Human resource departments are changing. What was an administrative function, running payroll and managing recruitment and training, is now a key player in corporate strategies and a major influence in employees’ everyday work experience. How has this come about? The answer lies in people analytics. People analytics (PA) applies the power of artificial intelligence (AI) to the large data sets about people held by human resources in order to solve business problems. If a company has a problem retaining good staff, PA will tell them why and what to do about it. If sales in some shops are not as good as others, PA will identify the root of the problem in staff engagement so that the company can change managerial behavior. The range of data available to PA includes not just HR staff records, but an increasingly wide range of data types that could have movement and health data from wearable devices. Using machine learning, HR departments can identify new trends and influence people’s management decisions across the company. The pitch of PA is that it replaces the vagaries of human intuition and professional experience with hard facts to create evidence-driven human resource management which brings massive efficiencies and benefits for the business. The effects of the coronavirus pandemic on employment have accelerated the practice and influence of PA. The need for safe distancing at work and expansion of home working has increased the reach of HR and the amount of data available. In this episode, guest Zach Frank sits down with TDS to discuss people Analytics and AI