Return to Office: A People Analytics Fairy Tale

Many leaders fixate on who is in the office, regardless of evidence. Chris shares how his team met that demand quickly – clean badge data, no drama – to earn trust and shift the conversation. By distinguishing compelled from curious audiences, and adding context around talent, skills and applicant location, they redirected leadership focus from attendance to capacity. This approach helps HR and analytics leaders move past symbolic debates and towards real workforce priorities.

• The myth of data reversing RTO mandates – what actually happens.
• Curious vs compelled stakeholders – a simple lens to guide engagement.
• Meeting presence asks fast while adding credible extra context.
• Shifting focus to skills, applicant geography and talent supply.
• Practical lessons in patience, psychology and consulting over time.

• Recognise when leaders are curious versus compelled by mandates.
• Provide presence data cleanly to earn space for deeper questions.
• Add simple context that reframes leadership focus to talent priorities.
• Use patience and psychology to influence decisions beyond compliance.
• Adapt the same playbook to other contentious workforce debates.

Christopher Cerasoli

Senior Associate Director, People Analytics · Boehringer Ingelheim

Hybrid work remains politically charged, with leaders demanding presence data while talent supply pressures intensify. Without a way to meet mandated asks quickly and credibly, HR and analytics teams risk losing influence. The real opportunity is to turn basic reporting into a bridge to harder, business-critical questions.