GLOBAL MOBILITY


Capturing data and insights For companies looking to adopt a more predictive data-led approach, Alain De Dauw, of industrial tool manufacturer Atlas Copco, observed how much data was now available at the touch of a button, and commented on the issues this could present. “Mobility is very good at producing data,” he said. “The


key issue is actually how to consume it, how confident we are in making decisions based around it. How do we transform data into information and actionable insights through smart analytics and dialogue? “At Atlas Copco, we are in the middle of a transition, going from a


decentralised model of data management to a global HR information system, or HRIS. What we are trying to do is transform that data into information we can use at management level.”


Integrating systems and dialogues Having data that is integrated – not data that sits siloed in one place – is key to driving the discussion and business preparedness, suggested discussion chair Robert J Horsley. Integrated data is the right ‘ecosystem’ for information


sharing and a willingness to collaborate. From a corporate point of view, data protection and employee confidentiality can also easily be maintained, and integration offers a more efficient way of sharing and mining data. In practice, especially in the early stages of data transformation


in mobility, there are challenges to establishing this. “I think when you move from a corporate to a global view, it is a challenge,” noted Alan De Dauw. “What we see is that the data that should be available is not always available. There is also a lot of reporting, and it’s a question of using the right data.”


Gareth Paine agreed that, rather than having too little data,


companies had too much. The issue was how to consume it. The panel remarked on the insights that relatively standard,


licensed HR systems already offered, and on how outsourced relocation service providers’ systems could add further details. People, too, could be data hubs in their own right. The key for mobility practitioners looking to use data to


offer insights, suggested the panellists, was to keep it simple and start small. “This removes gut feel and means you can power your hunch with data. You can test outcomes and take baby steps,” advised Gareth Paine.


Truth or lie? In a world that can often seem to be based more on strongly held beliefs than unassailable facts, the ability to test assumptions becomes very powerful, especially in the context of talent. A recent Harvard Business Review piece showed that, very often, people perceived as high performers did not live up to that label when compared on output and performance measures. With the dialogue around unconscious bias and fairness another


key theme, workforce analytics offer a further powerful application in the talent management and deployment arena. The panel agreed that a shift to more data-driven decision-making was to be welcomed from the perspective of diversity and equity, and in the current climate of opposing prejudice in all its forms. Being able to test gut instincts against hard facts also


offered mobility new insights into long-standing issues, such as return on investment, which had arguably dropped out of the conversation, the panel suggested, as well as enabling mobility to speak the business’s language.


THE NEWMAN SCHOOL


A world of learning, in Boston’s Back Bay.


The Newman School is a coed, private college preparatory high school in the heart of the Back Bay. We have small class sizes, quality college acceptances, and a vibrant sports program. Students have the option to pursue an International Baccalaureate diploma.


For more information, please contact Patricia Lynch, Ph.D., Director of Admissions plynch@newmanboston.org


247 Marlborough Street, Boston, MA (617) 267-4530 newmanboston.org


22 | Re:locate | Spring 2017


NEW 7th grade


starting Fall 2017


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44