Calculating Success

Calculating Success

by Carl Hoffmann, Eric Lesser, Tim Ringo
Released December 2011
Publisher(s): Harvard Business Review Press
ISBN: 9781422143322

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Book description

Create an Organization That Runs on More than Intuition and Guesswork

Most companies today have access to reams of data: marketing, supply chain, finance, as well as critical data about their workforce. Yet research shows that leaders at these companies lack the confidence to effectively integrate and use this data to compete more effectively in the marketplace. While executives know the results they need to achieve, they often fail to analyze the impact of their decisions on the firm, its processes, and its people.

Enter Calculating Success, written by a trio of experts who have spent decades working with companies to more effectively apply human capital data to improve organizational outcomes. Calculating Success shows readers how they can take an analytical approach to both anticipate and address the changes required by a company’s competitive environment, and drive superior performance.

Using an innovative six-step framework and introducing new tools, the authors show executives how to make smarter strategic decisions by evaluating the data at their fingertips.

The framework will help leaders:

• Analyze the work that needs to be done and know how to structure it
• Provide the right types of people to do it
• Motivate them to engage in that work
• Explore innovative ways to get the work done

Full of detailed examples and case studies, Calculating Success will help you rethink the relationship of talent to business success. The result? A more motivated and cost-efficient workforce and a sustainable, systematic approach to acquiring talent and innovating how work gets done.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Chapter One: Applying Analytics to Your Workforce
    1. What Is the New Approach to Workforce Analytics?
    2. Understanding the Impact of Workforce Analytics
    3. Why Is This So Difficult?
    4. The Six-Step Analytical Process: The Intersection of Science and Business
    5. Workforce Analytics: For Good or Evil?
    6. Where This Book Will Take You
  6. Chapter Two: Translating Strategy into Profitable Action
    1. The Challenge of Organizations: Translating Strategy into Action
    2. Developing the Business Strategy
    3. Creating the Operational Model
    4. Defining the Workforce Requirements
    5. Developing Workforce Standards
    6. Conclusion
  7. Chapter Three: Balancing Talent Supply and Demand
    1. Frame the Central Problem
    2. Apply a Conceptual Model to Guide the Analysis
    3. Capture Relevant Data
    4. Apply Analytical Methods
    5. Present Statistical Findings to Stakeholders
    6. Define Action Steps to Implement the Solution
    7. Conclusion
  8. Chapter Four: Untangling the Drivers of Workforce Performance
    1. Two Drivers of Performance
    2. Conclusion
  9. Chapter Five: Measuring the Value of Collaboration and Knowledge Capital
    1. Sharing Innovation and Knowledge Capital
    2. Using Social Networks to Measure Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing
    3. Applying the Wisdom of the Collective Organization
    4. Evaluating the Impact of Informal Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing
    5. Applying Analytics Through Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing at a Telecommunications Company
    6. Applying Analytics to Disseminate Knowledge and Skills at an Asian Airline
    7. Conclusion
  10. Chapter Six: Solving the Turnover Mystery
    1. Step 1: Frame the Central Problem
    2. Step 2: Apply a Conceptual Model to Guide the Analysis
    3. Step 3: Capture Relevant Data
    4. Step 4: Apply Analytical Methods
    5. Step 5: Present Statistical Findings to Stakeholders
    6. Step 6: Define Action Steps to Implement the Solution
    7. Lessons Learned
  11. Chapter Seven: Building a Sustainable Workforce Analytics Capability
    1. Timely, Accurate Data
    2. A Customized Analytic System
    3. System Maintenance
    4. Analytic Staff
    5. Governance Structures
    6. Key Questions in Building a Sustainable Analytics Capability
  12. Conclusion
  13. Appendix A: The Components of a Behavioral Survey to Understand the Drivers of Workforce Engagement
  14. Appendix B: Sources of Data Relevant to Turnover Analysis
  15. Acknowledgments
  16. About the Authors

Product information

  • Title: Calculating Success
  • Author(s): Carl Hoffmann, Eric Lesser, Tim Ringo
  • Release date: December 2011
  • Publisher(s): Harvard Business Review Press
  • ISBN: 9781422143322