The duality of HR analysts' storytelling: Showcasing and curbing

Abstract

Given the increased popularity of HR analytics, a particular focus has been placed on its enactors -HR analysts. Their capabilities are believed to entail analytical and storytelling skills. While we acknowledge the importance of analytical skills, this study utilises an exploratory and qualitative approach to extend our understanding on the storytelling of HR analysts, which remains less understood in the HR analytics research. Data from HR analysts shows they engage in storytelling as showcasing, incorporating a narrow approach to translating and selling. The latter is a broader form of institutional work to gain legitimacy for HR analytics on a general level. New insights are also offered on how HR analysts engage in storytelling as curbing, a form of institutional work linked with decoupling HR analytics policy from daily practices and projects. HR analysts engage with these two seemingly contradictory aspects of storytelling to develop sustainable and legitimate HR analytics.

Enacting people analytics: Exploring the direct and complementary effects of analytical and storytelling skills

“…Within the context of people analytics, storytelling refers to the ability to effectively convey the value of people analytics to stakeholders through promoting, framing, and translating complex data into meaningful data stories (Fu et al, 2022; McCartney et al, 2020). As such, the existing people analytics literature has placed significant emphasis on storytelling, claiming it as another important skill required by People Analysts to perform their daily responsibilities (Andersen, 2017; Fu et al, 2022; Green, 2017; McCartney et al, 2020). For example, Davenport and Kim (2013) emphasize the importance of storytelling skills, suggesting that it is critical in identifying problems and presenting outcomes to encourage effective organizational decision‐making.…”

“…For example, in their competency model, McCartney et al (2020) highlight how People Analysts perceive the competency of storytelling and communication as essential as it allows them to “convey and translate data into a meaningful story that can inform a business group or a specific audience” (p. 1503). Likewise, when interviewing People Analysts about their storytelling skills, Fu et al (2022) find that as part of their role, People Analysts are required to use their storytelling abilities to sell the benefits of people analytics while managing expectations to stakeholders through effective narratives. More broadly, Boldosova and Luoto (2020) explain how the skill of storytelling has gained considerable interest in the field of data analytics as it acts as a sensemaking mechanism allowing for complex insights to be translated into a straightforward narrative.…”

“…Existing research has claimed the importance of this complementarity between analytical and storytelling skills detailing how People Analysts need to create knowledge from data while also communicating insights to enable organizations to make evidence‐based decisions (McCartney et al, 2020). Specifically, People Analysts have discussed how they perceive storytelling and analytical skills as two KSAOs that together enable the people analytics process leading to improved performance (Andersen, 2017; Fu et al, 2022; McCartney et al, 2020; McIver et al, 2018; Minbaeva, 2018; Peeters et al, 2020). For instance, People Analysts who cannot undertake sufficient analysis or have a limited understanding of how to apply and generate insights gained through analytical techniques will be unable to build and present a compelling data story that will motivate change.…”

“…Despite claims presenting analytical and storytelling skills as the two broad human capital inputs required to perform people analytics tasks (i.e., run reports, design visualizations and dashboards, develop predictive models, and translate insights to stakeholders) (Fu et al, 2022), the extent to which People Analysts perceived the impact of these skills on enhancing their job performance remains limited (Andersen, 2017; Huselid, 2018; McCartney et al, 2020; McIver et al, 2018; Minbaeva, 2018; Peeters et al, 2020). Moreover, although scholars have suggested the importance of People Analysts having a combination of complementarity KSAOs to effectively develop predictive models and translate these insights to stakeholders (Andersen, 2017; Fu et al, 2022; McCartney et al, 2020), evidence supporting the synergistic effect of these skills remains unexplored in the extant people analytics literature necessitating further scholarly attention. Accordingly, this study aims to better understand the evolving profession of People Analysts by exploring how analytical and storytelling skills, two individual level HCRs, are perceived to influence their overall job performance.…”

“…Integrating people analytics and HCRs theories constitutes an important contribution toward constructing a "synthesized coherence" between these two research themes (Locke & Golden-Biddle, 1997: 1034. Doing so also responds to calls from Fu et al (2022), Ellmer and Reichel (2021), McCartney et al (2020), and Peeters et al (2020) to further explore the skills and competencies of People Analysts and their impact on job performance. Second, we contribute to the advancement of people analytics research by demonstrating that People Analysts simultaneously apply analytical and storytelling skills and this synergistic relationship is perceived to impact job performance (Campbell & Aguilera, 2022;Klein & Cooke, 2022).…”