Applied Insights Team

People are the heart of any organization, and making the most of people’s potential (or failing to do so) can have a huge effect on an organization’s success. In recent years, organizations of all sizes have begun to reimagine what people management and talent strategies look like. Moving beyond traditional approaches to Human Resources, they’re beginning to bring richer datasets and sophisticated analytics to bear on people issues. Oftentimes, this has led to the creation of brand new People Analytics teams.

As a result, leaders across industries are asking the question: “how can we build a people analytics practice at our organization?” This project aims to uncover the organizational context and other factors that enable people analytics teams to be successful. Using interviews and surveys of people analytics leaders across a diverse slate of organizations, we are working to unpack not only the characteristics of these teams, but also patterns around the structure, data, advocacy, and effectiveness that surround them. Through our research, we hope to provide a road map for leaders seeking to build out their people analytics capabilities.

This team will work under the leadership of Wharton Professor Matthew Bidwell and Senior Fellow Dr. Matt Killingsworth, with support from the Wharton People Analytics team.