People Analytics Can Only Take You So Far

Q: How has Techshare’s philosophy, innovation and empathy for organizational framework optimization resonated with clients?

A: Understanding organizational culture is essential to ensure the success of an organization. Innovation and empathy are two key elements to optimize human resources. Innovation refers to a company's ability to adopt new approaches, processes or products that provide a long-term competitive advantage. These processes can include R&D to improve existing products as well as the adoption of new technologies to improve operational efficiency. Empathy, on the other hand, refers to having a deep understanding of the point of view of others and being able to anticipate their needs. It is key for companies to listen to the views of all stakeholders, from customers to employees. This helps companies to better understand their needs, allowing them to improve their HR organizational structure. By taking an innovative and empathetic approach, companies can achieve better results and grow sustainably.

The automotive industry is a critical sector due to the organizational structure of its suppliers and the professional development its personnel need. Critical processes for the automotive industry require high efficiency and great coordination between suppliers and manufacturers, so suppliers must have a solid organizational structure, good management of their human resources and competitive talent to meet delivery deadlines and quality standards. This requires investment to incorporate technology and best practices for comprehensive talent management. The automotive industry is one of the most demanding industrial sectors, so it is important for suppliers to be fully prepared to meet those demands.

Q: Can you identify the greatest point of HR resistance or the largest actionable opportunity and how Techshare could potentially import added-value?

A: In some organizations, the resistance to change affects the development and potential of their associates. This resistance may come from a lack of understanding of the benefits of monitoring talent comprehensively instead of during isolated processes. It is essential for the life of any organization that the HR area supports the development of employees, because this improves employee motivation, increases productivity and guarantees the long-term success of the business. A good strategy to achieve this is to offer scaled and comprehensive learning opportunities to employees through intelligent development plans, which also teaches them the skills organizations need to achieve their business objectives. While we need to offer incentives to drive development, we cannot lose sight of the fact that we have a generation of tired and stressed workers. It has not been easy for them since 2020 due to the pandemic, the disruption of business models, the inflation crisis, increases in interest rates, concerns about war and climate change.

Accelerated business development means having the ability to develop and apply new ideas to boost the growth of the company, which helps to retain talent since all employees want to feel valued. By providing employees with a platform to develop their skills, it is possible to give them a sense of purpose and the satisfaction of being able to see their ideas turned into tangible results. It also helps the company stay ahead of the competition, which in turn attracts and retains talent.

Q: How does Techshare’s skill graph facilitate the KPI data analysis needed to become a data-driven organization?

A: Cornerstone SkillGraph is a Talent Management tool that provides automatic and accurate information on individual and organizational skills. This tool uses AI to collect, analyze and classify the profiles of an organization's employees, allowing HR teams to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each employee and provide detailed information on their skills and competencies. Cornerstone SkillGraph also provides a snapshot of employee skills and helps companies develop personalized career plans for each employee. This tool also allows companies to quickly identify candidates with the right potential to successfully complete a given role, helping to reduce hiring time and costs. In short, Cornerstone SkillGraph provides an innovative way to monitor and manage a company's talent efficiently.

Q: What is an Objectives and Key Results (OKR) system and how can it be used for talent development?

A: OKRs are a popular goal-setting and measurement system that many organizations use to track progress. OKRs involve setting an objective and specifying key, measurable results that allow users to identify whether they achieved their goal. These systems can be used to track the progress of individual employees, teams and departments. Users can set and track short and long-term goals and assess the progress of initiatives, such as the impact of a course, a curriculum or development program. This tool helps managers to identify high impact areas and observe how they are perceived by associates. To improve, a smart strategy is to promote self-development tools with clear objectives among employees. OKRs are an appropriate measurement instrument for this type of challenge.

However, organizations must make an effort to understand the interests of their workforce and actively try to incorporate such values and incentives in their strategy development. Otherwise, companies risk investing funding and time into a plan that is doomed to fail because leaders did not take genuine interest in their workforce. 

Q: What is your assessment of Mexico’s HR technology maturity and by extension, data analysis?

A: The technological gap in HR departments is a great challenge for many companies. This problem is caused by a lack of data maturity that prevents companies from gaining a deeper understanding of employees. Technology improves the quality of HR processes. For example, talent management systems for applicant tracking can improve recruiting processes. They also allow companies to gain a greater understanding of their human capital and make the most of available resources. HR management systems also allow companies to evaluate and improve the employee performance and identify areas of opportunity. 

These tools allow companies to maximize the return on investment in HR. The lack of data intelligence is a pain point in organizations, many of which operate with isolated data but 50% of the efficiency is based on having solid data. Sometimes, companies do not realize it until they start to lose market value and quality. Through intelligent data, we can plan, innovate and accelerate growth.

Q: How should companies identify and manage the job profiles that are adapted to emerging technologies?

A: AI can help in the development of talent in several ways. For example, data analysis and AI allow companies to identify key competencies in their employees and measure their performance. This allows organizations to identify the strengths and weaknesses of their employees and develop training and development plans accordingly.

AI can also manage task assignment, helping organizations assign tasks and projects to the most appropriate associates based on their competencies and goals. AI can also help employees identify suitable career opportunities based on their competencies and goals, helping them to proactively develop their careers and plan their professional development effectively. This technology can also automatically recommend content and suggest steps for development.

AI can also help organizations evaluate employee performance objectively and accurately, helping organizations identify employees who are excelling and develop training and development plans for those who need to improve. 

The Cornerstone SkillsGraph, for example, helps talent leaders match needed competencies with people, learning content and jobs. Powered by AI and machine learning, Cornerstone SkillsGraph uses a vast repository of over 50,000 unique skills to automatically discover staff's skills, recommend development opportunities, tag content automatically and accelerate career mobility. 

Techshare, founded in 2009, constructs and develops models and collaboration systems to improve the environment and competitiveness of enterprises.