Nadzeya Laurentsyeva is a leading expert in People & Culture at Sanofi. She leads a key role in the digital transformation of the HR department and works closely with data science teams to develop innovative solutions that revolutionize HR processes. With a background in data analytics and many years of experience in strategic HR work, she is driving the transformation to a data-driven, future-oriented HR department at Sanofi. In an interview with hkp.com, she talks about using data to improve decision-making and the employee experience, with a clear focus on diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI).
In your experience, how is data used in HR?
Sanofi People & Culture, similarly to HR functions at many other companies, is now undergoing through the digital transformation and the turn to data-driven decision-making. Data come from various interconnected sources, including the main HR management system, candidate platform, learning platforms, employee recognition system, as well as regular company-wide employee surveys. There are several types of data products available. First, supporting HR data democratization, there are traditional dashboards that provide up-to-date and standardized key employee indicators: from simple headcount and resignation rates to more specialized statistics, such as internal mobility, take-up rates of trainings or psychological safety measures. Second, there are so-called ‘snackable AI insights’ for people managers: a special App that tracks several People & Culture drivers both over time and across teams and provides monthly manager-specific recommendations. Third, a dedicated People Insights data science team works on advanced people analytics, processing large volumes of unstructured data (ex: employees’ comments, texts from development plans or annual goals, formal and informal networks), developing predictive models (ex: forecasting attrition risk), and conducting impact evaluations.
What are successful examples of how data can support HR strategy?
In the realm of HR data applications, we often observe impactful examples. One such instance involves employee engagement and psychological safety in gender-diverse teams. Our results indicated that, on average, women tend to feel themselves worse compared to their (very similar) male counterparts in gender-mixed teams. This insight prompted further research on the topic and generated discussions with the global DEI team to consider revision of the learning content for managers overseeing such teams.
Where should the focus be for the future when it comes to the innovative use of HR data?
I see three focus areas: First, upskilling HR employees and people managers in using and interpreting data insights for decision-making is crucial. The current state of technology is still far away from being able to replace human judgment and human decisions. Therefore, empowering HR professionals with the necessary skills to formulate relevant questions and to understand and leverage data insights effectively will enhance their ability to make informed decisions and use new tools responsibly. Second, Data governance should be a priority, with a particular focus on data quality (no matter how sophisticated algorithms are, they can’t train with poor data), data privacy, and transparency. It's essential to ensure that these are implemented consistently across the organization. And finally, coordination and communication with other parts of the organization regarding systematic data collection and processing is vital. This will facilitate the integration of HR data with other data domains, such as finance and business performance, allowing for a more comprehensive analysis and understanding of the organization's overall strategy.
Nadzeya Laurentsyeva, thank you very much for the interview!
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Beim PPA Summit 2024 „No Data – No Strategy: HR als strategischer Partner in der Konzeption und Umsetzung evidenzbasierter Transformationsprozesse“, organisiert von der Predictive People Analytics (PPA) Initiative der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), dem ifo Institut und hkp///group, geht es um den wirkungsvollen Einsatz von Daten im HR-Management und für die Strategie von Unternehmen. PPA Summit am 8. Oktober 2024 in München unter dem Titel No Data No Strategy – HR als strategischer Partner in der Konzeption und Umsetzung evidenzbasierter Transformationsprozesse. |
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