How to Leverage

Internal and External

Data to Improve
Your Company’s
Organizational Health,
Employment Brand
and Revenues
 Leveraging Data

Our imagination is stretched to the utmost, not, as in

fiction, to imagine things which are not really there, but
just to comprehend those things which are there.
- Richard Feynman, The Character of Physical Law (1965)

How to leverage internal and

external data to improve your
company’s organizational health,
employment brand and revenues
As evidence of the value of data-driven decision-making mounts [1], clients
request guidance to map out a strategy to better understand, manage, and
leverage the data available to them. Beyond the technical questions, we
often find the real challenge is to help companies develop a data culture
and a data vision that moves beyond traditional data resources and
metrics. To that end, we’ve prepared this White Paper focused on data
sources, metrics, and algorithms. We hope this White Paper will broaden
your data horizons and help you imagine new questions you might pose,
new insight you might gain, and new stories you might tell, if you had
easy access to these kinds of information. As an illustrative example, we
describe the data sources, metrics, and algorithms that could be used in an
internal “Organizational Health Check” service. This concept is at the core
of Plazabridge Group’s GameDay Decisions analytics platform generating
the Automated Health Index™.

Data Sources
All organizations collect data intended to monitor and report their success.
All employees have contributed to and engaged with these data at some
point...whether filling out application forms and surveys, or entering and

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retrieving data relevant to their job. What has changed in recent years is
the ability to integrate data across all aspects of the organization, gather
data and insights from beyond the organization boundaries, and automate
many of the data retrieval and summary processes [1]. The outcome is
to generate the space and time for decision-makers to integrate data
with judgement and intuition. This allows them to pose more interesting
questions, gain deeper insights, test assumptions to reduce risk, anticipate
emerging opportunities, and tell more compelling stories.

Below we outline some examples of internal, external, and supplemental

data resources. As you read through the lists, we challenge you: (1) to
think beyond the immediate data you collect - think also of the meta-data
(data about data, such as when and where it was collected), (2) to imagine
connections or associations among the data that you would wish to
explore, if the data were immediately accessible and easily visualized, and
(3) to explore how perceptions of data might change if you had not just the
data, but also knowledge of the social context and dispersal patterns of
that data.

Internal data source examples:

Traditional internal data (HR, marketing, etc.) provide information on
employee turnover, sales success, and profit margins. Non-traditional
internal data resources provide insight into the social structure and
dynamics within the organization, sentiment expressed by different groups
within various informal media, and tone of leadership expressed through
formal media.

• HR data (retention, performance, promotion, raises, benefits, leave,

time-to-hire, demographics, addresses, employee surveys)
• Marketing/Accounting data (sales/services dates, values, and
responsible individual/team, customer surveys)
• Memos (date of, sender, recipients, format/access, text content)

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• Policy documents (date of, format/access, text content)

• Employee performance reports (date of, reviewer, reviewee, scores,
query language, text content)
• State of business reports (date of, department, author, audience,
format/access, text content)
• Internal email/message systems (date of, sender, recipient, internal
social network structure, text content)
• Databases (date of access, data pulled, data updated)
• Website (date of access, pages visited, information downloaded, text
content)
• IT logs (log-ins, activity, security, usage patterns)

External data source example:

External data can serve multiple purposes [2]. Social media data (e.g.,
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) provide insight into behavior, beliefs,
motivations, and values of “people like ours” generally or by demographic
Gain insight into the
group, or specifically for your employees. Professional media data
social structure and (e.g., Glassdoor, LinkedIn, ResearchGate) provide an alternate and
dynamics within complementary perspective on individuals’ beliefs, motivations, values as
the organization well as the reach of organization’s workforce expertise and reputation.
News media or weather data provide insight to events, trends, patterns that
could externally influence populations within an organization.

• Social media data (social network structure, text content, preferences,

propensities, dates, locations)
• Professional media data (social network structure, text content, dates,
locations)
• Blog data (readership network structure, likes, shares, downloads, text
content)

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• News media data (unanticipated and anticipated high impact event

dates, locations, likes, shares, text content)
• Weather data (10 day forecasts, extreme weather events, pollen
forecast, flu forecast)

Supplemental data collection:

External data In some cases, supplemental data collection serves to fill gaps or check
includes social, assumptions underlying models and analyses. Alternatively, they provide
professional, novel insights and can provide the basis for new questions or hypotheses,

and news or especially as related to organizational culture and collective behavior.

weather data • Narrative data - Anecdotal narrative fragments scored by the

individuals who provide the narrative provide an alternative
perspective (or check) of sentiment analysis. The insights are gained
where individuals self-score their sentiments differently than algorithms.
Clustering of anecdotal experience also provides contrast to clustering
performed on demographic or behavioral data. Finally, narrative can
identify biases and false hypotheses that may have been built into your
analytics and business strategy [3] .
• Sensor data - With the Internet of Things [4], sensor data can provide
valuable insight into use of equipment and space, as well as personal
activity, health, and safety.

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Data Sources (partial list)

Human Resources Records Organization Charts with Roles &

Marketing/Accounting Data Responsibilities

Internal Communication Narrative Data

Company Policy Document IoT/Sensor data

Employee Performance Evaluations Internal Social Media applications

(e.g. YAMMER)
State of Business Reports
Social Media Activity
Facilities Management Data
Professional Organization Activity
Information Access Records
Blogging and Engagement
Internal Websites
News Outlet Readership
IT Logs
Environmental Data; Weather, etc.
Security Video Analysis
Community Involvement
On-line video activity (e.g. Skype)
Political Activity (e.g., local union)
Operation Research Reports
Financial Outlet Information
Customer Service Activity
(from Gameday Decisions)

Plazabridge Group's GameDay Decisions Platform

product suite of Artificial Intelligence & Machine
Learning Applications includes two applications: a
market development application leveraging machine
learning to accelerate knowledge of market conditions
and support strategic decisions; and a second
application under development to measure the health
of a company’s organization through non-intrusive
data analysis. In addition to helping clients innovate by
developing a data analytics culture, Plazabridge Group
brings integration expertise to realize the value of
innovating through analytics.

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GameDay Decision Platform is a fully automated, autonomous application

collecting of data to drive new insights and revenue. The GameDay
Organization Health Index™ collects internal and external data to measure
various dimensions of an organization. With the Innovation Dimension
dashboard, companies can monitor and influence their organization’s
ability to innovate and openly collaborate. By measuring data indexes
around key indicators of innovation, the tool builds a use case. Iterative
data measurement reduces statistical errors and provides valid insights.

The collected data is supplemented with analysis of contextual data from

YAMMER, emails, forums and collaborative online discussions to further
uncover insight into how the organization’s innovation culture is evolving.

Storytelling, open narratives with sentient analysis.

D. Snowden, “The New Simplicity: Context, Narrative and

Content,”JournalofKnowledgeManagement5,No.10,11–15 (July–August 2002)

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Data Metrics
The data sources described in the previous section have multiple
dimensions. Isolating the data into distinct data silos ignores potential
relationships among variables. Yet, neither is it adequate to simply
merge the data and seek correlations among variables. There are
temporal, spatial, contextual elements that encourage the exploration of
dynamic, emergent patterns. These patterns could be characteristics of or
relationships among entities (individuals, groups, programs, departments,
etc.). Characterizing these patterns (or triggers of pattern shifts) in relation
to organizational health facilitates early detection of potential opportunities
and problems. In the case of an Organizational Health Check, the goal
is to strengthen positive patterns and encourage positive change while
dampening negative patterns and change.
Characterize patterns
to facilitate potential • Network metrics: number of nodes (individuals), connectedness of
opportunities individuals and groups, information and opinion flows (direction,
and problems volume, speed), influencers vs influenced, geographic (or departmental)
distribution
• Cluster metrics: dominant group characteristics or behavior, number of
members within group, dissimilarity between groups, similarity within
group, correlation (causal or simply probability of joint occurrence),
outliers
• Change metrics: transitions, trigger points, thresholds, trajectories,
disruption
• Sentiment metrics: beliefs, motivations, values, mood, emotion,
judgment

The response of interest for our example, organizational health, would

be defined by a set of metrics based on current theories of successful

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business practices. For example, if innovation is a key characteristic of

organizational health, then the objective is to identify factors and patterns
that trigger, maintain, or accelerate innovation (or the reverse). This

Some algorithms implies that innovation has been defined is such a way that it can be
clearly measured as present versus absent or slow versus fast.
categorize
cause and effect Good organizational health metrics accurately describe (past), indicate
(present), and sometimes anticipate (future) the status of an organization’s
relationships performance. Traditionally, distinct sets of organizational health metrics
independently focused separately on various aspects of organizational
health, such as employee and leadership culture, financial success, and
strategic vision. However, these diverse aspects are closely linked and
inter-connected; changes in one aspect generally precipitate change in
other aspects of organizational health.

Ignoring these linkages limits the power of organizational health checks

to the past and present and forces companies to be dependent on
assumptions that patterns in the past will effectively prepare them for the
future. A quick review of current business literature reveals the danger of
such assumptions. Current theory emphasizes complexity, emergence, and
disruption of patterns. Maintaining organizational health requires not just
knowledge of the past and present, but also understanding of the structure
and dynamics that enable the company to innovate, adapt, and maintain
organizational health.

Organizations that leverage the technological innovations of Big Data and

Artificial Intelligence gain direct insight into the complexity, emergence,
and disruption that drive and define organizational health.

Algorithms
Algorithms are problem-solving tools. Multiple algorithms have been
developed to handle the large, complex data sets and metrics mentioned

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previously. When working with Big Data, analysts use algorithms for
diverse tasks. Some algorithms calculate derived variables (e.g., a rate of
change, diversity classes), some characterize the nature of things (e.g.,
clustering, grouping), and some define cause and effect relationships [1].
A single analysis might involve all three kinds of tasks. For example, an
organization interested in exploring how diversity influences organizational
health, could first calculate a diversity index and a health index, then
classify time periods or departments according to the health index, and
then test if changes in the diversity index positively correlated with changes
in the health index.

The choice of a specific algorithm from a set that perform similar functions
depends on the data (quality, quantity, relevance, and accessibility) and
computing resources. Given suitable data (and the definition of suitable is
very broad for Big Data and AI applications), some common procedures
and applications include:

• Apply external data to strip out or control for background (external)

factors influencing internal behavior and sentiment. More clearly see
the patterns within the organization’s direct sphere of influence and/or
leverage knowledge of external factors to inform hiring, marketing, or
management strategy.
• Identify external and internal factors that commonly correlate with
positive metrics (diagnostic) or precede change (anticipatory) to inform
organizational strategy.
• Explore differences among demographic groups, departments, or
levels within organization to identify patterns of diversity (social and
cognitive), coherence, and divergence.
• Enable continuous evolution of correlative relationships (and health
assessments) through incremental learning algorithms. Expectations
need not be set upon static assumptions of values, beliefs, and
motivations or constant values weighting the importance of each data
resource.

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Machine learning algorithms are those most commonly associated with Big
Data analysis. Jason Brownlee [5] created a mindmap of machine-learning
algorithms and offers two perspectives on how someone might think about
types of algorithms. First, he distinguishes algorithms by learning style:
supervised, semi-supervised, unsupervised.

Supervision, in this context, is when the data analyst provides a training

dataset to constrain or guide the algorithm’s procedure. For example, if
organizational data can be sorted a priori into unhealthy versus healthy
periods or practices, algorithms can use distinguishing characteristics of the
two groups to classify new data as it arrives. Alternatively, if training data
are unavailable or the analyst simply wants to avoid enforcing assumptions
associated with a priori labeling, then an unclassified algorithm will
seek patterns based solely on the data structure. Many algorithms have
supervised or unsupervised variants - so this classification of algorithm
types relates to your assumptions about your data and your knowledge of
how the system works.

Brownlee’s second classification system organizes (and illustrates!)

common algorithms into eleven types based on the procedure used by the
algorithm to answer a question [5]. Of course, many algorithms defy easy
classification because data analysts find ways to mix and match methods
as they seek better accuracy and higher precision.

Re-imagine Your Data

Clients often find the prospect of transitioning to data-driven (or, as I prefer,
data-informed) operations. Indeed, there can seem to be an overwhelming
volume of data resources and diversity of possible algorithms. However,
qualified data managers and analysts will be responsible for the
methodological details of integrating the data and selecting algorithms.

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With the above material, our goal has been to broaden your knowledge
of what data you have and what new questions you might pose with these
data.

The questions you can pose to your data relate not just to the measured
values - but also their sources, their rates of change, their dispersal as
information, and their impacts within and beyond the organization.
Furthermore, your data are not constrained to when individuals intersect
with your organization, but extend beyond your direct interactions in time
and space.

A common side-effect of data integration is the automation of routine

tasks, such as periodic reporting. At each level of the organization,
individuals can spend more time investigating the implications of the data
or innovating applications of the data, rather than assembling the data.

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[1] Anderson C. 2015. Creating a Data-Driven Organization: Practical

Advice form the Trenches. O’Reilly, Sebastopol, CA. http://shop.oreilly.
com/product/0636920035848.do

[2] Machine Learning from Streaming Data. March 12, 2013. https://
blog.bigml.com/2013/03/12/machine-learning-from-streaming-data-two-
problems-two-solutions-two-concerns-and-two-lessons/

[3] Nudging People Towards Latrines. March 11, 2016. http://cognitive-

edge.com/blog/nudging-people-towards-latrines/

[4] Internet of Things: An Executives Organizational Roadmap. January

6, 2016. http://businessintelligence.com/bi-insights/internet-of-things-an-
executives-organizational-roadmap/

[5] A Tour of Machine Learning Algorithms. November 23, 2013.

machinglearningmaster.com. http://machinelearningmastery.com/a-tour-
of-machine-learning-algorithms/

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Author Page:
Dr. C. Ashton Drew has over 20 years’ experience focused on the challenges
of decision-making and planning within complicated and complex systems.
Trained in ecological sciences and natural resource management, her work
combines quantitative and qualitative data analytics from both natural and
social sciences to address emergent challenges. As a collaborator with
PlazaBridge Group, she assists organizations to evolve the data culture and
awareness necessary to transition to data-driven, anticipatory practice.

EDUCATION
Beloit College, WI, Environmental Biology, BA 1995
Dalhousie University, NS, Marine Management, MMM 1996
North Carolina State University, NC, Marine Biology, PhD 2006
North Carolina State University, NC, Landscape Ecology, Post-doc 2006-11

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
– Drew CA, Collazo JA (2014) Bayesian Networks as a Framework to Step-
down and Support Strategic Habitat Conservation of Data-poor Species:
A case study with King Rail (Rallus elegans) in Eastern North Carolina and
Southeastern Virginia. Prepared for the USFWS Region 4, Raleigh Field
Office, NC by the USGS – North Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife
Research Unit, NCSU
– Drescher M, Perera AH, Johnson CJ, Buse LJ, Drew CA, and Burgman MA
(2013) Toward rigorous use of expert knowledge in ecological research.
Ecosphere 4(7): 83
– Costanza, JK, Abt R, Drew CA, Gonzales R, Collazo JC (2013) Modeling
Impacts of Biomass Production on Landscapes and Wildlife. Final Report to
the Biofuels Center of NC

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– Drew CA, Alexander-Vaughn LB, Collazo JA, McKerrow A, Anderson J

(2013) Developing an Outcome-based Biodiversity Metric in Support of the
Field to Market Project. Technical Bulletin 334, NC Agricultural Research
Service, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, NCSU
– Hightower, JE, Harris JE, Raabe JK, Brownell P, Drew CA (2012) Habitat
suitability models for American shad in southeastern rivers. Journal of Fish
and Wildlife Management 3(2):184-198
– Drew CA, Alexander-Vaughn LB, Collazo JA, Reid JP, Slone DH (2012)
Science Summary in Support of Manatee Protection Area (MPA) Design in
Puerto Rico. Technical Bulletin 330, North Carolina Agricultural Research
Service, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, NCSU.
– Perera AH, Drew CA, Johnson CJ (eds) (2011) Expert Knowledge and its
Application in Landscape Ecology. Springer, New York
Pijanowski B, Iverson L, Rhemtulla J, Wimberly M, Drew CA, Bartsch A,
Bulley H, Peng J (2010) Addressing the interplay between poverty and
landscapes: a grand challenge topic for landscape ecologists. Landscape
Ecology 25:5-16
– Drew CA, Wiersma Y, Huettmann FH (eds) (2010) Predictive Species
and Habitat Modeling in Landscape Ecology: Concepts and Applications.
Springer, New York
– Hess GR, Rubino MJ, Koch FH, Eschelbach KA, Drew CA, Favreau JM
(2006) Comparing the potential effectiveness of conservation planning
approaches in central North Carolina, USA. Biological Conservation 128:
358-368
– Favreau JM, Drew CA, Hess GR, Eschelbach KA, Rubino MJ, Koch FH
(2006) Recommendations for assessing the effectiveness of surrogate
species approaches. Biodiversity and Conservation 15: 3949-3969

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COURSE DEVELOPMENT AND INSTRUCTION

Interactive Data Visualization and Application Development with R (2016)
Climate Change and Conservation Planning (2009)
Hierarchical Species-Habitat Analysis and Conservation (2007 & 2008)
Natural Resource Measurements (2003)
Landscape Ecology (2002)

CERTIFICATIONS AND TRAINING

Hadoop, MapR, and AWS Elastic MapReduce (various: 2016)
R Programming and Data Analysis (various: 2014-2017)
Cynefin & Sense-Making (2015), SenseMaker Environments (2015), and
Signification Design (2015)
Analysis of Community Data with PCOrd and R (2014)
Bayesian Network Analysis with Netica (2013)
Introduction to Guidos (2013)
Introduction to R Programming (2012)
Elicitator & Probability Elicitation through Scenario Analysis (2011)
Modeling Patterns and Dynamics of Species Occurrence Workshop (2007)
Model Based Inference in the Life Sciences Workshop (2007)
ArcGIS and Spatial Analyst (2006); Introduction to Arc/Info (1999)

For more information:

Marie-Claire@plazabridgegroup.com
Richard@plazabridgegroup.com
Ashton@plazabridgegroup.com

More info about Plazabridge Group:

www.plazabridgegroup.com

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