Videos
Watch insightful presentations and discussions from Wharton’s annual People Analytics Conference, featuring researchers, industry leaders, and data innovators. These videos capture a wide range of perspectives on the evolving role of people analytics in business and beyond.
How to Lead in the Age of AI
2024
Speakers:
Adam Grant – The Saul P. Steinberg Professor of Management, Wharton School, Organizational Psychologist, #1 NYT bestselling author of Think Again, Host of the TED podcast WorkLife
Ginni Rometty – Former Chairman and CEO of IBM, Co-Chair at OneTen, Author of Good Power: Leading Positive Change in Our Lives, Work, and World
Ned Wellman – Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship, Arizona State University
Samir Nurmohamed – Associate Professor of Management, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Adam Grant’s conversation with Ginni Rometty, alongside insights from Ned Wellman and Samir Nurmohamed, delves into leadership, the balance of power, and the integration of technology in organizations. They discuss wielding power effectively, preserving core values, and the importance of resilience. Highlighting ethics in AI and the need for skills-based hiring, the talk underscores how technology and diverse leadership can drive equitable and efficient workplaces.
2023 Wharton People Analytics Conference Case Competition Winner: Optimizing Teach For America's Matching Process
2023
Speakers:
Seong Yeong Park, Chaiyapuk Titnanapun, Pooja Sathyanarayana, Prerna Sanjay Kothari – University of Southern California Team, DASARA
The University of Southern California’s team won the case competition at the Wharton People Analytics Conference with a model optimizing Teach for America’s (TFA) matching process. Their approach, focusing on application duration, GPA, and major choice, identified predictors of program completion. Recommendations included refining interview and selection criteria to boost retention and addressing teacher shortages by targeting physical science majors for math teaching roles, underscoring the importance of data-driven strategies in educational staffing.
2023 Wharton People Analytics White Paper Competition Winner: The Future of OrgOne
2023
Speakers:
Heather Whiteman – Assistant Teaching Professor, University of Washington
Alex Furman – Co-founder & CEO of Performica
This presentation showcases the winning white paper on transforming HR processes through network analytics. OrgOne, a network data tool, is introduced as a way to improve peer reviews and performance assessments, promoting gender equity in leadership and revolutionizing HR strategies.
Malcolm Gladwell & Adam Grant: Getting Uncomfortable with the Future | 2022 Future of Work Conference
2022
Speakers:
Malcolm Gladwell – New York Times Bestselling Author of Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, and David and Goliath and Host at Revisionist History Podcast
Adam Grant – The Saul P. Steinberg Professor of Management, Wharton School, Organizational Psychologist, #1 NYT bestselling author of Think Again, Host of the TED podcast WorkLife
In this characteristically provocative conversation at the 2022 Future of Work Conference, Adam Grant and Malcolm Gladwell debate what’s been overlooked and misunderstood about leadership, whether high performance gets too much attention, and how to build teams that are more than the sum of their parts. In the wide-ranging follow-up Q&A to their discussion, Malcolm and Adam discuss whether organizations should hire historians, why Malcolm is retiring from the regrets game, and some principles that should guide the future of hiring.
2021 Wharton People Analytics Conference Case Competition Winners with Teach for America
2021
Speakers:
Students: Sakshat Rao, Nishchith Sriram, and Luv Nambiar – National Institute of Technology, Karnataka
This presentation at the Wharton People Analytics Conference showcases a strategic approach by National Institute of Technology, Karnataka students to optimize Teach for America’s offer assignment process. Their innovative solution, focusing on applicant preferences and regional needs, aims to enhance educational equity by strategically placing teachers in high-need areas. The recommendations include using data analytics to align candidate preferences with organizational goals, potentially transforming the impact on educational inequity across disenfranchised communities.
2020 Wharton People Analytics Conference Case Competition Finalists with UNICEF/UNDP
2020
Speakers:
Anna Effenberger – Cornell University
Student finalists in the 2020 Wharton People Analytics Case Competition analyzed the impact of staff mobility on career advancement at UNICEF and UNDP, addressing correlations, potential gender bias, and managed mobility systems to provide creative solutions.
2019 Wharton People Analytics White Paper Competition Winner: The Future of Management
2019
Speaker:
Kelly Monahan – Managing Director of the Future of Work Research Institute, Upwork; Former Director of Future of Work, Meta; Organizational Behaviorist
Kelly Monahan explores the evolving role of middle management in the face of automation and complex organizational structures. She advocates for pivoting managers from administrative tasks to developers of people, emphasizing growth mindsets and effective engagement strategies. Through her research, Monahan integrates data science, behavioral science, and people analytics to redefine managerial effectiveness, suggesting that management’s future lies in enhancing employee development and navigating the complexities of the digital age.
2019 Wharton People Analytics Conference Case Competition with Nurse Family Partnership
2019
Speaker:
The University of Pennsylvania team: Joyce Lyons, Amarachi Nasa-Okolie, Connor Joyce
This presentation at the Wharton People Analytics Conference by Joyce Lyons, Amarachi Nasa-Okolie, and Connor Joyce introduces a novel method for assessing case complexity in the Nurse Family Partnership program. They developed a “case equivalent” metric to evaluate the workload based on the difficulty of cases rather than just the number. Their analysis identified significant factors affecting case outcomes, including client risk profiles and organizational variables, leading to recommendations for optimizing nurse caseloads for better outcomes.
2018 Wharton People Analytics Conference Student Case Competition with Global Health Corps
2018
Speaker:
Park Sinchaisri – Wharton Operations Research
Titipat Achakulvisut – Penn Neuroscience & Bioengineering
Participants in the 2018 Wharton People Analytics Conference Case Competition analyzed data from Global Health Corps and recommended strategies to optimize the organization’s application review process. Finalists present their solutions in this video.
Methods
2016
Speaker:
Kate Glazebrook – Principal Advisor, Behavioral Insights Team, UK
Kate Glazebrook from the Behavioral Insights Team discusses an experiment designed to reduce bias in hiring through blind assessments. The results revealed blind reviews significantly improved the quality and diversity of hires compared to traditional CV reviews.
Case Studies: Predicting Employee Performance
2015
Speaker:
Ryan Dullaghan – Manager, People Assessment & Analytics, JetBlue
Andrew Biga – Director of Talent Acquisition and Assessment, JetBlue
Angela Duckworth – Associate Professor of Psychology, Wharton
Amy Wrzesniewski – Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior, Yale School of Management
In this Wharton People Analytics Conference panel, experts shared their biggest mistakes in people analytics and the lessons learned. Emphasizing the importance of balancing qualitative and quantitative data, they discussed the need for understanding the context behind analytics questions and ensuring human judgment complements data-driven decisions. The panel underscored the value of continuous learning, embracing both successes and failures to refine analytics strategies and enhance decision-making processes in HR.
Articles
Explore a curated collection of articles featuring groundbreaking research and expert insights from Wharton’s faculty. Discover innovative approaches to people analytics, uncovering insights into human behavior and business practices that are shaping the future.
Global Careers and Compensation: From Initial Penalties to a Superglobal Premium
Capponi, G., Bidwell, M., Fernandez-Mateo, I., & Haas, M. (2023).
This study investigates the connection between intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and their impact on job performance. Utilizing data from several industries, the research identifies key motivational factors that significantly enhance employee output. The findings highlight the importance of aligning employee goals with organizational objectives to maximize productivity. The study contributes to human resource management practices by suggesting tailored motivational strategies to improve overall job performance.
Brokered Careers: The Role of Search Firms in Managerial Career Mobility
Bidwell, M., Choi, K., & Fernandez-Mateo, I. (2022).
Bidwell, Choi, and Fernandez-Mateo’s “Brokered Careers” examines how executive search firms influence managerial career paths, often limiting cross-functional and cross-industry mobility for high-paying managerial roles. Through analyzing 1,342 job moves among 816 MBAs, the study finds that jobs found through these firms are significantly less likely to involve a change in function or industry compared to network-based job changes. This suggests that search firms promote more linear career trajectories without necessarily enhancing job performance outcomes. The paper challenges the effectiveness of these firms in fostering optimal job matches, despite narrowing career mobility.
My Manager Moved! The Effects of Supervisor Mobility on Subordinate Career Outcomes
Bidwell, M., Baek, M., & Keller, J. R. (2021).
The departure of a manager disrupts established relationships, potentially harming trust and support, which might lead to lower financial rewards for subordinates. However, it also opens up opportunities for promotions across different groups, as it breaks “relational inertia.” The study, based on healthcare firm data, shows these career dynamics are more pronounced when managers had longer relationships with their subordinates, attributing the decrease in rewards more to lost sponsorship than to a drop in performance.
No Vacancies? Building Theory on How Organizations Move People Across Jobs
Bidwell, M. J. (2020).
Matthew Bidwell’s paper contrasts “job-pull” and “person-push” mobility processes in organizations, linking them to classic trade-offs in organizational economics. Job-pull focuses on filling vacancies and emphasizes task matching and control, suited to environments needing specialization and stability. Person-push, driven by individual performance, prioritizes rewards and flexibility, fitting scenarios where adaptation and retention are key. Bidwell explores how these systems influence career paths, suggesting job-pull is preferred in static, conflict-prone settings, while person-push thrives in dynamic, retention-focused environments. The analysis extends to how growth, peer mobility, and individual performance impact these mobility processes.
Career Management Isn’t Just the Employee’s Job
Bidwell, M., & De Stefano, F. (2019).
This article explores how organizations use analytics to aid employees in career planning within modern, flat corporate structures. It details methods like mapping career pathways using historical HR data and analyzing skills overlap to identify internal job candidates, emphasizing the strategic advantage of understanding and facilitating internal career mobility to enhance employee retention and satisfaction.
Does Losing Temporary Workers Matter? The Effects of Planned Turnover on Replacements and Unit Performance
De Stefano, F., Bonet, R., & Camuffo, A. (2019).
This study investigates the impact of planned turnover among temporary workers, proposing an inverted U-shaped relationship with unit performance. It suggests that while initial turnover may offer flexibility benefits, excessive turnover leads to disruptions outweighing these benefits. The findings emphasize that replacing temporary workers isn’t cost-free, and firms should consider these disruptions when leveraging temporary employment for flexibility.
The Real Clue that a Candidate Would Make a Great President
Grant, A. (2016).
This article explores the essential qualities and experiences that shape effective leaders, highlighting various leaders who have demonstrated resilience, vision, and empathy, and discusses how these traits are critical for navigating complex challenges and driving organizational success.
Shifts and Ladders: Comparing the Role of Internal and External Mobility in Executive Careers
Bidwell, M., & Mollick, E. (2015).
Authored by Matthew Bidwell and Ethan Mollick, this study investigates the effects of internal versus external career moves on managerial progress. It reveals that internal moves often lead to promotions and more responsibilities within the same company. Conversely, external moves offer comparable pay raises but without similar advancements in responsibilities, highlighting different career progression dynamics.
Within or Without? How Firms Combine Internal and External Labor Markets to Fill Jobs
Grant, A., & Bolino, M. (2016)
Bidwell and Keller’s study investigates staffing preferences between internal promotions, lateral moves, and external hires within a U.S. investment bank, analyzing seven years of data. They discover that jobs with high performance variability and a greater ratio of junior to senior workers are more likely to be filled internally. Contrary to expectations, the need for firm-specific skills doesn’t significantly influence these staffing decisions. Their findings offer fresh insights into employment strategies, highlighting the complex factors that guide organizations in choosing how to fill positions.
Work and the Art of Motivation Maintenance
Grant, A. (2013)
Grant highlights that direct interactions with beneficiaries significantly boost work motivation and productivity, contrasting sharply with the minimal impact of motivational speeches. Key strategies include facilitating encounters with those impacted by work, selecting team members inclined towards constructive giving, and promoting empathy. This approach underscores the effectiveness of connecting employees to the real-world impact of their efforts for enhancing engagement.
Podcasts
Selected episodes of Women@Work, hosted by Laura Zarrow. In these conversations, Laura speaks with extraordinary role models, authors, and industry leaders to explore tactics and strategies that support women and men at all stages of their careers.
What Works: Equality by Design
September 7, 2017
Guest: Iris Bohnet – Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government and the co-director of the Women and Public Policy Program, Harvard Kennedy School
Bohnet delves into the science of bias, offering innovative strategies for organizations to foster equality. Her approach blends behavioral economics and psychology, proposing actionable, evidence-based interventions to de-bias our environments and decision-making processes. This episode is a vital resource for anyone committed to creating more inclusive workplaces.