Workforce Intelligence: The shifting role of HR at BBVA Compass

With the recent evolution in the realm of HR technology, there has been a rise in the number of organizations leveraging data and using it to obtain insights that drive their decision-making process. This data-driven perspective leads to a remarkable shift in the role of HR, advancing its function from reactive to proactive; from tactical to strategic. Recently featured in HR Tech Outlook magazine, BBVA Compass Director of People Analytics Morgan Turnipseed gives insight into how workforce analytics is becoming an integral business component at the bank.

Discovering the need, eliminating the guesswork

'I believe people are the most important asset for an organization, however, people are also one of its most under-analyzed segments,' said Turnipseed. 'At BBVA Compass, after studying the HR analytics space, the bank realized the value of prioritizing 'people' data to strategically inform business and workplace decisions.'

According to Turnipseed, the bank found that consolidating relevant HR data would provide the ability to streamline the analysis of workforce and workplace issues before they occur. The bank also realized that a big data platform would provide convenient and instant access to current and historical data, helping HR and internal teams minimize guesswork and maximize the delivery of insightful business tactics. For BBVA Compass' HR team to become a contributor to workforce issues, an analytics tool was needed to close the gap between the organization and its people.

Investing in big data, relying on a single source of truth

'Today's HR and talent management operations are more complex, and organizational trends are significantly impacting the workplace,' said Turnipseed. 'BBVA Compass' HR analytics team found it paramount to invest in a business intelligence tool that allows for the compiling and sharing of data and the delivery of customizable dashboards to proactively identify workforce trends and workplace issues.'

To better enable effective analyses, the team invested in a tool that could integrate disparate data across the bank's HR systems, choosing a cloud-based solution called Visier. With Visier, the HR analytics team has the ability to store unlimited data; initiate workflows to ensure data quality; organize data that can support internal teams; and expedite the high demand of operational reporting - all from one platform. Most importantly, Visier enables the HR team to engage with bank executives, because HR analytics is now becoming a fixture in discussions that impact the organization and its business priorities.

Workforce analytics becomes meaningful when business decisions are influenced by data-driven insights in favor of subjective intuitions.

'Workforce analytics becomes meaningful when business decisions are influenced by data-driven insights in favor of subjective intuitions,' stated Turnipseed. 'With this analytics framework in place, the team has been able to understand how workforce variables, such as turnover, will affect business outcomes.'

Through key performance indicators displayed by Visier, the HR team can capture meaningful data patterns and insights about the workforce, such as high performer resignation drivers, the mix and evolution of staffing levels, and hiring patterns.

Visier, as a single source of truth for workforce data, has also allowed internal teams and analysts across the bank to harness the benefits of a data repository, providing access to a network of critical data and metrics on demand. In the same way that it supports the HR analytics team, Visier also enables internal teams and analysts to easily create metric-based dashboards, generate custom data extracts and discover data patterns. The HR analytics team still oversees the data, but implementing such a self-service tool helps internal stakeholders gain deeper business insights.

Fostering a data-driven culture, leveraging data capabilities

BBVA Compass' focus on HR analytics and big data aligns with the bank's' ongoing digital transformation and commitment to being a part of the digital shift taking shape in the financial sector. Using data analytics has become a keystone for the HR team and the bank. For teams throughout the bank, the integration of analytics helps them create efficiencies and informs their decision-making process. For the HR team, analytics is underpinning a big transformation - the team is evolving from a reporting and reactive role to a more consulting and proactive role.

It is important to note that we are leveraging data to complement workplace decisions, because at the end of the day, we are people who have to ultimately solve people problems.

'As we continue to integrate data into Visier, we are also looking to take advantage of its predictive and automated capabilities,' said Turnipseed. 'Armed with this information, the HR analytics team will be able to extract smart findings and proactively analyze complex data to help understand factors that impact our organization and its workforce. However, it is important to note that we are leveraging data to complement workplace decisions, because at the end of the day, we are people who have to ultimately solve people problems.'