We’re living in a data-rich time. Searching for a study or report on, say, the benefits of a three-day return-to-office policy? You’re mere clicks away from convincing arguments with shiny graphics and spicy pull-quotes to post on LinkedIn.

But there’s also never been a worse time for data, with a glut of conflicting information being confidently shared from unreliable sources.

Most frustrating, even if you find all the trustworthy data needed to craft a watertight argument for burning your performance management program to the ground, all the numbers in the world don’t seem to be enough to change a single executive’s rigid opinion, let alone an entire C-suite.

HR has never had more data at their fingertips—so why does that data often feel useless?

To explore this data dilemma, we brought back friend-of-the-pod Brian Elliott to unpack what’s stopping HR departments (and let’s be real, most organizations writ large) from turning this mountain of information into meaningful action. In this episode, Rodney and Brian talk about:

The top headaches facing HR leaders around the globe
Why change efforts for problems with clear supporting data often fail to get moving
How to source and interpret external information, as well as gather it from within your company
How to meaningfully engage with entrenched opinions and make change

Learn more about Brian and what he’s up to on LinkedIn.

Mentioned references:

Future Forum
Muriel Bowser, mayor of DC inaugural address (actually said in her third, not her second)
Helena Gottschling, Former CHRO of Royal Bank Canada
Tsedal Neely, Harvard Business School professor and author
Future of HR AI episodes: Part 1 & Part 2
Brainwriting
eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score)
Erin Figueroa, former VP, Operations at Slack
Dawn Sharifan, former SVP, People at Slack
Nadia Rawlinson, former CPO at Slack
Boston Consulting Group
Future of HR Hebba Youssef episode: Episode 6

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Learn more about The Future of HR at our website.

Curious where your company sits on our 5-stage maturity model? Take our assessment and find out!

Have a burning HR question for Rodney and Sam to answer? Email us at fohr@theready.com.

Ready to get started moving your HR department into the future? Email us at fohr@theready.com or hello@theready.com.

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00:00 Intro + Check-In: Who is your more interesting relative?

03:35 What Brian’s been up to since SXSW

04:58 Top of mind concerns Brian hears from CPOs/CHROs: #1 - Burnout, #2 - Return to Office

11:09 #3 - Generative AI

16:09 HR leaders feeling “not ready” and “too busy” to change

18:52 You can’t be a strategic partner if you don’t want to/can’t change

20:31 What keeps people from acting on data and research that contradicts the status quo

28:16 Timeline and subtlety of change and the temptation to snap back

31:06 Organizational metrics Brian keeps an eye on

33:35 Cross-functional solutions to data driven problems

39:08 C-suite not supporting HR when they do bring a data backed case for change

41:59 Sourcing and interpreting external and internal data

45:13 How HR can combat entrenched opinions with data

48:17 Wrap up: Leave us a review!

Full Show Podcast: 22 July 2025