Manager insights, team dynamics: How to embed effective people analytics

The role of the manager is under scrutiny in 2024.

For all the decades of research, the progress of management science, and the notable examples of bosses both good and bad, employees continue to experience managers who are incompetent, unsupportive, disrespectful, and unfair. Even for those managers who are perceived as trustworthy, caring, and acting in the interests of their team, the majority lack the training, support, and resources to be truly effective.

HR, talent, and development leaders have still not cracked the manager conundrum. According to a 2023 report from the Chartered Institute of Managers, 52% of managers do not hold any management and leadership qualifications, and 33% have never received any formal management and leadership training. The results are damning. Workers who rate their manager as ineffective compared to effective are more likely to be planning to leave their organisation in the next year, less likely to feel motivated to do a good job, and less likely to recommend their company as a good place to work.

The knock-on effects on productivity, engagement, retention, referrals, and so on are clear to see. In short, managers need help to unlock their effectiveness. People analytics is the answer.

People analytics: The key to unlocking manager effectiveness

People data, when used effectively, makes managers more effective and more human. “People analytics provides managers with objective data on various aspects of their team's performance, such as productivity, engagement, and retention rates,” says Louise Baird, Head of People Analytics at Marks and Spencer. “This data allows managers to make informed decisions regarding resource allocation, performance management, and talent development, among other things. It takes away the need for decisions to be made on ‘gut feel’ alone and adds some fact into the mix.”

Indeed, people analytics can prevent managers from relying on assumptions or biases. Gemma Kelly, Head of People Data & Insights at the Office of National Statistics (ONS), argues that myth-busting is a key use of people analytics. “It helps dispel any myths that our colleagues have about the organisation. For example, if a colleague felt there were no promotions available to them, a line manager can respond with informed evidence,” Kelly explains.

Presenting managers with clear, accessible data that they can understand, interpret, and apply to their decision-making frees up time and enables better outcomes from choices on wellbeing, engagement, coaching, recognition, work allocation, and so on.