Dirk Jonker

As a consultant, you bring a unique perspective. Here are my three tips: First, don't just focus on the project or service. Discover the bigger picture of why it is relevant to the company or their clients. Next, highlight your experience. Show your ability to be successful in different companies, industries, and cultures. Many candidates will have deeper performance in one vertical, but your diverse background shows curiosity and potential. With the future of work changes so much, that is way more valuable. Finally, emphasize that a solution is only as good as its implementation. Discuss your experience in managing change and guiding transformations. Use these steps to showcase your skills and assess if the role is worth your energy.

The cheap answer is that the future of HR analytics is all about artificial intelligence and large language models. These tools can democratize insights directly to the business. However, without good data and trust in current reporting, AI will just push dirty data, spread unreliable metrics, and give false suggestions at 200mph and confuse the heck out of managers. Think twice! I believe the real trend will be quickly getting back to basics: building strong data foundations and creating a culture where everyone trusts and values HR analytics. This approach ensures that the insights we get are truly useful and reliable.

Job rotations are an excellent way to unlock potential and provide valuable learning experiences for HR consultants. Some leading companies follow the 3x3x3 rule to develop future leaders. Work in 3 countries to gain exposure to different cultures and broaden your global perspective. Work in 3 functions to build cross-functional experience and enhance your versatility. Work in 3 business units to tackle new challenges and understand diverse business operations. By embracing job rotations, you can develop a well-rounded skill set and prepare yourself for leadership roles in the future. Workforce analytics is a great tool to measure the effectiveness of these programs.

HR Operations is often undervalued but incredibly important. They drive alignment through insights and measure whether the workforce strategy execution is on track to support the business plans. To achieve this, HR Operations develops a smart plan to integrate and connect data. This includes creating an intelligent workforce insights layer and a democratization layer, aligned with your chosen data delivery model, whether it's self-service or through insights partners. The primary challenge often lies in balancing short-term value creation with establishing a long-term foundation.

Great topic where People Analytics adds tons of value. Let me explain. The employee value proposition goes beyond monetary benefits alone. For example, the flexibility of working from home is highly appreciated and adds significant value. When surveying employees, instead of asking "do you value working from home" (to which everyone will say yes), use conjoint analysis. Ask, "would you rather work from home or work in the office and have 5% more salary?" By integrating people analytics with techniques like conjoint analysis, organizations can tailor their retention strategies to meet the specific needs and preferences of their workforce, leading to higher satisfaction and lower turnover.

To design effective retention strategies, start by understanding your current turnover rate and its causes. Exit interviews alone are insufficient due to often poor data quality. Instead, use driver analysis and include analyzing survey results from employees before they leave. Why? Because 15 out of 17 key retention indicators come from surveys, not from Workday. Also, remember that not all turnover is bad; it ties deeply into your future workforce design. Determine which skills, roles, and people are crucial for your organization's success. And start optimizing from there.