DEI Funding Cuts? You Need Data Analytics and AI More Than Ever.

By Serena H. Huang, Ph.D.

Welcome to my newsletter "From Data to Action" where I regularly write about technology and people trends. To read my future content, simply click 'follow' on my LI profile and turn on the notification bell. Contact me directly on Data With Serena for booking 1:1 meetings and my services.

You’ve seen the news: Google and Meta are slashing DEI programs, and several major universities have defunded their DEI programs.

If you are worried about the progress on DEI in your organization because your budget has also been cut this year, I have good news for you—data analytics & AI can help. How?

Here are three ways that data & AI can help your organization’s DEI efforts in tough budget climate:

1. Understanding Inclusion without Conducting Surveys

Many organizations are just getting started measuring inclusion using regular surveys and now with funding cuts, it may be difficult to design, conduct, and analyze such surveys. What if I told you that you could get a sense of inclusion without surveys?

Through organizational network analysis (ONA), you can answer questions such as:

• Are men more connected to more senior leaders than women?

• Do white employees have more interactions with their managers than non-white employees on the same team?

• Do Gen Z employees have strong connections with their millennial or Gen X managers?

• Which groups of employees are disproportionally isolated or disconnected from the broader group? (New hires, acquired employees, or specific demographic groups)

Take a look this map of one team’s decision-making connections, which reflected many individuals and teams across the firm.

"The largest central node represents a man, and ties exist among most of the men but only one woman (the largest of the three red nodes). And only two of those ties are reciprocated. The other two women on this team do not have any type of incoming ties, suggesting that their participation in the team’s decision-making processes is negligible." (HBR)

ONA can offer valuable insights without conducting surveys, though it has a few drawbacks. For example, it doesn’t capture the motivations behind behavior or provide context around cultural factors influencing the level of inclusion. Overall, if there are already out-of-the-box ONA available in your organization, it can provide useful data points to understand and improve workplace inclusion.

2. Speed up the Data to Insights Cycle Using AI

Salesforce’s 2023 Generative AI Survey reveals 80% of senior IT leaders believe generative AI will help their organization make better use of data. However, one-third cite inability to generate insights from data as an issue for their organizations. In the past where you may need a team of experienced analysts to create presentations to summarize DEIB survey findings, you can now leverage AI to quickly analyze both quantitative and text data.

With the advancement of generative AI, anyone can explore and analyze the data through simple prompts. The adoption of generative AI has a lot to do with how user-friendly the technology is. A new user can leverage generative AI without learning to write a line of code. They can identify patterns and outliers without taking a course in statistics. They can even create charts without having to learn data visualization tools like Power BI and Tableau (example below).

This efficiency gain can result in faster data to insights for an organization to support decision-making. I do see the increased importance of communication and critical thinking skills in the environment where we have so many tools to boost our productivity. It is more crucial than ever to be able to tell stories with data beyond what generative AI tools provide, and to perform sanity checks on the analysis or visualization you did not create from scratch. One of the largest concerns about generative AI is the tendency of Large Language Models (LLMs) to hallucinate, or make up seemingly factual information while appearing authoritative. Stakeholders who are making decisions based on analysis created by generative AI must remain curious and ask plenty of questions to the presenter, no matter how convincing and compelling the presentation appears to be.

3. Accelerate the Move Towards a Skills-Based Organization

“For society, taking a skills-first approach can create a far more inclusive and diverse workforce, because it means that people who missed out on traditional education pathways have more opportunities in the labor market.” (World Economic Forum)

Generative AI can ease the labor shortage by identifying more qualified candidates. Instead of focusing on education and experience requirements, generative AI can search through large databases of resumes or social media profiles to find candidates who have the skills and experience that are required for a particular job. For example, a company that is hiring for a data scientist position could use generative AI to search through resumes and profiles to identify candidates who have python and other relevant skills required for the job.

This concept is covered in greater detail in my recent interview on David Green's podcast. You can also learn how to leverage data analytics to build a skills-based workforce strategy in 45 min in this practical course on LinkedIn Learning.

COMING UP NEXT:

🔥 My series of 2024 workshops will kick off in Chicago next week with additional sessions in NYC and SF in coming months.

Are you struggling to get noticed by recruiters? Are you having difficulty generating quality leads and connecting with potential clients? Are you struggling to establish yourself as a thought leader and public speaker?

Join me, a Top 15 Chicago LinkedIn Expert for live workshops in Chicago (Feb 20th-Sign up!) and NYC (Mar 14th -Join waitlist)! ️

Here's what you'll get:

• Expert-led deep dive: Master the latest growth hacks to skyrocket your profile views and engagement.

• Personalized profile review: Get a FREE personalized review from me during the workshop!

• Networking with go-getters: Connect with like-minded professionals locally, build your network, and share career insights.

Don't need help with your LinkedIn but have a friend who wants to level up on LinkedIn? Consider gifting them this workshop!

🎙 Are you looking for ways to convince your leaders to invest in employee wellbeing? Have you been asked to measure employee productivity? Look no further. Sign up for this webinar on Feb 28th and find out!

🎙 I’ll be guest-lecturing at Washington University in St. Louis and New York University in the next few weeks. I am thrilled to be back on campus and helping students see data analytics in action.

ICYMI:

• David Green interviewed me on several key topics on his popular show recently. You can listen to this interview discussing why I left my corporate role, the impact of AI on HR and analytics, how CHROs can retain their People Analytics leader on David Green's show here.

• My January session to the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) community sponsored by Dow Chemical on personal branding is now available on YouTube. And I’m proud to share we had record registration in SASE's 4-year history - approaching 1,000 signups!

• I celebrated 15K on LinkedIn and Chinese New Year with my family in California. It was so kind of my creator friends Les and Newton to stop by! Stay tuned for our new collab and partnerships this year!

Dr. Serena Huang is an accomplished thought leader and professional keynote speaker who regularly guest-lectures at top MBA programs including Kellogg, Wharton, and Haas. She provides keynote speaking, hands-on training, and consulting services on people analytics, data storytelling, and AI strategy. She also serves as a fractional data analytics leader in high-growth companies.

Dr. Huang is the author of a series of popular LinkedIn Learning courses on People Analytics with 20K+ learners, and recognized as a Top 15 LinkedIn Expert in Chicago in 2023. She most recently served as the Global Head of People Analytics & HR Tech at PayPal and previously built the people analytics functions at Kraft Heinz, GE, and Koch Industries. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics with specializations in Econometrics and Labor Economics.

Join her 15K+ followers on LinkedIn for inspirational and educational content everyday.