People Analytics - by Cole Napper (Paperback)

About the Book

Use this practical guide to learn how to use people analytics, HR data and generative AI to add value to the business.

Book Synopsis

How can you turn HR data into insights that boost business performance?

People Analytics by Cole Napper is a practical guide for HR managers, business partners and mid-career professionals who want to use data, analytics and AI to deliver measurable value across the organization.

Written by a leading voice in the field, the book explains how to integrate people analytics into daily decision-making, from building robust HR data infrastructure to applying ethical, AI-driven insights. Drawing on real-world examples from Toyota, PepsiCo, Lightcast, Booster and FedEx, it provides a clear roadmap for building capability and confidence in data-led HR.

You'll learn how to:
- Design a people analytics function that supports strategic business goals
- Build high-quality HR data systems for accurate, reliable insights
- Apply AI and generative AI to enhance analysis and forecasting
- Use analytics ethically to improve talent decisions and workforce planning

With practical models, step-by-step guidance and proven real-world examples, People Analytics equips mid-career professionals to turn HR data into a competitive advantage, helping you make smarter decisions and demonstrate the strategic value of your role.

Themes include: people analytics, HR data strategy, AI in HR, ethical analytics, data-driven decision-making

Review Quotes

"People Analytics lives up to its name. The book is a timely challenge and exploration of the ways people analytics can improve decision making; and a roadmap for navigating the turbulent seas of AI integration with the work of HR."-- "Dr. Alec Levenson, Director at the Center for Effective Organizations, and Author of "Strategic Analytics" and "Workforce Analytics: A Global Perspective""

"Cole Napper has written the book that every people analytics professional needs right now-and frankly, should have read yesterday. People Analytics is a survival manual for a field standing at the edge of transformation. This book arrives at exactly the right moment. People analytics teams everywhere are grappling with how to prove their value while AI transforms their toolkit. Napper provides both the wake-up call and the roadmap we need to not just survive, but thrive in this new landscape. If you work in people analytics, organizational psychology, or HR strategy, this book isn't optional reading-it's essential preparation for the future that's already here."-- "Shonna Waters, PhD, CEO & Co-founder, Fractional Insights, Author of "The Practical Guide to HR Analytics""

"Cole Napper has rapidly established himself as a pre-eminent voice in people analytics. Cole rightly asserts that people analytics stands at a crucial crossroads, urging a focus on delivering tangible business value. For any chief people officer seeking to build a truly impactful, future-fit people analytics function in the age of AI, this book offers invaluable guidance."-- "David Green, Managing Partner at Insight222, co-author "Excellence in People Analytics", host of the Digital HR Leaders podcast"

"Cole Napper has translated his broad and deep expertise in People Analytics into the definitive book on the subject, with content and ideas that will elevate your practice whether you are a business leader, a newcomer to People Analytics or an experienced professional in the field. Written in an approachable style, this book will accelerate your journey into delivering undeniable value for your organizations. You'll come away inspired and equipped to build the future!"-- "Alexis Fink Ph.D., World-Renowned People Analytics Leader from Meta (previously Intel & Microsoft), Co-Author of Investing in People"

"Napper paints a compelling picture of how the next generation of CHROs will emerge from the ranks of people analytics leaders, who inform strategy, improve decisions, and optimize processes with data, and champion employee voice, employee experience and the ethical use of AI."

"People Analytics is the book the field has been waiting for. Cole Napper brings sharp clarity, urgency and vision to the future of the function-backed by years of frontline experience leading people analytics teams inside global companies, startups and vendor organizations. His unfiltered take challenges practitioners and HR leaders alike to rethink their purpose and step fully into a value-driving, AI-native future. If you're in or around the people analytics space, this isn't just a read-it's a wake-up call."-- "Ross Sparkman, previous Head of Strategic Workforce Planning at Meta, Nike and LinkedIn, and Author of "Strategic Workforce Planning""

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Cole Napper has written the definitive guide for people analytics professionals ready to embrace the AI revolution. This book doesn't just describe the future-it provides the roadmap to get there.

Cole masterfully demonstrates how AI can transform people analytics from a cost center into a profit-driving powerhouse. His integration of talent intelligence principles with cutting-edge AI applications shows exactly how external labor market data combined with internal analytics can create unprecedented competitive advantage. This isn't theoretical-it's practical, actionable strategy that every HR leader needs to implement today.

What sets this work apart is Napper's masterful synthesis of insights from dozens of leading practitioners across the field. From Google's employee voice strategies to Walmart's workforce segmentation, from startup agility to enterprise-scale analytics-he weaves together real-world perspectives that span the entire people analytics ecosystem. This collective wisdom, combined with Napper's own deep expertise, creates an unusually comprehensive and practical guide.

The future of work is analytical, and this book ensures you'll be leading the charge rather than left behind.

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"In People Analytics, Cole Napper offers a provocative and practical roadmap for the future of work and workforce decision-making. He challenges conventional people analytics to move beyond dashboards and data plumbing, to position people analytics as a strategic enabler of business value. This book will inspire leaders to reimagine HR from a cost center to a competitive asset, driven by evidence, experimentation and emerging technologies."-- "John W. Boudreau, Professor Emeritus and Senior Research Scientist, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California; Author of "Work Without Jobs" & "Beyond HR""

"In an era where workforce intelligence defines competitive advantage, People Analytics by Cole Napper provides a timely, practical, and actionable guide for transforming how organizations understand and manage their talent. This essential book presents a clear roadmap for integrating people analytics, predictive modeling, and generative AI into core HR practices-not as future aspirations, but as tools for immediate, measurable business impact."-- "Mark Huselid, Ph.D. Distinguished Professor of Workforce Analytics and Director, Center for Workforce Analytics, D'Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University."

"This book is a provocation. Cole Napper doesn't just want people analytics to feel smarter, he wants it to matter more. He challenges people analytics teams to move beyond interesting work and become existential to the business. He calls on the field to stop optimizing around the edges and start tackling bigger questions about how work shapes identity, growth and value. He argues that none of this happens without courage. The courage to take risks. The courage to lead transformation before you're invited. Because if people analytics doesn't define its value, someone else will decide it's not worth keeping. Cole is also one of the field's great community builders, always shining a light on the people behind the practice. If you care about bringing data, science and technology into the heart of the people function-and using them to reimagine what work can become-this is a guide worth reading."-- "Prasad Setty, Former VP, Google, Founding Leader of Google People Analytics"

"This book is fabulously insightful and practical and will push the field of people analytics to new levels. With his years of experience in the field, Cole Napper has written a book that is easy to read and full of practical takeaways. By dedicating sections to business value and GenAI, then dovetailing those together with real world examples, Cole makes this book important for all leaders who want to use analytics to grow their business."-- "Jonathan Ferrar, CEO of Insight222; Author of "Excellence in People Analytics" & "The Value of People Analytics""

About the Author

Cole Napper is the VP Research & Innovation at Lightcast. Prior to this he was Vice President, People Analytics at Orgnostic. With more than 15 years' experience in the people analytics space, he is a frequent conference speaker, industry writer and co-host of the people analytics podcast, Directionally Correct. He is based in Dallas, Texas.