How GSK Built a Scalable People Data Strategy To Drive HR Transformation

Aligning people data strategies with broader HR transformation initiatives is critical for organizational success. It is the foundation that enables organizations to scale insights, integrate cutting-edge technologies, and make better talent decisions that drive business outcomes.

This is exactly what GSK, a global healthcare company, has achieved through its comprehensive people data strategy. Speaking on the Digital HR Leaders Podcast, Angela Le Mathon, Vice President of People Data and Analytics at GSK, shared how the company’s people data strategy has enabled the organization to drive meaningful HR transformation and deliver value to the business.

In this article, we will reflect on the key takeaways from Angela's conversation and how organizations can build a strong people data strategy to drive their own HR transformation initiatives.

Building a strong data foundation

Just as you would build a strong foundation for a house, building a strong data foundation is critical for any people data strategy. At GSK, this step meant organizing and managing data effectively to ensure it could support their digital HR transformation.

Angela shares, "You need a lot of data structured in a very particular way; it needs to be relevant, it needs to be timely. There are so many components to the way we think about people insights that companies are recognising it needs a more formal structure."

GSK knew that to make intelligent talent decisions, they needed more than just people data—they had to combine it with business data through a single source of truth.

Angela explains, "You can't make intelligent decisions just looking at people data. You need to look at people data, business data, and multiple other data sets in a smart way." To bring all their data sources together, GSK invested in Visier's people analytics platform to consolidate their data and make it easier to visualize insights and react quickly to changes to make better decisions faster.

Scaling insights and driving organisational buy-in

An organization can have the best people data strategy in the world, but if they do not have senior leadership buy-in, it will not drive HR transformation. During the interview, Angela shared with David Green how, in a bid to scale people insights across the organization, she would ask, "How do we actually provide a service through our data models? How do we think about data as a product? And so how do you productize a lot of the insights that we're generating into the business in a meaningful way?"

Referring to herself as the "delightful irritant" in pushing forward data-driven agendas within GSK's HR leadership team, she found that to seize the opportunity that data-driven insights promised, she needed to get GSK's partnership with technology in a good place.

With that additional time to provide more value-driven insights, Angela and her team were able to focus on scaling their insights across the organization to drive better talent decisions. It allowed them to show the true potential of a data-driven HR function, gain buy-in from leadership and other stakeholders, and ultimately drive HR transformation.

Upskilling and creating a data-driven culture

Investing in technology and creating new formulas for insights isn't enough for a true HR transformation. It requires a shift in mindset, where data and analytics are at the forefront of decision-making processes. As Angela adeptly said, "You won't get the business to even look at the data, let alone make a decision off of it, if they don't trust it."

To build trust in data within GSK, Angela and her team implemented various training programs to ensure that everyone, from entry-level staff to senior leaders, understood how to work with data.

Then, there is trusting the technology that provides the insights. The end-users need to believe in the data they receive from the technology solution. They need to be able to navigate it with ease to make sense of it.

With Visier's visualization tools, digital AI assistant, Vee, and an easy-to-use interface, GSK is able to simplify and democratize people's insights that anyone in the organization can easily access (permission settings accounted for, of course). End users can ask Vee questions in conversational language that is easy to understand, and Vee responds with visualizations and explanations of the insights delivered. It is this simplicity that is helping data-driven decision-making become a part of GSK's culture.

Unlock the full potential of your people data strategy

GSK's journey shows how building a strong people data strategy can make all the difference between success and stagnation. By building strong data foundations, scaling insights, and creating a culture that embraces data-driven decision-making, GSK has successfully transformed its HR function into a strategic business partner that drives growth and success for the organization.

At the heart of it, all is the investment in technology—Visier's people analytics platform—which has provided GSK with the tools needed to gather, analyze, visualize, and act on people data in meaningful ways.

As you assess your own organization's people data strategy, think about how a partnership with a technology provider could support your journey. Whether it's consolidating your HR tech stack, simplifying data analysis, visualizing insights, or democratizing access to data for all levels of the organization, Visier can help you unlock the full potential of your people data strategy and drive HR transformation in your organization.

Book a demo today to learn more about how Visier can help you achieve your HR and business goals through data-driven insights.