32 Explore & Engage: People Analytics Research Skills

Here are some actions you can take to engage with research methods that will build your research skills in people analytics:

Pick up a textbook

• Until now I haven’t urged you to use any particular type of learning content over others since everyone is unique. However, I think some of the best resources on research methods really can be found in textbooks. Academia thrives on research. Hundreds of thousands of students are taught research methods each year so the number and type of texts available (books, ebooks, audiobooks, interactive texts, etc.) on the topic are fantastic. Plus, you can usually find old, used texts for super cheap or free. If you pick up a textbook on research methods, get one that says it is for the social sciences or business/management. Those will be more appropriately aligned to the types of studies and applications you may find yourself undertaking in people analytics.

Replicate other studies

• Read people analytics research studies and then replicate their studies. Not only can you learn from the findings of others, but you can learn whether or not their findings are true in your organization.
• This is a great method for learning research methodology and techniques by following others while also discovering how your organization is similar to or unique from other organizations. Keep in mind – it’s not ‘copying’ to replicate studies, you are actually helping to provide further evidence that supports (or refutes) what those researchers found. Just be sure to cite them and give recognition to them for their hard work.

Prioritize hypothesis testing, even when it’s not a research study

• Many things should be hypothesis tested, but no one thought to ask for the test to be done. Be the person who does it without being asked. For example, what if you heard someone say, “The new onboarding process we implemented to welcome new employees makes them more productive.” But did they actually test it? If not, that is actually a hypothesis, not a fact. Gather the data and check if it really does seem to impact productivity.
• Warning. Your research is just as likely to debunk assumed truths as it is to discover new findings. For example, if everyone already assumes that the onboarding program increases time to productivity. Your research may show that the data does not support this statement. Finding these mistruths is important and a valuable use of your research skills, but you should also be cautious in how you choose to share and discuss such findings with others. Be considerate of the fact that people spent a lot of time and energy designing that onboarding program; most people don’t like to hear that their efforts and assumptions don’t hold up to rigorous scientific testing. In “Step 2. Build Your Non-Technical Skills” we talked about the importance of storytelling and one of the first items to build that skill was about knowing your audience. These are situations where you can use your communication and storytelling skills to ensure your message is heard while maintaining positive relationships with the people you are trying to help through your information.