From my last couple columns, we had an in-depth conversation with one of the people analytics industry’s leading experts Kelly Reed, Ph.D.  

Last month, we started going through what people analytics are, what the potential upsides are, and what some of the down sides are. Now we’ll continue with my interview with Kelly Reed, the managing director, global people & culture solutions with Lockton.

As engineers, we often keep our head down, working hard to finish projects. It’s easy to lose track of what is happening in the world, let alone other industries, especially in human resources. 

In my last two columns, I discussed the business case for why one-on-one meetings are the single best management tactic to improve retention and results, proving the benefits through numerous sources of data. But what does a good one-on-one look like?

Last month, I presented information about challenges companies face to retain and develop their employees.

The U.S. is seeing about 10,000 baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) retire per day. That means every day we lose knowledge from our industry due to retirements. The fact that so much of the construction industry is experience- or knowledge-based work makes this fact especially sobering, but the challenges don’t end there.