HR Analytics: Definition
Human Resource Analytics (HR Analytics) represents the marriage of people and data; allowing us to measure, analyze, and then activate the workplace, the workforce, and the human beings that make it tick. If we can first get better data, then we can actually do something with it. And by something, we mean increased employee engagement, heightened productivity, optimized performance, and the right kind of employee retention.
LEARN ABOUT: HR Analytics
With the right kind of predictive people and HR analytics, you can start to get out in front of things like:
- What’s driving unwanted turnover
- Which employees are most at risk or most disengaged
- Which distinct organizational behaviors are likely to have the biggest impact on a meaningful employee experience…for your distinct workforce
- Which organizational behaviors might be damaging your brand – product and employment, internally and externally
- What about your company is distinct, unique, and a point of differentiation as you strive to attract the right talent to your business
In order to get your arms around these things, you need to gather data on both drivers and outcomes. You need to correlate the two. One without the other doesn’t really tell us much. It’s nice to know whether our employees are happy, for instance; but we can’t do much with that unless we know what’s driving that sentiment. This is maybe the biggest mistake HR departments make today: they measure outcomes (e.g. turnover, employee engagement, satisfaction, etc), but they don’t measure the drivers. And they end up with a ton of data they can’t really do anything with. So here are some ideas for getting started with HR analytics that you can actually do something with.
3 HR Analytics Every Manager Should Have
1. Capability Analytics: The success of any workplace depends on the level of expertise held by the individual employees. Capability analytics help you identify the core competencies of your workforce. What do you need, what do you have, what are the gaps? You’ll want to measure this often, by the way; competency and proficiency, after all, can easily wane.
2. Capacity Analytics: If you want to know how efficient your workforce really is, start gathering some capacity analytics. Are your people spending time on the right things? Are there obstacles or distractions? How much waste do you have in the system? Identify the list of things – actions, activities, behaviors – that you know to drive your organization’s success. Find out how much time your employees spend doing things that aren’t on that list and then try to get rid of those things.
3. Workplace Culture Analytics: Contrary to popular belief, culture really can be measured. We can attach data to culture – we can measure it, we can analyze it, and we do something (powerful) with it. Be clear: culture is NOT employee engagement. One is the outcome (employee engagement) and one is the driver (culture). And this takes us full-circle. If you want to get really serious about HR analytics, get serious about workforce analytics.
LEARN ABOUT: Pricing Analytics
Learn more: 30+ FREE Employee Evaluation Survey Template
As with any new commitment to excellence in the workplace, one simply has to start. Start somewhere. These are three of many powerful people analytics out there. Stay tuned for our ongoing series around the same.
