Data Inspired: Turning People Analytics Into Better Business Decisions

When did the data last change your mind? Organisations have invested heavily in data, dashboards and analytics technology. Yet better information doesn’t automatically lead to better decisions, particularly when it challenges established beliefs or the way things have always been done. In this episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, David Green is joined by Sebastian Wernicke,, author of Data Inspired, to explore how organisations can use data to challenge assumptions, identify new possibilities and turn evidence into action. Sebastian has spent almost 20 years helping organisations use data to grow revenue, reduce costs and understand risk. He is a partner at the economics consultancy Oxera, where he leads the data science and AI team. Drawing on his book and consulting experience, Sebastian explains why improving decision-making requires attention to culture, leadership and human behaviour alongside the quality of the data itself. Join them as they discuss: The difference between being data-driven and data-inspired, and why organisations need both Why more data rarely changes minds on its own, and how psychological safety enables people to challenge assumptions What a consistently green dashboard might conceal, and how targets can distort workforce measures How to start with the business challenge, judge whether evidence is sufficient and use targeted experiments to fill gaps Sebastian’s data triangle, and why reducing engagement or performance to a single score can undermine understanding How better decision-making brings HR and technology teams together, and why relationships and critical thinking matter for future work This episode is sponsored by 365Talents, a Docebo company. Every organisation approaches skills in its own way, so 365Talents designs its talent intelligence solutions to adapt to how each business works. HR teams use them to put skills-based strategies into action more quickly and to see the impact across the whole organisation. Find out more about 365Talents Building or refining your skills strategy? The 2026 Skills Toolkit brings together 14 free HR templates covering every stage of the journey. It includes a business case built for your CFO, a structured framework for comparing vendors, a strategy you can take to the board, and practical tools for day-to-day HR operations and rollout. Get free access to the 2026 Skills Toolkit Resources: Data Inspired Oxera Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.