Jarred Consulting

Following last month’s CIPD Data Analytics Conference and Workshop we decided to take a closer look at data analytics and its role in HR. The idea of data analytics in HR is not a new one. It’s about taking a data driven approach to identifying and analysing people related issues. However, over the last few years we have seen it become increasingly important – in fact LinkedIn reported that in North America there has been a three-fold increase in HR professionals adding analytics skills and keywords to their profiles. It is clear that when done well, people analytics can provide organisations with huge amounts of information and reporting abilities that can help revolutionise employee engagement, satisfaction, retention and, ultimately, business success. How can we use people analytics to influence business strategy? As HR professionals we are used to trying to find relevant and insightful data for meetings where we need to persuade people around our points, such as agreement to additional headcount, an investment in the L&D budget or interim remuneration reviews. Finance teams have always had plenty of data and projections at their fingertips but HR hasn’t been in the same position until recently. Now, with people analytics we are increasingly seeing data being used to answer strategic questions, such as how we identify and predict who the next batch of successful leaders will be, or what the internal mobility routes are that can lead to higher retention? Along with workforce planning issues, diversity and branding we can now talk in facts and statistics rather than having to rely on employee surveys and anecdotal feedback from exit interviews or water cooler conversations. The growth in predictive analytics means that HR can be strategic, guiding organisations so that they’re ahead of issues and are able to work out what they want to address and how. Changes to the HR team There are now ways to capture data on talent acquisition, compensation and benefits take up, as well mobility and learning. However, we’ve found that these are often still looked at in HR silos rather than in a holistic way which is really needed if businesses are going to fully leverage the benefits of data analytics. Organisations are set to gather a greater volume and more diverse data over the next few years meaning this sharing of knowledge and joined up thinking will become key to any company’s HR strategy. This broadening of HR teams isn’t the only change we will be seeing within the HR structure. The introduction of data analytic skills will become the norm with specific teams being introduced to interpret the data.  HR professionals will need to quickly gain these necessary skills. Together these changes will give organisations’ a more holistic view of their people and therefore a more informed strategy which will result in a more tailored offering that really meets employees needs, and therefore business’ as well. People analytics isn’t the whole answer but it will become a large part of the solution in enabling successful growth and development across your organisation. www.jarredconsulting.co.uk