My First 100 Days as the New Head of People Analytics & HR Tech

It is hard to believe it’s been 100 days since I joined PayPal to lead the people analytics & HR tech organization. If you ask me how it’s been, I’d describe it’s been both energizing and humbling. As I reflect on my leadership journey, here are some of the key highlights.

1. Build a strong sense of connection within existing team members. A month into my new role, I hosted a team offsite that included a StrengthsFinder session for everyone and figuring out our mission statement. There is a sense of closeness that wasn’t there before. We discovered lots of musical talent on the team as well as obsession with fitness. As someone who champions wellbeing, I also make it regular part of our weekly conversation to talk about sleep, stress, and energy. I believe in making investments in the team because I know talent is scarcer than capital.

2. Listening tours. I met with HRBPs to understand how they have leveraged data analytics and their experience with consultants on my team. I had shared back the customer feedback with my team members and encouraged them to create individual develop plans (IDPs) using this and their top 5 strengths from the StrengthsFinder results. I also met with VPs and SVPs outside the function for 1-on-1s to understand their prior experience with HR and to learn about their business units. This has been tremendously helpful in creating a roadmap where we as a team can add value to the enterprise.

3. Evaluate and reshape the scope of people analytics & HR tech org. As part of this process, I’ve assessed skills of the current organization and am building out my leadership team to add skillsets that complement what we have. I believe in using our strengths. There has been reset conversations I’ve had on when and how to engage us. I’ve also ensured the structure and skills would enable us to execute our vision and roadmap. Separately, I’ve discovered numerous opportunities for automation and have started to automate some of the manual reporting that used to take hours to do. I’ve continued challenged the team to think about scale and productization. For people analytics to truly make an impact and to be able to support the rapid growth the company is experiencing, we must be up-to-date on technology solutions and analytics methods to add value to the business at scale.        

4. Take time to reflect and continue my own “rethinking”. Those of you who know me personally had likely heard me talk about “rethinking” and “unlearning” even before I read Adam Grant’s new book “Think Again”. I value this greatly in my team members and candidates I’m interviewing. It takes strength and courage to rethink and unlearn. While I’ve led people analytics in large organizations before, I always start with an open mind in my listening tours. I never assume what worked for my previous clients would necessarily work for my current clients. On weekends, I reflect on the new information I learned about the organization and take time to rethink my approach.  

5. Create opportunities to collaborate with other analytics organizations. I have genuinely enjoyed the collaboration with various analytics organizations, including data science, customer success, marketing analytics, and RPA. We have tremendous opportunities to collaborate and help each other. When I introduce my team members to these colleagues, I can see how much more energized they are. It’s a new experience and new learning opportunity for all of us.

Personally, I am energized by our leaders who are as passionate about people analytics and HR tech as I am. There is no shortage of opportunities. I am grateful for the support from my team members who helped me get up-to-speed quickly, my colleagues who have become friends to share laughter with, and all my clients who are open-minded to new approaches and continuous rethinking. I am looking forward to what's next! 

For other articles I’ve written, check out:

• Starting a New Job in the Pandemic – Tips for Success
• A Summer of Breakups?
• Navigating Career Crossroads - Three Questions to Ask Yourself
• People Analytics Career - Do’s and Don’ts
• Use HR Tech and People Analytics to Shape Your Post-Covid Workplace Strategy
• What Can Organizations Do to Help Employees Improve their Mental and Emotional Well-being?

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Dr. Serena Huang is currently the Global Head of People Analytics & HR Technology at PayPal. She is a thought leader in people analytics, HR technology, digital transformation, future of work, and employee experience with deep expertise spanning large multinationals including GE, Koch Industries, Kraft Heinz, and Deloitte. Her recent interviews appeared on People Matters, Data Chief podcast, HR Leaders podcast, Workforce.com and Rallyware.

Follow her on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/serenahhuangphd/

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