Influencing Behavior Through HR Analytics: The Secret to Unlocking Value

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If you’ve clicked into this article, chances are, you and I are on the same journey-- one of HR Analytics.  It’s been my full-time job for the last three years.  Prior to 2005 you could not find the words “HR” and “Analytics” together, but now it seems to be all the rage.  As Director of HR Analytics for Sears Holdings Corp, I have learned something through my experience which has made an exponential difference in creating value for my clients.  The secret to unlocking value has been to start focusing on behaviors which lead to outcomes and to stop focusing so much on the outcomes themselves.

My personal source for inspiration in this area comes from Galileo who’s quoted with the phrase “Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so.” ¹

Many of us do the first part well - measure what is measurable.  In fact, all too often I see and am asked to produce tracking tools with over 40 metrics on them.  Think about the way you measure turnover at your organization.  If you cut departures based on type (vol/invol), time (<90 day, 6mo, 1yr), job level and performance or potential, it easily yields a screen full of numbers.  But most companies do little to track the drivers of terminations.  Said differently, most of us measure outcomes and not behaviors. 

However, applying the “make measureable what is not” advice of my dear friend Galileo to your turnover reports means we need to understand retention drivers and measure the things done by the company or manager which cause unwanted departures.  If you can make visible problems in the interview, onboarding and training processes, you can go a long way toward enhancing new hire retention.  If you can make visible problems with goal setting, job proficiency, development plans and engagement, you can resolve key factors leading to tenured resignations.  In my past I’ve solved this problem by loading the HR Scorecard with primary drivers of employee retention and customer satisfaction.

Let’s apply my “Behavior not Outcome” point to your Sales Force.  Most of us are measuring productivity outcomes such as revenue by sales rep - but you can supercharge your measurement tools by making visible that which leads to sales/margins (lead execution, client retention or satisfaction, new account growth, percent of revenues in accessories, high margin or new product lines).  With visibility to the profit drivers, management can reward, coach and performance manage in deeper and more meaningful ways.  Use partition analysis or stepwise regression to help isolate the most meaningful metrics.  And once you understand them, you can deploy Sales Force effectiveness programs to coach and inspire profitable employee behaviors.

A final example of measuring “Behaviors not Outcomes” can be applied to the Bench Strength of your organization.  For critical roles, many of us are measuring the number of identified successors.  But you can drive deeper ownership and accountability if you instead measure placement of identified successors or the retention and development plan progress of those identified.  These latter examples help you understand whether or not the skills are being acquired, talent is being developed and expected promotions are occurring instead of a static, one-time name brainstorm.  To reveal succession planning drivers, you can build a Succession Dashboard designed to monitor development plans, goals, placement rates and retention, which are basic indicators of developing and promoting talent.

On the surface, what I’m describing can be a subtle difference, but outcome metrics leave things flat and vague while behaviors reinforce the objective in a much deeper manner.  Behavioral metrics bring action to your data and drive change within your organization.  The only downside is that actionable metrics require someone to act if they are going to add value.  That’s why it’s critical to stakeholder the tools you build outside of your HR department.  They need to be relevant to the end user and designed to solve a problem.  When line management believes in what you have created, they will help you embed it into the Performance Management, Incentive or Operational Scorecards of the business.  It’s been my experience that the most powerful and adopted behavior changing metrics are the ones asked for by my business partners. 

Closing thoughts:

• Measure behaviors, not outcomes
• Measure results, not activity
• Define the key behaviors that drive desired business outcomes
• Measure less, not more
• Make measurable what is not
   

1. Galileo Galilei (Italian natural Philosopher, Astronomer and Mathematician who made fundamental contributions to the development of the scientific method and to the sciences of motion, astronomy and strength of materials. 1564-1642)

Contributor:   Carl Schleyer

Carl Schleyer, M.A. PHR, CCP

Dir, HR Analytics - Sears Holdings Corporation

In his current role as Director of Operations and Analytics for Sears Holdings Corporation, Carl is responsible for gathering and analyzing large volumes of data in order to support Talent and Human Capital strategies and tactics.  He specializes in conforming past data and legacy systems to support current business objectives.  As a part of this role, Carl created the first analytical team dedicated to purely Human Capital pursuits within Sears Holdings.   His passion is unlocking the value of data through influencing decisions.  Carl is a 20+ year veteran of the retail industry having served various functions within Human Resources including Compensation, IT, Ethics, Associate Relations, and Recruiting.   Carl holds a Bachelor’s in Business Management and a Masters in Human Resource Management and Development from National Louis University.  When not at work searching for the “why” behind the “what,” Carl can likely be found riding his bike or at the playground being chased by his twin daughters.