PACT news spoke with Konstantin Tskhay, about how AI is transforming HR. From cleaning up data to bridging the gap with the C-suite, Konstantin shows how smarter data and sharper insights are key to the future of HR—and why it’s imperative to stay curious.

Key takeaways from our feature article::

• Stakeholders in tech are increasingly looking to HR for quantitative measures to guide organizational decision-making;
• Too many in HR are still behind the game when it comes to plumbing the potential of people analytics, but the need is apparent with the advent of AI models set to change the field even further;
• HR needs to clean house on the data already collected and focus on four primary areas of metrics—productivity, retention, engagement and talent acquisition; and
• HR should take a page from the marketing department and CHROs when it comes to listening to the C-suite for clues and answering with a presentation that targets the data that matters.

Moving People Analytics Into Action

“I would say majority of people in HR who I speak with are not using the power of analytics at this point, but they are thinking about analytics. They are collecting some basic data and are thinking about what data pieces they can bring into a conversation with the C-suite,” said Konstantin.

That said, he has full faith in the profession’s ability—and the growing necessity—to put people analytics in its proper lens of potential.

“HR has had to evolve as a profession all along and over the pandemic heard and met the call and demand for innovation, particularly in tech, with remote and globally distributed teams. Additionally, HR has had to handle a lot of spreadsheets and different information flows all along, and everybody will now have AI tools on their desktops, whether they like it or not,” said Konstantin.

While Konstantin acknowledges that part of this data aversion boils down to self-selection for HR professionals, he is firm in his belief that people analytics empowers the decision-making that drove this same segment to HR in the first place. Moreover, there are the exceptions, particularly at the CHRO level, that continue to show the power of people analytics and drive home the talent value in unexpected ways.

Answering A Quantitative Call From Stakeholders

“When people go into HR, it’s not to do a data analysis. They go into HR to interact with people, solve employee problems and create an awesome employee experience. All of these reasons are more qualitative in nature. Hence, analytics hasn’t been the number one draw for the profession, but that has been changing,” said Konstantin. “For quite a few years now, the company stakeholders—the board in particular and the C-suite—have been asking HR for robust quantitative data, and that demand has only grown, putting a challenge in front of HR to round out their skills.”

A big part of that demand stems from the changing demands of stakeholders, particularly in Canadian tech, with a shift from supporting growth to expecting profitability. Moreover, the demand for HR to bring on the analytic insights to guide critical decision-making has never been greater in the increasingly competitive and profitability-focused tech industry in Canada.

In Konstantin’s opinion, there has never been a greater demand or better time for HR to embrace its analytic potential.

“Unfortunately, I don't think people actually understand the degree of analytics power that they have at their fingertips just yet—especially the uses of AI within HR and HR analytics more generally,” said Konstantin, who has put together a Practical People Analytics course and is now working on a people analytics certificate program for Toronto Metropolitan University addressing that potential—one on data wrangling and the other on advanced analytics.

Shifting Mindsets In A Changing Game

That said, before HR can unleash the potential of the tools to come, Konstantin sees a more pressing need to pick up the analytical tools that already exist and look beyond common correlations, inherent biases and expectations.

“Mindset is everything,” said Konstantin. “When analyzing data, it’s just like approaching any problem or observing the world around you—the way you process information is shaped by your mindset. The key is to stay open-minded and let your natural curiosity lead you to ask, ‘What does this mean?’ instead of immediately trying to solve the problem.”

While acknowledging the C-suite desire for producing statistically significant results, Konstantin’s focus lies within evolving the HR mindset to both answer that call with impact and in full knowledge of shareholder’s new expectations.

“Before, particularly in Canadian tech, HR was responsible for hiring and firing massive flows of people, but the shareholder mindset has shifted from growth to profitability,” said Konstantin. “As I've been doing these interviews over the past couple of years, the mindset of the investors and the stakeholders has changed. The onus is on HR to develop that quantitative offering to back up the qualitative.”

Exploring The Disconnect Between HR & Results

Unfortunately, while KPIs, core metrics and digital dashboards have become relatively commonplace for HR over the past decade, Konstantin still finds that quantitive offering falling flat on the table or never making it there in the first place.

“What is curious is that there's still very often a disconnect between the data that HR provides and what business leaders want,” said Konstantin, adding diplomatically. “Perhaps it's the way that the data gets communicated and provided and the continuous demand on this information.”

Having seen the power of people analytics when wielded by those well-versed in the arts of data and presentation alike, Konstantin is committed to converting the wider swath of HR professionals to the practice.

“I've seen very successful CHROs use data very consistently within their discussions on recruitment, compensation, hybrid and remote workforce strategy. As a result, they are navigating the investor environment very clearly compared to less successful HR leaders who don't necessarily provide the right information or package the information in the right way,” said Konstantin. “So there is something to say about that skill of communication, really understanding what your stakeholders want and need to see.”

Learn From The Pros Of The Sell

Konstantin has another bit of advice that he admits many of his colleagues don’t necessarily like, but he finds to be an ideal lens for discerning what matters and presenting it in a way that registers.

“A lot of my peers and HR don’t like me thinking this way, but it’s really about marketing, right? It is thinking as a marketer, which means asking a lot of questions, understanding your customer—which is your C-suite or your board—and then presenting the information in a clear and concise way that is going to drive the points home rather than confuse everyone,” said Konstantin. “Isn't that what we're trying to do with HR? Isn't this the outcome that you're looking for? So why not learn from a marketer about how they approach it? Why not learn their methodology, keep curiosity at the forefront and then translate it into our world of HR?”

Forging Fresh Connections With Familiar Data

Moreover, what is most often lacking, Konstantin notes, is not the data, but knowledge of the multiple ways that data can be put to use.

Whether it’s connecting the retention impact of the layers and spans of control in how your company is structured or calculating the true cost of turnover, Konstantin helps others draw otherwise overlooked connections that speak directly to HR’s true business value.

“Many of these calculations are simple, but they involve less obvious metrics that most organizations don’t actively measure, quantify, or translate into actionable insights,” said Konstantin. “At the Tech Talent North conference, I asked the audience, ‘How many of you have ever correlated engagement with productivity?’ Not a single hand went up. Most people assume that more engaged employees are naturally more productive, but how many have actually tested that assumption in the real world? It’s a significant assumption that often goes untested, which is fascinating.”

Which brings Konstantin back to the biggest problem with HR and people analytics.

“The amount of data available can be overwhelming and a lot of the problem just comes down to understanding what the ask is and what data answers it best. Unfortunately, when people don’t have this understanding, they start “boiling the ocean,” when all you really need are a few metrics that communicate your points clearly.”

Four Metrics That Matter Most

As for where HR is most likely to find the greatest data value, Konstantin has a fairly basic quartette that can be unfolded across manifold scenarios:

• Productivity: “I always return to what the stakeholders, shareholders, and the board ultimately care about and what the company’s purpose is at its core. Starting from that perspective, productivity becomes the top priority—often measured by revenue per FTE. How productive is my workforce? This will guide and shape our workforce planning.”
• Retention: “Retention is crucial because when employees leave, constantly refilling positions puts a significant strain on the organization. Within the realm of retention, tenure is equally important, as employees who stay longer typically become more proficient in their roles, leading to higher productivity levels.”
• Engagement: “The third metric I focus on is engagement and its link to outcomes and productivity. Many organizations assume that more engaged employees are automatically more productive, and while I haven’t seen a case where engagement doesn’t have some impact, the strength of that correlation can be surprising. It’s often assumed to be a strong predictor, but in reality, it’s frequently less influential than how connected employees feel with their manager or whether they know what they need to do to be successful in their role.”
• Talent Acquisition: “Tenure makes talent acquisition metrics crucial, including time-to-fill and hire quality—a challenging area for many due to internal biases. While performance metrics are often used, they can be skewed by subjective manager ratings. The best measure I’ve seen is tracking how quickly new hires reach full productivity.”

Learning to use such common metrics in uncommon, outside-the-box ways, Konstantin notes, is only going to become more critical with the influx of new AI tools about the flood the workplace.

Enter AI, Ergo HR Must Lead…Or Else

“There’s a major challenge with using AI for data analysis, and it centres on data quality,” said Konstantin. “In many HR systems, data quality is poor, and my colleagues consistently identify this as a top issue for their clients or organizations. Poor data leads to unreliable metrics when analyzed by AI, and without understanding this context, those metrics can’t be meaningfully applied.”

“To truly unlock the value of people analytics, the number one step for most HR and organizations is really going to be cleaning up that data,” said Konstantin. “Because it’s a matter of garbage in, garbage out—and we’ve seen that left, right and centre with AI.”

Moreover, that needs to be made a priority for HR, Konstantin notes, before the C-suite no longer turns to HR for the answers.

“The truth is, C-suite will soon turn to AI for retention insights instead of HR, making it essential for HR to be the leader’s data partner,” said Konstantin. “With tools already providing key metrics through chat interfaces, it prompts the question: ‘Do we still need analysts for all this analytics?’”

While it is a double-edged question that speaks to the potential and peril for HR professionals, Konstantin is unequivocal in his answer—for now.

“Human intelligence in interpreting data is more crucial than ever,” said Konstantin. “Machines can optimize and spot obvious patterns, but humans today ultimately discern, differentiate, and make decisions. However, as machines continue to learn, HR must fully embrace and apply these tools to maintain their unique value.”

Fortunately, for the time being, AI and the C-suite alike need all the HR guidance it can get.