While the “Explore & Engage” activities just discussed provide strategies to practice translation, you will still need to apply certain skills to ensure the translation is effective. So, how do you go from having data-informed insights to ones that are connected to a business outcome? And business-aligned insights that actually lead to action? By leveraging your business acumen, communication, and storytelling skills. Without these critical skills, your awesome translation may fall flat.

Business Acumen

People Analytics is about connecting data-informed insights to business outcomes. By consuming people analytics insights you have one half of the equation, when you build your business acumen, you gain the other half. Only then can you work on translating and connecting the two. Business acumen is not a single skill, but a combination of knowledge and skills informed by experience. Here are three types of business acumen that can be particularly helpful in your people analytics journey:

Industry/Company Expertise:

This is the foundation. Understanding your industry’s dynamics, competitive landscape, and operational challenges is essential. Similarly, knowing your company’s culture, goals, and strategic priorities allows you to translate your work into terms that resonate with leadership and align with the bigger picture. Can you explain the vision and mission of the organization? Can you explain how your company makes/spends/saves money? Can you name the competitors and major trends in the industry? How does the functional area in which you work align to support the overall organizational objectives? Each of these questions should come easily to you, if not, spend some time to get to know the organization you are in (or the industry you hope to be in).

Actions to build industry and company expertise:

• Analyze available information: Consume company reports, financials, and strategic plans to understand your company’s direction and performance.
• Network: Meet colleagues from different departments to understand their priorities and challenges.
• Follow industry trends: Skim industry publications, attend conferences, and connect with professionals in your field.

Talent Management Expertise:

For anyone involved in People Analytics, understanding Human Resource concepts and practices is non-negotiable (even if you don’t work in HR and have no desire to work in HR). It’s not enough to be a data whiz; you must understand how talent management processes, employee engagement, and performance management work. Many analysts hit roadblocks in their careers because they assume that if the “math” is right, the analysis must be good. But, when you assess people and you don’t know the patterns, trends, and organizational constraints that have an impact on people data, the math will never be right. An analyst who isn’t aware of things like when certain compensation benefits are paid out, when performance reviews occur, how an organization’s structure impacts promotions or hiring, or a myriad of other talent management practices, runs the risk of producing meaningless results. This knowledge is crucial for understanding the context in which data is created or in which the insights will be applied. Only with an understanding of the people processes can analysis be appropriately aligned to solutions. Data skills alone won’t qualify you as a people analyst; invest in understanding the “human” side of the equation.

Actions to build talent management expertise:

• Shadow HR professionals: Observe how HR processes are implemented and interact with employees.
• Participate in HR activities: Many HR departments hope to include employees in various processes; reach out to let them know you are available.
• Take HR courses or workshops: Gain foundational knowledge of key HR concepts and practices.
• Read HR publications and blogs: As you consume People Analytics insights, include some additional items that aren’t solely focused on analytics – read about general HR trends and insights.

Your Unique Specialty Knowledge:

You undoubtedly have expertise in some other domain. Whether that is from past education, work, or non-work related commitments. This is your specialty area of expertise – whether it’s learning and development, training design, product management, marketing, or knowledge you’ve picked up by supporting your community. Combining your specialty knowledge with a broader understanding of industry/company, and talent management knowledge will give you a unique combination of expertise – one that leverages your individual skills in creative ways. It can make you stand out and maximize your impact.

Actions to build your unique specialty knowledge:

• Identify your specialty knowledge area(s).
• Define how your specialty knowledge can be applied to People Analytics.
• Find opportunities to apply your unique skills creatively in new ways.

Building business acumen isn’t just about acquiring some extra skills; it’s about unlocking your full potential to contribute meaningfully to your organization. It’s about speaking the language of business, understanding the context, and translating your expertise into tangible results that contribute meaningfully.

Communication

Developing effective communication skills is crucial for people analytics practitioners. People analytics has never been just about merely crunching numbers; it involves conveying insights in a way that resonates with various stakeholders. Even for individuals who hope to be a data do-er and focus most of their time on analytics, this is a required skill. You will need to know how to get your analytics to others in a way that is easily enough understood so that it can be applied. Amazing analytics that aren’t effectively communicated have the same impact as if there were no analytics at all. There are many skills that can lead to effective communication, however here I will provide two that I think are most impactful for people analytics professionals to focus on first.

Active Listening:

If you think the first step to effective communication involves opening your mouth, think again! Active listening is the cornerstone of effective communication. It involves fully concentrating, understanding, responding, and remembering what is said. In People Analytics, active listening allows you to grasp the nuances of employee concerns, team dynamics, and organizational challenges. Often a People Analytics need presents itself in the form of a complaint, a question, or a hard-to-define problem. It is your job to listen, ask questions to get a better understanding, and ensure that you are hearing the true need.

Even when you get a seemingly straightforward request for data, you need to apply active listening. Let’s say there is a direct request about attrition (a.k.a., people leaving a company) such as, “How many people quit this year?” A regular analyst might just go get the number. An exceptional People Analytics professional would respond, “Sure. Is there anything about our attrition that you are particularly interested in understanding better?” By questioning and listening, you might learn that the real concern is whether the attrition is higher than the industry average, in which case you could gather that information as a comparison. Or, maybe you would learn that the request came because there was concern about a certain department or location. In which case you can more appropriately provide those specific numbers. Taking the time to ask and listen allows you to understand the context and goal so you can provide more relevant insights and solutions.

Actions to improve active listening skills:

• Paraphrase and summarize: Repeat key points to ensure you’ve correctly understood the information.
• Ask clarifying questions: Seek additional details to deepen your understanding of the speaker’s perspective.

Simple and Clear Communication:

While data is important, your ability to interpret and present it clearly is more important. Instead of elaborate visualizations, or fancy statistical explanations, focus on simplicity and emphasize clarity in your data communication. Work to make your insights as straightforward and easily understood by others as possible. Your communication should be quickly understood by individuals who may not have any analytics background. It also should not be unnecessarily detailed. Even if you spent three weeks researching, cleaning data, and running analyses, your audience doesn’t need to hear about that effort. They only need to hear the insights and how those insights are relevant to the issue of interest.

Actions for communicating clearly:

• Simplify complex concepts: Break down intricate analytics into simple, easy-to-understand explanations.
• Use clear language: Avoid jargon and technical terms when communicating findings to non-analytical stakeholders.
• Provide context: Help your audience connect the dots by explaining the relevance of your insights to the broader picture.
• Don’t show all your work: Limit what you share to only the important and most critical aspects. (Share those details only with individuals who ask for it directly.)

Storytelling

Effective communication in People Analytics is not just relaying relevant information succinctly; it’s about creating a shared understanding that drives action. This is where storytelling comes in. Storytelling is the art of transforming raw information into a compelling narrative that resonates with your audience. A study by Stanford professor Chip Heath (Author of “Made to Stick”) tested how much people remembered when the information was presented in a story: 63%. Compared to when it was presented as just statistics: 5%. That same study found that people were more likely to take action when presented with a story. In the study, those who received a story-based version of information and were then asked to donate money were 200% more likely to donate. Stories have the power to make information memorable and persuade people to act. As a People Analytics professional, your ability to tell a story with data will be key to success.

Actions for building your data storytelling skills:

• Identify your audience: Understand who your audience is and tailor your story to their familiarity with People Analytics. Highlight aspects that are most relevant and meaningful to your specific audience. (This will be easier if you have been practicing your active listening skills!)
• Craft a clear narrative: Structure your data story like a traditional narrative, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Use a problem-solving approach, showcasing how your insights address challenges or contribute to organizational goals.
• Use visual elements strategically: Incorporate visuals to complement your narrative (when appropriate), choosing charts and graphs that enhance understanding. Ensure that visual elements are intuitive, avoiding unnecessary complexity that might confuse your audience. (More on data visualization in step 3.)
• Focus on the human element: Infuse your story with human elements, using real examples or anecdotes to make the information relatable. Connect the data to the impact it has on employees, teams, or the organization as a whole.
• Emphasize actionable insights: Clearly articulate the actionable insights derived from the data. Don’t make your audience search for meaning in what you present. Provide recommendations or suggestions and indicate the practical implications of your findings.
• Practice and iterate: Practice delivering your story in different settings to build confidence and refine your presentation. Ask a friendly colleague if you can share with them and ask for feedback so you can iterate and improve.
• Plan for a lifelong journey toward mastering data storytelling: There are many amazing resources designed to help improve storytelling (you can find amazing books, videos, and courses about effective storytelling just about anywhere). But it does take a lot of time and practice to master; don’t expect to be an amazing storyteller overnight, but don’t expect to be an effective communicator without building your storyteller skills either.

Storytelling transforms complex analytics into a compelling narrative that not only informs but inspires action. The ability to convey the significance of your insights through storytelling ensures your audience understands the data and sees its real-world implications. Learning to tell great data stories is one of the best things you can do when looking to excel in your People Analytics career.