Dear Natalie, could you please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your career trajectory, and how you got into the Data Analytics & Insights side of business?
My name is Natalie Delgado, and I am a Strategic Insights and Data Analytics Leader with over 25 years of experience. In my career, I have worked for industry leaders like Reckitt, Mondelēz, Kraft, Ogilvy, BAT, and Shell. My passion is to unveil data-driven insights that enable business growth by always putting customers (or as I like to call them, people!) at the heart of every decision-making process.
However, my journey into data & insights was not linear at all. As an architect by education, I started my career at Shell, where I had a first taste to insights and analytics. At that time, I had to translate shopper data sets into retail design to revamp Shell's convenience stores in Brazil. Soon, I realised the power of data in uncovering people's behaviours and motivations and how this could inform strategic decision-making in the company. This opportunity further sparked my curiosity, leading me to pursue an MBA at Imperial College to not only learn the foundations of business management but also to specialise in Customer-Focused Strategy and Advanced Strategy Analysis.
Little did I know, I was entering the world of data & insights for the next 25 years to come, which has been an exciting and rewarding journey since then.
How have you seen the approach to Data Analytics & Insights evolve over the last few years?
There has never been a more exciting time to be in Data Analytics & Insights. As technology and computing power advance at lightning speed and evolving consumer needs and behaviours pose new challenges to businesses, being a data & insights professional is nothing but a great and fun place to be!
Over the past few years, I have seen a dramatic shift in data & insights. We have transitioned from laborious manual data collection and reporting to dynamic data collection and automated reporting powered by large datasets. This shift, combined with the wider availability of advanced analytics and AI-enabled tools, has transformed our capabilities. Now, we can not only understand what happened and why it happened, but also what is likely to happen in the future with better precision that we did not have before.
What has not changed though, is the need for Data Analytics & Insights professionals to put customers and consumers first. We should continue advocating their voices inside our organisations and bringing human judgment and emotional intelligence together with data understanding to uncover growth opportunities. That remains the core of what we do - data-enabled insights for business growth.
In the end, all these challenges and advancements present Data & Insights professionals with an extraordinary opportunity to foster a more data-driven insights culture in their organisations and empower faster and informed decision-making, making us indispensable strategic partners for business success.
There is lots of conversation around Data & Insights is linked to Marketing side of business. However, how can data analytics & insights be applied to the HR function to improve talent management across the employee journey, and what are the key considerations for success?
Based on my 25 years of experience working with Data Analytics & Insights I can confidently say that the overall process of data-driven insights generation can be largely applied to HR departments to enhance talent management across the board - from recruitment to training and development.
The key to success is a profound change in mindset that needs to happen top down across the organisations. Employees are not only key business stakeholders but also people – just like your consumers and yourself! – driven by their own unique values and motivations. As such, organisations should actively listen to them to gain a deep understanding of the factors that influence their behaviours and preferences.
I suggest this “employee data analytics & insights” journey begins with organisations gathering and enquiring the large amount of employee data they have available in-house. By doing so, they can identify and quantify the gaps and opportunities in talent engagement. Harnessing the power of existing data, such as demographic, satisfaction surveys, discussion roundtables and exit interviews, can provide a holistic understanding of your internal cohorts, their needs, and their aspirations throughout the employee journey. This knowledge can then be leveraged to create tailored solutions and programmes along the employee journey, leading to increased satisfaction, retention, and advocacy.
Effective talent management in today's multigenerational workforce requires a deep understanding of employee behaviour, culture, skill gaps, and retention drivers. How can HR leverage data analytics to address these needs and foster long-term engagement?
Today's workplace embraces diverse generations – Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z (with Gen Alpha on the horizon!). This multigenerational landscape presents both challenges and opportunities for HR. While Baby Boomers may be nearing retirement and focused on knowledge transfer, Gen X prioritises experience recognition and job security. Millennials, meanwhile, strive for career advancement while maintaining work-life balance, and Gen Z seeks opportunities for skill expansion and values ethical leaders and their overall well-being.
By leveraging a data-driven insights approach, HR can move beyond demographics and gain a nuanced understanding of employee needs, attitudes, and motivations. This deeper knowledge empowers HR to tailor employee-centric policies and programmes that foster long-term engagement and a thriving multigenerational workforce.
Employee surveys can assess employees' sentiments, satisfaction with company culture, and potential areas for improvement. Analysing open-ended responses with the aid of technology can provide valuable insights for swift action. Utilising exit interview data to identify common reasons for departures and proactively addressing them can help develop attrition risk models, pinpointing employees at risk of leaving.
Also, leveraging network analysis to understand collaboration patterns and identify key influencers can inform mentorship programmes and career development plans. Predictive modelling can even shine a light on future skill requirements for workforce upskilling based on market trends and industry benchmarks. These are a few examples that demonstrate how a data-driven insights approach can be integrated into HR departments to inform a proactive talent management strategy.
Lastly, if you had to give one piece of advice to the Leadership out there looking to harness their Data & Insights practice, what would you say?
I would say the Leadership should cultivate a deep understanding of their consumers. All too often, I find senior leaders far removed from the real lives and experiences of the consumers they serve. They may also have limited personal engagement with their own company's products or services.
Leaders should then actively engage and listen to their consumer base. This means (literally!) talking directly to their consumers and immersing themselves in the experiences of the products and services they offer, all through the lens of a regular person, not a corporate executive. After all, all leaders are also people and consumers! By gaining this firsthand perspective, leaders can truly grasp the transformative power of Data Analytics & Insights in driving business growth.
From my experience, once the Leadership becomes passionate champions for data-driven insights, the path to success becomes clearer and our jobs become easier. Then it is time for skilled Data Analytics & Insights experts to take the stage and deliver game-changing business results.