Many organisations are leveraging big data to get an edge over their competition. One of the areas that has been behind in using data analytics is the HR department. However, data analytics is now jostling for centre stage in the HR section as people analytics.
For years the discipline of people analytics was considered a nichy, backwater part of Human Resources Management, something that was only paid leftover attention and not taken too seriously.
Today all this has changed. With the increased focus on measuring diversity, gender pay equity, skills gaps, labor utilisation, retention rates, real-time feedback, and even organisational network analysis, executives now understand that people analytics is a vital part of running a high performing company.
What exactly is people analytics?
People analytics, sometimes known as data-driven human resources or talent analytics, is the analysis of your personnel data in order to get actionable insights about your human resource. From these actionable insights, you can know how to utilise your personnel in order to achieve more as a company.
Instead of using only your customer insight strategy and brand research, you can also add insights derived from talent analytics so that you edge further out in front of your competition. This is akin to knowing every weapon you have in your arsenal and deploying it where it is the most effective.
Your HR department already has a trove of data about your employees. Though it’s not exactly collecting dust, you can use it in various ways using people analytics. The type of information you have regarding your staff is similar to what you shell out huge sums for to collect from your target market.
This type of data includes:
- Personal data like demographics and skills
- Performance data like ratings and assessments
- Day to day data like attendance and participation in company programmes
Through data mining, you can discover the patterns and actionable insights that you can apply to your business process in order to gain a number of benefits.
What are the benefits of people analytics?
When you marry your organisation’s data mining capabilities with your human resources data, you will get a number of benefits from it. Here are some ways in which people analytics helps your company:
Makes acquiring talent more effective
In the pre-analytics world, hiring new employees was all about the interactive nous and intuition of the hiring manager. While this has worked for a long time, it has not always been infallible.
With data analytics, you can significantly cut the time you spend manually screening potential additions to your team. The analysis fronts a shortlist of candidates that can effectively take on the role based on their qualifications as well as other relevant points.
Another way in which people analytics makes talent acquisition more effective is that it cuts implicit bias that could otherwise occur when the entire hiring process is manually done.
Increases employee experience in the workplace
There is a reason why companies are going all out to foster a unique corporate culture at the workplace. This is because it gives the employees a sense of identity and a mission that they can buy into and give themselves to.
By using data analytics, you can determine how strongly your team feels about your company and the work you do. You can identify where you are going wrong as an employer and then improve the culture so that you employees can look forward to coming in to work.
If your employees find themselves in a better work environment, their productivity will increase and also spur your business on the next level.
Reduces employee turnover
If your company is a revolving door for staff, you need to get worried. This shows that there is something wrong with the way you are running your ship. By using people analytics, you are able to identify the reason behind the employee exits and figure out how to reduce the turnover.
People analytics also help you find ways to solve these problem areas so that your employees can be comfortable using their talents at your company and not offering them to your competition.
In the same breath, the data analytics identify the areas of your setup, structure and culture that make your company so appealing to employees. You can then focus on amplifying this factor so that you can improve employee retention, engagement and productivity.
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Improve employee training
Hiring the best talent and getting them settled into the company setup is only a small part of the journey. You need them to grow and become a part and reflection of your organisation’s corporate culture. This also enables them to carry out their duties just the way you want.
Usually this is done through various employee training programs but you might have a hard time determining just how much was learnt. By using people analytics, you can find this out and devise methods to score the training outcomes. People analytics can also show you if the training courses and methods are ineffective, enabling you to pivot to those that offer better results.
Get ahead of future talent needs
In the traditional corporate setup, you might not notice that there is a role that will need filling or a position that you will need to create. As such, you will find yourself in a bit of a bind —scrambling to meet personnel needs that are vital to your company’s operations.
When you use predictive people analytics, you are able to forecast any future needs you need regarding personnel. This will enable your operations to continue without too much distraction.
In Summary
Human resources is a vital department in your corporate setup because of the personnel it provides. However, you can make it even more important in your company by introducing people analytics.
This form of data analytics will enable you to utilise your staff in a more productive manner. By utilising the actionable insights from this talent analytics and the insights from the other major departments, you will position your business for exceptional growth.
