MARIA NOLAZCO MASSON

What to Look for in People Analytics Platforms and AI Vendors

Making smart, future-ready decisions when evaluating tech for your people function. Introduction: Tools Shape Strategy The systems you choose for People Analytics don’t just support your strategy—they shape it. The right platform can help you uncover insights, automate complexity, and drive better decisions across the business. The wrong

Agile HR & Organizational Innovation

Scaling Culture Without Scaling Chaos

How to protect what makes your company great as you grow—without losing clarity, connection, or control. Introduction: Growth Can Dilute Culture—If You Let It Most companies start with strong cultural DNA. Small teams. High trust. Clear values. Fast decisions. But as the company grows—more people, more layers,

Agile HR & Organizational Innovation

Modernizing the Employee Lifecycle Through Design Thinking

How to use human-centered design to create People processes that actually work. Introduction: The Lifecycle Is Broken When It's Built for HR, Not for People Most organizations define their employee lifecycle stages—recruiting, onboarding, performance, development, exit—and then build rigid, policy-driven processes around them. These frameworks often

Agile HR & Organizational Innovation

Innovation in People Experience: Moving from Feedback to Prototypes

How HR can stop analyzing and start building better employee experiences. Introduction: Feedback Alone Doesn’t Drive Change Organizations spend significant time collecting employee feedback—through surveys, focus groups, exit interviews, and 1:1s. While this data is important, it often leads to long reports, generalized action plans, or vague

AI for the People Function

Designing a Responsible AI Policy for the People Function

Clear principles to guide ethical, effective use of AI in HR. Introduction: The Need for Guardrails AI is rapidly becoming part of how HR teams operate—from sourcing candidates to analyzing attrition risk. The opportunities are real, but so are the risks. Without clear internal policies, teams may adopt AI

AI for the People Function

AI in Performance Management: Risks, Opportunities, and Guardrails

Using artificial intelligence without compromising fairness, trust, or impact. Introduction: Performance Management Needs an Upgrade Performance management is one of the most important processes in any organization. It shapes compensation, development, promotions, and retention. But it’s also one of the most criticized—seen as biased, inconsistent, and disconnected from

AI for the People Function

Practical Applications of AI in HR Today

What’s already working—and where to focus now. Introduction: From Hype to Use Case Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping how organizations operate. In HR, the conversation has moved beyond theory. We’re now in a phase where practical applications are being deployed, tested, and embedded into everyday workflows. This

Practical Guides & Templates

The Role of People Analytics in Workforce Planning

From static headcount charts to dynamic, data-informed talent strategies. Introduction: Workforce Planning Needs a Rethink Workforce planning has traditionally been a finance-driven exercise. HR is asked to “submit a headcount plan,” usually in spreadsheets, then plug names into roles and hope it all holds up over time. But in today’

People Analytics & Metrics in Action

Democratizing People Analytics Without Losing Control

How to empower the business with data—without compromising trust, quality, or governance. Introduction: The Shift Toward Data Access for All People Analytics has traditionally been handled by specialists—analysts, HRBPs, or centralized COEs. But that model is shifting. More teams are asking for access. Leaders want real-time dashboards. Managers

Practical Guides & Templates

Designing Scalable People Processes

Simple. Repeatable. Built to grow with your business. Introduction: Scale Is Not About Size—It’s About Fit Over Time People processes that work for 50 employees often break at 150. What feels “just enough” early on—like asking HR for every job title change or managing onboarding via email—

Agile HR & Organizational Innovation

Building a Self-Service Culture in HR

Empower people. Reduce operational load. Build trust. Introduction: Why Self-Service Is Not a Shortcut—It’s a Strategy In many HR teams, the volume of daily questions is relentless: “How do I submit PTO?” “Where’s the onboarding checklist?” “Can I get a copy of my last performance review?” “Who

Agile HR & Organizational Innovation

The HR Data Operating Model: Centralized, Embedded, or Hybrid?

How to structure People Analytics for scale, impact, and alignment with the business. Introduction: Why the Way You Organize People Data Work Matters It’s no longer enough to “do analytics.” Organizations today expect People teams to deliver insights that are fast, accurate, and actionable. But many HR teams struggle—

Practical Guides & Templates

Operationalizing People Team Knowledge

How to turn what we “know” into what everyone can use. Introduction: Why This Matters Every People team holds a large amount of critical knowledge. Some of it is documented. Most of it lives in conversations, Slack threads, personal notes, and people’s heads. We know how to onboard someone,

Practical Guides & Templates

Creating a Central Repository for People Processes and Documentation

A strategic foundation for consistency, clarity, and scale. Introduction: Why This Matters Now As organizations grow, they naturally become more complex. Teams expand. New tools are introduced. Policies evolve. Roles shift. And in the middle of it all, the People function is expected to enable smooth operations, consistent employee experiences,

People Analytics & Metrics in Action

Leveraging People Data During Transformations

Use what you know to make change smarter, faster, and less painful. Why People Data Matters in Transformations Every transformation—whether it’s a reorg, a system migration, a cost-cutting plan, or a shift in strategy—relies on people. And yet, many transformations are driven by financial models or operational

People Analytics & Metrics in Action

HR Is Not Tetris: Everything Won’t Fit Perfectly

And the sooner we accept that, the better we can lead. In Tetris, every block has a clear shape and a perfect place. You rotate, move, and slot it in just right. When the row fills, it disappears, and you make space for more. There’s a rhythm, a clean

Practical Guides & Templates

How Long Should Your Engagement and Pulse Surveys Be?

Getting the length right helps you get better data—and more of it. Why Survey Length Matters When employees open a survey, they’re giving you a moment of their time—and their trust. That moment can lead to powerful insights, but only if the survey is designed well. Length

People Analytics & Metrics in Action

Stop Wasting Your Employee Data: Use What You Ask For

Every time we collect information from employees—whether it's through surveys, onboarding forms, or performance reviews—we’re asking for their time, their trust, and their input. That has value. But what happens when we ask for data we never use? Or when we miss opportunities to act

Practical Guides & Templates

What Happens After the Engagement Survey? Turning Insights Into Action

Employee surveys are only as powerful as what happens next. Collecting feedback without follow-through doesn’t just waste time—it creates distrust. People want to be heard, but more importantly, they want to see their voice reflected in real action. When surveys become annual routines with little visible change, engagement

People Analytics & Metrics in Action

How to Pitch People Analytics to Non-Believers

A strategic guide to earning trust, speaking business language, and showing real value People Analytics has the power to transform how organizations work—but that only happens when leaders believe in it. And often, they don’t. They may see it as too technical, too slow, or just another HR

HR Tech, Systems & Platforms

What I Wish I Knew Before Leading My First HR Tech Project

Lessons learned from the inside—what went wrong, what worked, and what I’d do differently. HR tech projects can look simple on the surface—pick a vendor, configure the tool, roll it out. But the reality is messier: missed steps, misaligned teams, unclear goals, frustrated users. Your first HR

Practical Guides & Templates

Becoming a Strategic People Analyst: What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

You can build dashboards. You can pull data. You know how to answer the “how many” questions. But being a strategic People Analyst means going further. It’s about driving decisions, influencing priorities, and translating complexity into clarity. This isn’t about learning another tool or certification. It’s about

Agile HR & Organizational Innovation

How to Scale HR Innovation Without Burning Out Your Team

Many HR teams—especially in startups or scaling companies—are expected to be both strategic and scrappy. One minute you’re setting OKRs, the next you’re ordering laptops or rewriting the onboarding flow. Innovation gets talked about a lot, but few acknowledge what it actually takes to do innovative

People Analytics & Metrics in Action

Metrics Are Not the Culture

We often say culture is our biggest asset. But in practice, many organizations act like what matters most is the dashboard. Metrics are everywhere: engagement scores, turnover rates, pulse surveys, DEI percentages, eNPS rankings. And while those numbers are helpful, they’re not the whole story—and they can’t

Agile HR & Organizational Innovation

Using AI to Improve Employee Experience: What’s Real, What’s Hype

“AI will transform the employee experience.” You’ve heard it. Maybe you’ve said it. And while that’s true in some areas, not every shiny tool delivers on its promise. In People teams, we can’t afford to chase hype. We need to know what’s real, what’s