the Promise<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n

People analytics\u2014the collection, cleaning, analysis, and utilization of talent-related data to improve business performance through data-driven solution-crafting\u2014has exploded in popularity over the past decade. Be it in healthcare<\/a>, sports<\/a>, or even the notoriously slow-moving legal industry<\/a>, now more than ever, people and organizations are relying upon data to guide workplace decision-making. To an extent, rightfully so, as the increased collection and analysis of organizational performance data can aid in the development of novel, organization-sensitive interventions in hiring, retention, promotion, work assignment, and other workforce processes that serve to boost efficiency and productivity. The promise of people analytics is that, with additional organizational information and a team of sophisticated people analytics practitioners, organizations will be better equipped to develop a business and people strategy that effectively services their employees and clientele, thereby improving the performance of the former and the total population of the latter. For the promise of people analytics to be realized on a consistent basis, data literacy\u2014an understanding of how to interrogate and interpret data\u2014is vital, especially as the people analytics\u2019 popularity continues to soar.<\/p>\n

In a recent Forbes interview<\/a>, Dr. Tyrone Smith, Jr., Udemy\u2019s Director of People Analytics, discussed the rapidly increasing importance of people-oriented statistical insights. He noted that, in the wake of the pandemic and in the midst of increased calls for workforce diversity, analytics can help organizations identify and address the evolving needs of their employees in order to \u201ckeep their talent practices and pipeline strong.\u201d Moreover, in creating a \u201cdata-informed culture,\u201d organizations stand to optimize their workforce through employee-tailored interventions. However, in extolling the virtues of people-centered leadership and the general promise of people analytics, Dr. Smith, Jr. also cautioned fellow practitioners and organizations that, in order to leverage data effectively, \u201cone must understand the problem [that one seeks to solve] and clearly think through the potential solutions before jumping into the data.\u201d In other words, data can be indeterminate and lend itself to a variety of interpretations, so one of primary responsibilities\u2014if not the primary responsibility<\/i>\u2014of people and organizations that aim to use people analytics to guide decision-making is to do so judiciously. Data literacy is key to that end.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Data Literacy and the Peril<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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The peril of people analytics\u2014and data-driven decision-making more broadly\u2014lies in the lack of judicious implementation, and this threat is two-fold.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

First, data and algorithmic decision-making, though more malleable than human decision-making, can also be biased, so a lack of judicious implementation can contribute to the covert perpetuation of biases and the inequalities that spring therefrom. For example, a recent Maddyness article<\/a> advocating for more diversity and inclusivity in workforce composition and practices to combat algorithmic bias featured an anecdote about how Kodak\u2019s use of the Shirley Card\u2014a picture of a White female model used to calibrate skin tones, shadows, and light when developing customers\u2019 photos\u2014resulted in Kodak\u2019s film failing to capture the full range of human skin tones accurately in the 1950s and ensuing decades.<\/p>\n

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Second, the ability of data-driven insights to be implemented effectively without one necessarily understanding the inputs of the insight-producing algorithm, while convenient, can serve to stymie critical thinking, render algorithms prone to abuse by individuals keenly aware of their inputs, and allow for the proliferation of bias as well. In the parlance of HLS professor Jonathan Zittrain<\/a>, this latter fold of the peril of people analytics is the accrual of an unsustainable amount of intellectual debt\u2014\u201c[a]nswers without theory\u201d\u2014as data literacy lags behind data reliance.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Conclusion: Data Literacy as a Solution<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Data literacy empowers people and organizations to root out algorithmic bias, to routinely evaluate data inputs and outputs critically, and to ensure that the design of the analytical models that one uses is properly designed to achieve one\u2019s objectives. Accordingly, to tap into the promise of people analytics and ward off the peril, it is imperative that, in addition to providing business-relevant insights, people analytics practitioners promote the development of the data literacy of both their organizations and society in general. This course and this assignment in particular are fantastic examples of data literacy promotion, which will serve our class well in a world increasingly reliant on data.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As data becomes increasingly integral to everyday decision-making in workplaces across various industries, data literacy\u2014an understanding of how to interrogate and interpret data in order to ensure that the data analysis spearheading decision-making is cautiously conducted and evaluated\u2014becomes increasingly vital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19236,"featured_media":911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"class_list":["post-806","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-peopleanalytics\/assignment\/lpa-2022-blog-assignment\/","yoast_head":"\nPeople Analytics: Tapping into the Promise, and Warding off the Potential Peril - Leading with People Analytics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-peopleanalytics\/submission\/people-analytics-tapping-into-the-promise-and-warding-off-the-potential-peril\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"People Analytics: Tapping into the Promise, and Warding off the Potential Peril - 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