Using People Data to Create Value and Enhance the Credibility
HR executives have aspired to be strategic advisers to business leaders for at least a generation. It has been a struggle for many; however, it is hard to measure the business value of HR approaches. Such questions as what is our return on investment in training, which screening techniques yield the best performing recruits, and what target-setting approach will yield the best motivate performance, have been met with imprecise answers in most cases. There are new tools and methods for more effectively analyzing data that enable HR to define the link between people practices and performance. This couldn’t be happening at a better time, since CEOs are hunting for value wherever they can find it. In this discussion Mr. Wolf shares approaches and examples drawn from his current work at Credit Suisse and from his recent experience advising global clients as a partner at McKinsey and Company.
William Wolf
Will joined Credit Suisse in early 2011 to head strategy and innovation for the global Talent Branding and Communication (TB&C) function. In this role he is building a new work force analytics group and spearheading several high profile efforts across the bank to transform people practices. He also serves as head of HR for the TB&C function.
Prior to joining Credit Suisse Will served clients and led research on leadership, talent, organizational performance and strategy as a partner in the Washington, DC office of McKinsey & Company. In twelve years with McKinsey he led more than 50 client engagements on talent, people analytics, and HR effectiveness in the U.S., South America, and Asia. His worked spanned a dozen sectors including, media, pharmaceuticals, utilities, petroleum, mining, banking, aerospace, defense, high tech, education, and government. Between 2009 and 2011 he co-led McKinsey’s talent management client service line in the Americas.
He has led several significant research and development efforts for McKinsey, working with colleagues and external experts across the world to create McKinsey’s Organization Health Index - - a diagnostic survey introduced in more than 500 client situations globally, and McKinsey’s pioneering talent and leadership system assessment tool and suite of 25 diagnostic standardized analyses
Prior to McKinsey, Will held a variety of roles including four years as a commercial fisherman, assistant to the Chief Financial Officer of Midway Airlines and Chief Operating Officer of the National Journal Group, a media enterprise with eleven print and on-line titles including National Journal and Government Executive magazines.
He received his B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. with Beta Gamma Sigma distinction as the Richard Jenrette Fellow at the University of North Carolina. He lives with his wife, Allison, and their four children, in Alexandria, VA.