Why People Analytics Needs a Product Mindset to Thrive with AI

People analytics has spent years building credibility through data. Now the pressure is different. Business leaders aren’t just asking for insight - they’re expecting direction. Where should we invest? What should we stop doing? What risks are we not seeing yet? But many teams still find themselves pulled back into reporting cycles, ad-hoc requests, and an overemphasis on metrics that don’t always lead to better decisions. So what shifts when people analytics starts operating more like a product and less like a project function? In this episode, David Green is joined by Ashar Khan, Head of People Insights and Solution Design at Autodesk, to explore how the function evolves from delivering data to shaping choices at scale. Join this conversation as they discuss: The skills and mindsets modern people analytics teams need beyond technical expertiseWhat an effective people analytics operating model looks like in practice The core capabilities required to bridge HR technology and HR strategy Where “metric fixation” leads organisations toward false confidence and poor decisions Why the assumption that AI automatically means “fewer people” misses the bigger picture Practical advice for CHROs building or redesigning a people analytics function today This episode is sponsored by Worklytics. How productive is your organisation, really? Worklytics makes it clear - with privacy-first insights from everyday work data. See how meeting volume, manager effectiveness, collaboration health, and AI adoption are impacting your team’s focus, efficiency, and outcomes - so you can make smarter decisions, faster. No surveys. No assumptions. Just clear insight into work. Right now, Worklytics is offering podcast listeners a free 30-day trial of their productivity analytics dashboard. Learn more at worklytics.co/productivity Link to resources: The Strategic Workforce Planning Handbook  David Edwards’ Dark Artistry Newsletter  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.