Financial services organizations are struggling to attract and engage talent, especially millennials, due to outdated HR practices and low employee engagement, resulting in significant losses. By leveraging HR analytics, predictive analytics, and AI, firms can create personalized employee experiences that improve productivity and satisfaction. Implementing a data-driven approach can transform the employee experience, making firms more competitive in the battle for talent.

1. THE KEY TO
HIGH PERFORMANCE
IN FINANCIAL SERVICES
CRACKING
THE
WORKFORCE
GENOME
WITHHR
ANALYTICS

2. Transforming the employee experience
by investing in workforce analytics is not
as complex and expensive as perceived.
Those that make the investment will gain
an edge as they compete for the best talent
and seek to sharpen workforce performance.
A concept Accenture calls the employee
genome holds the key to employee
productivity and contentment. It makes
it possible to shift from mass-management
of HR to individual profiles, services and
experiences that will maximize motivation
and productivity and make the firm a
preferred employer.
Organizations can leverage predictive
analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and
the cheap computing power of the cloud
to analyze and act on HR data and other
data sources such as social media. They can
use their data to build a rich, digital
representation of each employee—then
use this to drive better, hyper-personalized
experiences at the moments that matter
in the employee journey.
30
SECOND
SUMMARY
FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPANIES ARE STRUGGLING
TO ATTRACT YOUNG TALENT AND TO ENGAGE THEIR
EXISTING EMPLOYEES.
2

3. THEFIGHTBACK
STARTSNOWINTHE
BATTLE
FOR TALENT
FINANCIAL SERVICES (FS)
ORGANIZATIONS IN GENERAL DON’T RANK
HIGHLY AMONG THE ‘BEST COMPANIES
TO WORK FOR’—an elite group of employers
that attracts the world’s top talent and
outperforms the rest of the market by 122
percent.1
Instead, the industry faces a growing
crisis as its existing workforce ages and it
struggles to recruit top talent to replace
people who are nearing the age of retirement.
BANKS AND INSURERS ARE NOT RATED
AS EMPLOYERS OF CHOICE FOR YOUNG
PROFESSIONALS with in-demand skills in
areas such as digital technology and
data science. The 2016 Bank Director
Compensation Survey found, for example,
that half of the US banks that were trying to
recruit millennial talent were having difficulty
doing so.2
IN ADDITION TO THEIR BATTLE TO ATTRACT
TALENT, MANY FS ORGANIZATIONS ARE
FAILING TO DELIVER WORKPLACE
EXPERIENCES THAT ENGAGE YOUNGER
WORKERS, to reskill older workers for the
digital age, and to drive productivity and skills
retention across the board. Facing growing
competition from other industries for the best
skills, FS firms must reinvent their employee
experience if they are to fight back in the war
for talent.
HR TEAMS SHOULD STRIVE TO MASTER
PERSONALIZATION OF THE EMPLOYEE
EXPERIENCE IN MUCH THE SAME WAY AS
MARKETING DEPARTMENTS ARE WORKING
TO PERSONALIZE THE CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE. Getting it right is about using
analytics to know the workforce and to create
engaging experiences tailored to the needs
of each individual employee, from recruitment
and onboarding to training and performance
management.
THE NEW I.T. MAKES IT A REALITY
3

4. 4
Today’s cloud, big data, AI and advanced
analytics technology makes it possible
for nearly any company to shift from
mass management of HR to personalized
employee experiences. Equipped with the
right technology, FS companies can listen
to each employee’s story, understand their
goals and deliver a workplace experience
that meets the liquid expectations of
today’s top performers.
HR analytics addresses the complexities
FS organizations face as they transition
to the workforce of the future. It can give
them the visibility into the workforce
that they need to drive an agile, high-
performance culture while ensuring that
employee behavior remains aligned with
regulation and corporate policies. With
enhanced insight into the workforce, banks
and insurers are better equipped to help
talent achieve more in a sector where
headcount is shrinking.
They can create attractive career options
in an industry where the workforce is highly
specialized and tightly managed, and career
paths are narrow.
This is important for attracting
Millennials, who more than previous
generations, seek more personalized
career paths and workplace experiences.
And they have the insights they need to
tailor HR management and the workforce
experience across an organization that
spans multiple borders, cultures and
regulatory jurisdictions.
Perhaps most importantly, HR
analytics is a cornerstone of the
adaptive workforce of the future.
Along with adaptive operations, new IT
and use of Agile frameworks, an adaptive
workforce is an essential component of
enterprise agility. It prepares companies to
optimize and manage a future workforce
where employees will shift between
project teams and job roles more
frequently than they do today, and where
the workforce will comprise a dynamic
blend of employees, contractors,
suppliers, and robots and AI.

5. FS organizations are collectively losing billions of dollars
a year as a result of low productivity, poor employee
engagement and sub-optimal recruitment practices.
Statistics from Gallup reveal that unhappy employees
and poor employee engagement cost the U.S. between
$450 and $550 billion in lost productivity each year.3
Organizations with low employee engagement scores
experience, on average, 18 percent lower productivity,
16 percent lower profitability, 37 percent lower job growth,
and 65 percent lower share price over time, according to
the Harvard Business Review.4
Poor hiring decisions or poor
retention of employees can take a heavy toll on the business.
Every time a business replaces a salaried employee, it costs
six to nine months’ salary on average.5
The good news is that changing this situation is within
every financial organization’s grasp. In much the same way
as leading firms are improving customer engagement and
the customer experience by using personalization techniques
and predictive analytics, FS companies can transform their
employee experience with similar methods and technologies.
THE HIGH COST OF AN
UNENGAGED
WORKFORCE
5

6. outstanding work.6
And 80 percent of
leaders are still using ‘gut feeling’ and personal
opinions to make decisions that affect talent-
management practices.7
But leading organizations are already using
HR analytics to decode the employee genome
and deliver personalized experiences, thereby
raising employee performance, generating
more useful HR metrics, and improving HR
performance across all functions. Companies
using workforce analytics had a 79 percent
higher return on equity, according to the HR
Systems Survey from Sierra-Cedar.8
Using data-driven insights from HR analytics
to map the employee genome and deliver
tailored services and messages based on
employees’ individual needs can benefit the
organization in numerous ways. These insights
can be used to successfully support large
change programs and cultural transformation.
They can help forecast the return on investment
from restructuring employee compensation,
predict which high-performing employees are
at risk of attrition, and uncover which sources
of talent produce the best performers in
the organization. HR analytics can boost HR
performance at every step in the employee
journey—from recruitment and onboarding
to offboarding, and everything in-between.
HR analytics will also support the business
in its quest for high performance as it digitizes
business processes. For example, as organizations
migrate customers towards automated digital
channels including AI-powered interfaces,
they can use HR analytics to track how the shift
affects workforce satisfaction and productivity.
6
IGNITING WORKFORCE
PERFORMANCE THROUGH
PERSONALIZATION
Today’s employees come into the workforce
having experienced high levels of personalization
and convenience from platforms such as Amazon,
Facebook and Netflix. To engage them—especially
younger members of the workforce—organizations
need to create employee experiences tailored to
their needs, preferences and context.
Much like customers, employees will be more
satisfied and engaged when they are recognized
and remembered, and receive relevant
recommendations. Companies succeed when
they cater to individual employees and make it
easier for them to consume what they want, how
and when they want.
To do so, employers should tap into their data
to build a rich, digital representation of each
employee—then use this to drive better,
hyper-personalized experiences at the moments
that matter in the employee journey. This is a
concept Accenture calls the employee genome,
the code that holds the key to employee
productivity and happiness.
The human genome, our genetic fingerprint,
contains rich biological information that holds
the promise of personalized medical insights
and treatments. Likewise, the employee genome
enables organizations to move from intuition-
based mass-management of the workforce to
creating and managing individual experiences
that attract the best talent and get the best out
of every employee.
GUT FEELING STILL DRIVES
DECISIONS
Most employers are not good at delivering these
sorts of tailored experiences. Only two in 10
employees strongly agree that their performance
is managed in a way that motivates them to do

7. 7
A LIVING BUSINESS CULTURE
With HR analytics, FS organizations can
put the information needed to make sound
decisions in the hands of the people responsible
for the decisions. Human capital management
(HCM) platforms such as ServiceNow, WorkDay,
SAP SuccessFactors and Oracle HCM make
analytics insights and tools accessible to
everyone in the workforce.
The next generation of visualization technologies
—with innovations such as virtual reality starting
to make an impact—can help users to shape
a story out of their data, make bold decisions
and track the impact of their actions. This helps
organizations to build a living business culture,
one that goes beyond employee and customer
value propositions to deliver true personalization
and a human touch at massive scale.
ADVANCEDANALYTICSDESCRIPTIVEANALYTICS
• Understand workforce
demographics
• Analyze workforce costs
& mix
• Analyze supply trends
for critical skills & roles
• Measure recruitment efficiency
(no. of open positions, time to fill,
offers declined etc.)
• Forecast near-term
workforce needs
• Identify long-term talent
requirements
• Optimize workforce mix
in terms of diversity & full time
employees versus contingent
workforce
• Predict time to hire & candidate
performance
• Analyze unplanned absenteeism
& the financial value of lost
workdays
• Analyze managed & unmanaged
attrition
• Understand retirement trends
• Analyze engagement levels
& trends
• Understand training cost per employee,
adoption rate, distribution by channel,
adherence to curriculum, segment preferences
• Measure productivity, analyze trends &
compare to KPIs
• Analyze compensation benefits &
rewards trends
• Understand pay parity in the organization
& link to performance
• Profile high performers & ensure ‘A’ performers
are in ‘A’ roles
• Link capabilities & proficiency with perfomance
& assess gaps
• Identify the right training for the right people
• Measure impact of engagement on business
outcomes & identify key drivers & interventions
• Maximize perceived value of rewards, minimizing
cost & increasing employee engagement
• Quantify value of engagement
to the business
• Identify drivers & limiters
of employee engagement
• Determine drivers of
absenteeism & attrition
• Predict optimal interventions
to reduce the risk of losing
individual employees
ANALYTICS ACROSS THE TALENT LIFECYCLE
PLANNING RECRUITMENT LEARNING PERFORMANCE REWARDS ENGAGEMENT RETENTION

8. An insurance provider in India was struggling
to meet its growth and profitability goals,
partly because of its difficulty in attracting and
retaining talent. It was particularly concerned
about a 70 percent attrition rate among its
management workforce of more than 8,500
people. It asked Accenture to help it improve
the quality of its recruitment process as well as
its ability to retain staff.
We used analytics tools to identify the
employee characteristics—including
demographics, competency factors, and
recruitment sources—that correlated with
retention and high performance. For example,
our analysis showed that leadership referrals
and web applications were better channels
than vendor and employee referrals.
We also found that managers who brought
an existing portfolio of 30 or more contacts
to the company performed well, while MBA
graduates with one to two years of experience
underperformed.
Our practical segmentation of managers by
source, demographics and competencies has
helped the company to drastically improve
average workplace performance for new hires’
first nine months:
• Premium revenue up by 114 percent
• Policies written up 111 percent
• Retention up 68 percent
• Time to fill a position down from
108 to 60 days
HOW ANALYTICS BOOSTED
AN INSURER’S NEW-
RECRUIT PERFORMANCE
Many FS organizations believe that
adopting HR analytics will be a large-
scale, big-data project that could be
expensive to implement in terms of
time, money and human resources.
But modern technology makes it easier
than many imagine to set up and manage
personalized employee experiences.
It begins by combining existing HR
data with other sources, and leveraging
predictive analytics, AI and the cheap
computing power of the cloud to analyze
and act on the data. This makes it
possible to shift from mass-management
of HR to individual profiles, services and
experiences that will maximize motivation
and productivity and make the firm
a preferred employer.
One study by AICPA revealed that only
12 percent of CEOs were confident
about their HR metrics.9
That picture
can change as HR organizations in FS
companies move towards data-driven
decision-making. Some companies are
already implementing HR systems with
the aim of introducing a platform that
enables accurate analyses of their
people against the bottom line.
A SMOOTH
ADOPTION
PATH
FOR HR
ANALYTICS
8

9. EARLY MOVERS IMPLEMENT
THE EMPLOYEE GENOME
Early movers in FS are starting to implement
HR analytics tools to identify, develop and
retain high potential people.
Accenture is currently working with a
leading European banking group to
roll out a talent management initiative
based on our employee genome concept.
The employee genome will drive a hyper-
personalized HR offering at the bank,
leveraging employee data for decision-
making as well as targeted communication
and management. The project aims to
identify talent and increase engagement
and productivity through a better
employee experience.
There are four core components
to the project:
Know and segment people
through traits, life stage and values.
Define new talent pools to answer
business needs.
Design a modular HR offering to
improve engagement and productivity.
Enhance the talent experience using
an effective communication toolkit.
In the preliminary phase, Accenture worked
with the client, using existing hr data, to
segment employees across two dimensions:
PEOPLE: Differentiating employees
based on performance evaluations,
potential to move into a more senior
position, and achievement.
LIFE STAGE: Differentiating employees
based on their professional lifecycle
within the company, using common
data such as seniority, organizational
responsibility and promotions.
The next step will be to enrich the employee
genome with behavioral information as well
as professional and personal needs
information—the data will be captured
through assessments, surveys, social media,
and so on. The group aims to extend this
approach to all employees in the future.
9
1
2
3
4
1
2
9

10. 10
DELIVERING PERSONALIZED
EXPERIENCES AT SCALE
USING AI
Machine learning and AI will play an
increasingly important part in delivering
personalized experiences at scale to the
FS workforce of the future. Machine learning
is key to data assimilation and enrichment,
while algorithms can target employees
with the right recommendations and advice
for their needs. Natural language
processing, contextual analysis, image
recognition and deep-learning algorithms
will enable employees to interact with
automated HR systems in ways that feel
personal and human.
STRUCTUREDDATASOURCES UNSTRUCTUREDDATA
Employee Profile
• Demographics
• Employment history
• Education / skills &
competencies
• Prior roles & projects
• Job training attained
Assessments
• Leadership behavior
& values feedback
• Assessment center
results on potential
Preferences
Development and
performance
Engagement
and retention
Planning and
acquisition
Engagement drivers
Influencers
Performance & Promotion
• Ratings
• KPIs
• Promotion history
• Qualitative performance
related feedback or notes
Survey / Social media / Email
• Engagement or
pulse surveys
• Chatter / Yammer
• Email / networks
Rewards
• Pay progression
• Bonus attained
• Recognition
• Benefits elections
Others
• Choices
• Preference data
(rewards, learning)
• Work / life
• Collaboration
Sensitivity to
• Change
• Rewards
• Role, etc.
HYPER-PERSONALIZED
UNIFIEDVIEWTOSUPPORT...
THE EMPLOYEE GENOME
HYPER-PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCES FOR TALENT
DERIVEDDATA

11. FS ORGANIZATIONS NEED TO KNOW THEIR
PEOPLE DOWN TO THE EMPLOYEE GENOME
LEVEL AND BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO
THEIR INDIVIDUAL NEEDS TO DELIVER THE
PERSONALIZED EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCES
TODAY’S WORKFORCE DEMANDS.
11
HRANALYTICS:
FROM
VISIONTO
REALITY

12. 12
DEVELOP A JOURNEY FOR WORKFORCE ANALYTICS.
Be ready to adapt it continually to a changing workforce
and business environment.
PRIORITIZE INVESTMENTS IN ‘THE NEW’.
Identify workforce priorities that are central to the business strategy
—for example, workforce performance, employee engagement and
productivity—and consider how HR analytics, AI and other digital tools
can enable the organization to address these priorities.
INNOVATE AND SCALE FOR VALUE. Experiment with workforce
analytics initiatives within a specific segment, geography or business
unit, then scale for business value and improved employee experiences
across the organization.
DEVELOP A CULTURE THAT EMBRACES DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHTS
by demonstrating the value of HR analytics to the business and
to employees. Use data to improve the human touch at the moments
that matter—for example, onboarding or performance reviews
—as well as the day-to-day workplace experience.
BE OPEN TO ENGAGING WITH NEW ANALYTICS PARTNERS.
Recognize your role in the analytics ecosystems and consider leveraging
analytics-as-a-service from a third-party provider as well as providing
insights on tap to people in the business who can put them to work.
Look at ways to use ‘analytics outside the service’ to provide insights
to the people crafting and leading the employee experience, as well as
opportunities to use ‘analytics inside the service’ where intelligent digital
platforms adapt to the employee’s needs and decisions.
1
2
3
4
5
ACCENTURE OUTLINES FIVE SUCCESS
FACTORS FOR ROLLING OUT AN EFFECTIVE
HR ANALYTICS STRATEGY:

13. 13
KEY STEPSIN BUILDING AN HR
ANALYTICS CAPABILITY
01
03
02
04
• Analytics Vision
• Guiding Principles
• Stategic Imperatives
• Value Proposition
• Leadership Alignment
• Data & Tech Assessment
• Talent Assessment
• Capability Prioritization
• Capability Blueprint
• Supply & Demand Planning
• Journey Definition
• Stakeholder Management
• Training & Development
• Communications
• Change Tracking &
Change Measurement
• Cultural Transformation
• Identify Specific Use Cases
for HR Analytics
• Prioritize with Leadership
• Access Data &
Capability Requirement
• Position on Roadmap
• Data Capabilities Gap
Analysis & Development plan
• Data Management,
Governance & Security
• Platform Development
& Execution Strategy
• Solution
Planning
• Scale
HR Analytics
Enterprise-
Wide Blueprint
• Proof of Concept
Deployment &
Business Case
• Data
Management
& Integration
• Functional
HR Analytics
Enablement
• Analytics
& Reporting
Factory / Delivery
Models
• Data &
Technology
Enablement
• Decision
Process
Integration
ANALYTICS VISION
AND STRATEGY
ANALYTICS STRATEGY AND DEVELOPMENT ANALYTICS JOURNEY
EXECUTION & CHANGE
MANAGEMENT
EARLY STAGE ENABLEMENT
ANALYTICS @ SCALE
CAPABILITIES
ASSESSMENT AND
VALUE TARGETING
BUSINESS
APPLICATIONS
DATA STRATEGY

14. Accommodate a wide range of
organizational needs in your strategy
—from simple queries and reports to
bespoke reports and modelling, to
advanced analytics and research.
Do the basics brilliantly—timely data,
simple and visual reporting, insightful
analytics—and build advanced analytics
capabilities in parallel.
Prioritize analytics functionality that
creates insight about workforce
productivity and performance, rather
than focusing only on HR services.
Look to big data sources such as social
platforms (for example, Glassdoor
and LinkedIn), derived data, and data
from devices such as printers, door
security and wearables to enrich the
insights from your HR data.
Make a trust agreement with employees
about the data you will hold and what
you will do with it. Gain their permission
and commit to using their data in an
ethical manner.
Use cloud platforms such as the
Accenture Insights Platform and
Analytics Studio for low-cost,
high-power analytics.
Use the insights you generate to
drive bold decisions and track the
impact of your actions.
14
CRITICAL SUCCESS
FACTORS FOR HR
ANALYTICS

15. Looking to the future, HR analytics will be
key to unlocking the potential of tomorrow’s
blended human-and-machine teams as well
as realizing the true value of an adaptive
workforce made up of contractors, permanent
employees, freelancers, and workers sourced
from labor platforms. AI will serve as an
important conversational interface in
delivering personalized experiences to
the workforce.
But to win with HR analytics, organizations
should focus on return on investment rather
than just on costs, and should work to create
a culture that embraces data-driven insights
across the business. Those that successfully
embed HR analytics and AI into their ways of
working can transform into hyper-productive
enterprises with highly-engaged workforces
that differentiate them from competitors.
15

16. ABOUT ACCENTURE
Accenture is a leading global professional
services company, providing a broad range of
services and solutions in strategy, consulting,
digital, technology and operations. Combining
unmatched experience and specialized skills
across more than 40 industries and all business
functions—underpinned by the world’s largest
delivery network—Accenture works at the
intersection of business and technology to help
clients improve their performance and create
sustainable value for their stakeholders. With
approximately 425,000 people serving clients
in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives
innovation to improve the way the world works
and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com
REFERENCES
�. “Multi-year Financial Analysis Shows Public Companies Recognized
for High Employee Ratings Outperform S&P 500 by 122%”, Glassdoor
Research, March 11, 2015. https://www.glassdoor.com/press/
company-culture-pay/
2. “2016 Compensation Survey”, Compensation Advisors.
http://compensationadvisors.com/wp-content/uploads/2016-
Compensation-Survey-REPORT.pdf.
3. “How to Tackle U.S. Employees’ Stagnating Engagement”, Gallup,
June 11, 2013. http://news.gallup.com/businessjournal/162953/tackle-
employees-stagnating-engagement.aspx
4. “Proof That Positive Work Cultures Are More Productive”, Harvard
Business Review, December 1, 2015. https://hbr.org/2015/12/proof-
that-positive-work-cultures-are-more-productive
5. “Employee Retention — The Real Cost of Losing an Employee”,
Zane Benefits, February 4, 2016. https://www.zanebenefits.com/blog/
bid/312123/employee-retention-the-real-cost-of-losing-an-employee
6. “Pay for Performance — Time to Challenge Conventional
Thinking”, Willis Towers Watson, February 6, 2016. https://www.
willistowerswatson.com/en/insights/2016/02/pay-for-performance-
time-to-challenge-conventional-thinking
7. “Insightful HR: Integrating Quality Data for Better Talent Decisions”,
Human Capital Institute and Oracle, 2015. http://pcdn4.hci.org/files/
field_content_file/2015%20Oracle.pdf
8. “Money Makes the Case for Workforce Analytics”, Bloomberg
BNA, February 13, 2017. https://www.bna.com/money-makes-
case-n57982083723/
9. “10 Reasons to Shift to a Data-Driven High Business Impact HR
Model”, Visier, February 9, 2017. https://www.visier.com/workforce-
intelligence-101/10-reasons-shift-data-driven-hr-model/?utm_
campaign=b4117rr&utm_medium=b&utm_source=rr
CONTACT THE AUTHORS
Yohann Bollack
Gallia / France GU Lead, FS Talent
& Organization
yohann.bollack@accenture.com
Sacha Aubart
Analyst, FS Talent & Organization
sacha.aubart@accenture.com
Inês Sim-Sim David
Consultant, FS Talent & Organization
ines.david@accenture.com
Visheshta Khanna
Human Capital Analytics Manager, Advanced
Analytics, Accenture Digital
visheshta.khanna@accenture.com
Helen Lindsay
Global Offering and Development Lead, FS
Talent & Organization
helen.lindsay@accenture.com
Shipra Sharma
FS Human Capital Analytics Lead, Hong Kong
shipra.s.sharma@accenture.com
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