PhD student Margriet Bentvelzen and professors Corine Boon, and Deanne Den Hartog are researchers with the Business School’s Amsterdam People Analytics Centre (APAC). Their research was conducted in collaboration with the people analytics company Crunchr.

User profiles

People Analytics (PA) is a data-driven approach to human resource management. PA focuses on systematically identifying and quantifying people-related drivers of important business outcomes. It is an important part of the decision-making process in many organisations

Their paper, published in the Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, examines how individual users adopt PA technology. Based on the idea that people have different needs and preferences, the researchers found 4 user profiles:

• skeptic diplomats
• optimistic strugglers
• optimists
• enthusiasts

These profiles differ in their willingness to adopt PA technology. Some user profiles use it more frequently than others. There are also difference between these profiles when it comes to the versatility of how the technology is used.

Some of the general conclusions in their paper were that when users understand that PA technology will benefit their performance, others around them will use it as well. They are also more likely to use the technology if they believe they are capable of using it. This belief could be encouraged by making users aware of organisational and technical infrastructure that is in place to provide them with support.

Targeted approach

More specifically, the profiles identified by the researchers help organisations in their efforts to get employees to adopt People Analytics. Each profile has different needs and can be best reached using a specific strategy.

For example, skeptic diplomats and optimistic strugglers need more specific communication to help them see the benefits and remove concerns about extra effort when using the technology. Those who are already positive (the optimists in the study), but have not yet (sufficiently) adopted the technology, can benefit from specific tips and guidance on usage. The enthusiasts could benefit from further individualisation, such as communication about advanced options and help to implement features they see as especially useful.

‘Our research enables managers and organisations to be aware of potential differences in their user population. They can then develop a communication strategy that effectively targets users in each profile’, says Boon.
The researchers believe the insights provided in their publication will help embed people analytics in the decision-making process of businesses or other organisations.