Getting to know your employees through HR people analytics: personnel management based on real data to support the company business model.
What does people analytics mean?
When talking about HR analytics or people analytics we refer to the use of quantitative analysis and related statistics to support personnel management.
It is a strategy based on data collection and analysis that aims to provide information to the HR manager and leadership in general, to better manage human resources, their dynamics and consequently being able to improve business results. Through people analytics it is possible to evaluate the conditions of each employee and measure his/her performance in an objective manner, providing the basis for making strategic decisions.
Within the HR departments, the use of people analytics tools is an important support to HR professionals during all phases of the personnel management process: remuneration and performance evaluation policies, career path planning and training, recruiting and talent management, to name a few examples.
A company who carefully manage its human capital is in fact extremely sensitive to the dynamics of Employee Engagement and the resulting benefits, widely related to these processes and their optimal management.
A good people analytics strategy puts HR in a position to make organizational decisions based on objective data and statistical calculations, in order to support the corporate business model with a reflection on the whole organization’s performance.
People Analytics: which tools to use?
The tools used to manage people analytics are mostly based on the use of Big Data: this term refers to the Artificial Intelligence systems that allow to quickly analyse huge amounts of data, such as interactions on social channels or data of users who access a website, to give some examples.
What do Big Data have in common with people analytics?
Let’s just think about the possibility of collecting and analysing using a statistical method all the data of your staff relating to, for example, the hours of provided training, the educational background, the salaries and achieved bonuses, the skills and previous professional experiences carried out, recruiting and its measurement metrics. By applying Big Data logic to HR processes, it is possible to control costs and define strategies to reduce turnover or improve talent acquisition: it is necessary to develop mathematical and statistical calculations by applying them to the collected results by software specifically designed for this purpose, guaranteeing the privacy protection and the reliability of the collected data.
The Organizational Network Analysis, which we discussed in detail in this article on our blog, is one of the most innovative available techniques to improve collaboration between working teams and increase productivity. It is based on the analysis of relationships within the teams to understand key roles and it is able to predict the risks of abandonment or dissatisfaction in the staff.
The digitization of processes is therefore the key factor for applying people analytics in the strategic logic of companies and personnel management processes.
How to apply people analytics techniques in the organization?
It is a known fact that in Italy the digitization of small and medium-sized enterprises is still a rare phenomenon (Italy is in 20th place in the ranking of the 27 EU countries for SME digitization: source DESI European Commission index), in fact only in large companies we often find resources invested in this strategic lever, while further important investments are needed (the PNRR is an example) to support SMEs in this technological transition. It is therefore essential to approach the issue making sure that the company management has well understood the logic and advantages of people analytics, to ensure a fluid and rapid process. An initial analysis is necessary to understand the digitization status of HR processes and the types of currently available data and their intrinsic quality, as well as the data collection method used: this is an analysis of the AS IS status.
At this point, a people analytics implementation plan can start with a pilot project, identifying an area of action that can exploit the data already available to understand the potential of this technique. This will make it easier to immediately show to stakeholders the value of people analytics and promote a transition plan for the whole organization, to be aligned with available resources and required timelines.
It is necessary to identify agile solutions that promote scale economies and that are easily adaptable to business needs and criticalities, favouring the choice of a single interface and starting with simple analyses up to real predictive ones.
Glickon Glow offers simple and flexible solutions to support HR in business decisions, thanks to several available functions that are easily adaptable to the companies’ needs, always designed in a people-oriented perspective.
