Margret Vilborg Bjarnadottir
Introduction to People Analytics and Pay Equity: the potential role of visualizations
WHEN: Monday November 14th, 2022: 10am
WHERE: PCRI, room 435 How to get to there ?
Abstract
People analytics, the application of scientific and statistical methods to behavioral data, traces its origins to Frederick Winslow Taylor’s classic The Principles of Scientific Management in 1911, which sought to apply engineering methods to the management of people. But it was not until a century later after advances in computer power, statistical methods, and especially artificial intelligence (AI), that the field truly exploded in the power, depth, and widespread application, especially, but not only, in Human Resources (HR) management. By automating the collection and analysis of large datasets, AI and other analytics tools offer the promise of improving every phase of the HR pipeline. Algorithms are being used to help managers measure productivity and make important personnel decisions, such as hiring, compensation, promotion, and training opportunities — all of which may be life-changing for employees. Unfortunately there are many pitfalls along the way. In this talk we will highlight some of the challenges of People Analytics through examples, discuss the importance of algorithmic transparency for any HR algorithm and pose ideas about the potential role of visualizations. As time allows we will then deep dive into how algorithms and optimization can be used to support pay equity and the potential role of visualizations in the pay equity context.
Bio:
Dr. Bjarndóttir is an Associate Professor of Management Science and Statistics at Robert H. Smith School of Business. Dr. Bjarnadóttir’s research focuses on data-driven decision-making, combining traditional operations research approaches with machine learning. In addition to the main focus of her work, which is health care, she has applied analytical models to contexts in finance, sports and illicit supply chains, and, most recently, to people analytics, where her work has been covered by outlets such as HBR, Forbes, BBC, HR magazine and others. She teaches quantitative modeling and data analytics at the graduate level both in the traditional classroom format as well as online, and has received multiple awards including the Krowe Teaching Award. Her work has been published in Operations Research, POM and Org Science. Dr. Bjarnadóttir holds a B.Sc. degree in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering from the University of Iceland (2001) and a Ph.D. in Operations Research from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2008).