Research Topics

Federated, Centralized, or Decentralized: which structure makes sense, and what roles belong in each? Optimization of budget Optimizing portfolio, etc. Financial mgt of the learning org, how to get really good at doing that Look up Dave Vance - a practical way to justify needing a budget (forensic spend analysis) (financial acumen) what other practices are there to undertstand where is the org spending money and can we optimize that spend to pool dollars

How are organizations truly enabling talent mobility, in each of the 5 models we identified in 2021?

As the economy works to find its footing, how are organizations making decisions about what talent is critical, and how to develop that talent?

Too often, organizations try to boost employee wellness by adding more to employees' plates: An app to interact with, a program to follow, a class to take. These efforts, though well-intentioned, don't address a fundamental and underlying driver of employee stress and burnout: There's just too much to do. This project would look at how organizations are simplifying, redesigning, and / or automating work to make workloads more manageable--and the effects those efforts have on employee wellbeing.

How should organizations consider their ethical responsibility when it comes to employee and company data?

AI relies on quality data -- and who is most often responsible for people data? People analytics leaders! This study will identify the responsibility of people analytics leaders when it comes to enabling AI, including data engineering and other people-analytics-related work.

The use of Generative AI in the workplace may level the playing field when it comes to skills. What will be the new category of KSA's needed to succeed?

This series of articles will focus on Gen AI, when to use it, when to hold off, and why.

Organizations that put purpose at the center of what they do are experiencing challenges on a number of fronts: economic, social, cultural, and political. How are they weathering these challenges? What changes are they making? And how are these new dynamics affecting organizational culture and performance?

The 2020 murder of George Floyd kicked off a host of pledges by corporations to support DEIB efforts more strongly. Fast forward three years, and organizations have laid off DEIB leaders in droves, layoffs have disproportionately impacted employees from diverse backgrounds, and DEIB budgets (never large to begin with) have been slashed. What is a leader to do? This report is designed to understand the current challenges and how leaders might navigate them effectively, as they continue to support DEIB efforts.

With high turnover and a tight labor market in many industries, many organizations face pressure to very quickly get new employees up to speed and performing at full capacity. This can only be done if employees know the right people, have access to the right information, and feel motivated to work well. Building on RedThread's existing research into the different types of connection that are important in organizations, this research will dive into how organizations can help employees form the right connections, quickly.

Update to Coaching Tech Research - 2021

AI is changing how we do performance management -- but we aren't necessarily convinced it is all good. This report would analyze the ways AI might be used in performance management, and analyze the pros and cons of the approach, using pre-existing research to understand how people might react to this new technology. Readers would learn: Which applications of AI in PM are ok, and which should you potentially stay away from? Which technologies are using AI in PM in which ways and why? How might your organization begin using AI in PM?

What are the systems of L&D

A long long time ago, in a company far away, we wrote a performance management framework. It talked about all the different components in performance management, how to think through how to use them cohesively together, and how to think about the role of technology as an enabler (not simply an automator) of PM practices. Should we write a new version? One that takes into account hybrid work, AI, generational preferences, and more? What else should we include to update such a framework? Let us know what you think!