Driven by the huge amalgamation of data within HR, companies are beginning to invest heavily in programmes, platforms and tools that leverage data for all aspects of the workforce, which ultimately contribute to employee performance, management and improvement.
The evolving process of people analytics has made sure that companies recognise that tapping into individual employees’ lifespan from point of hire to let’s say five years of service, shows how drastically data input has changed over that period of time. Changes within the workplace or HR department has opened up the door to a room for error.
Historically, analytics in HR has been very black and white and only focused on basic elements such as headcount and friction within the workforce. However, people analytics solutions focus on using the data that businesses already have to understand every part of how workforces impact on business value and operations. Embedding analytics into real-time applications further supports companies in making data-driven decisions.
As well as rapidly implementing digital tools to support remote working, many HR teams are having to re-examine existing processes in a bid to become more efficient and sustainable. Adjusting to a new ‘digital-first’ way of working will be crucial in overcoming the challenges we have faced due to the impact of the global crisis. People analytics and HR teams should be joining discussions with other departments, such as finance and strategy, to ask questions such as: What percentage of our workforce is not currently working due to the pandemic? And what percentage of our workforce can work remotely?
In order to be one step ahead and secure return on investment, this data must be reviewed within every department to ensure that technology is making the department work smarter, and therefore making the entire organisation as efficient as possible.
How do we get clean data?
A problem with data is that it’s easy to get dirty. As soon as data collection procedures differ even marginally – for example, through a change in the HR department or an upgrade to a new system – it becomes inconsistent. However, starting a data clean up can be extremely time consuming and could contribute to further mistakes, so by only cleaning the data that you need to run a report from, you can save time and money by focusing on one specific element for analysis.
But what about legacy systems? Does this data matter too? Of course. Data is still data and to not include older employee data in a new people analytics platform is detrimental to making data-driven decisions.
With the evolution of people analytics platforms, a more nimble, innovative approach to HR technology has been introduced to the market, which takes HR digitisation to a whole new level. Artificial intelligence now uses company data to intelligently and effortlessly automate timetables, and mobile technology is empowering employees to maintain, update and control their own data and system integration, thus reducing administrative tasks as well as costly errors.
Making data a priority
Analytics in HR is nothing new, but the hindrance of legacy systems is keeping businesses from functioning efficiently. Implementing a reliable, flexible and most importantly easy people analytics platform, changes the landscape within a business.
In these unchartered waters, where the tides continue to shift, it’s not surprising that people analytics, widely recognised for its problem-solving and predictive prowess, has become an essential navigational tool. It is crucial that data-driven decisions are observed and implemented rather than made on assumptions in order to strive towards success. Analytics support numerous day-to-day tasks facing businesses today in many different variations – from face-to-face to quarterly reviews and beyond – so it’s imperative that we understand the data around us to aid growth, especially if businesses are questioning if they should reopen the office or not.
Data auditing and data maintenance is an ongoing process, but ultimately, it is a labour of love. The accuracy and health of data in a people analytics platform is critical for an organisation’s ability to effectively and swiftly make key business decisions, and also to reduce risk regarding compliance and security. The hours to get clean HR data will be spent one way or another and it’s much better to attack issues first off than wait for a time-sensitive issue to arise. Putting in the time and effort proactively will not only produce more reliable and professional results, but increase the HR team’s credibility across the organisation.
