The importance of data-driven Human Resource

Data-driven HR is a leading way for practitioners to continually add more value to the business. [iStockphoto]

As the workforce evolves, Human Resources is using data as one way of making major decisions.

While observing turnover and absenteeism, HR can strategize their staffing needs and bring solutions to tricky problems.

HR professionals use data also to understand the employee needs.

In recruitment strategy, data is very important. Data should cover things like rate of hire, diversity of candidate pool, employee acceptance.

Data-driven HR is a leading way for practitioners to continually add more value to the business.

How do you create a data-driven organization?

1. Collect and Integrate Employee Data

Employee relations data can be a reference point for behavioural trends that offer deep insight into what your employees are doing, especially when that data is combined with other business and organizational information.

Integrating data can help you spot connections between business outcomes and specific instances of team performance, for example, thereby fueling greater collaboration between HR and the C-suite.

2. Identify Performance Trends

Every individual, department, and operating unit generates data that can help you point out challenges and propose effective techniques that can be more widely applied. But you have to analyze that data.

For example, if new hire turnover rates vary across your company, performance data can help you identify the reasons behind that variance.

3. Monitor Employee Engagement

By tracking employee survey responses, absences, personnel issues, and other relevant metrics, you can obtain vital information about how engaged your employees are and about how well your employee engagement programs are working.

Employee engagement data can reveal which policies are really improving performance and morale, and which are just time-wasting.

This data can also show when existing policies need revision. For example, if employees are frequently violating the guidelines around one particular process, that may call for more effective training.

4. Reduce Your Investigations file

Many HR and employee relations professionals juggle multiple open cases, and it can be hard to see things as they are and identify recurring patterns between cases.

Data and analytics, however, can help you pinpoint serious cases, measure case volumes, and track closure rates.

By using historical data, you can compare current issues to previous similar cases, evaluate outcomes, and create best practices based on the successful handling of certain kinds of issues.

This will improve consistency and help you achieve resolutions.

Case data also creates the expectation that each investigation will be documented effectively, further encouraging the use of best practices.

5. Upgrade Retention offers and benefits

Data points like the length of service and reported reasons for leaving can help you identify and address emerging issues.

For example, if multiple employees who recently left did so because they received better offers from competitors, you might need to reevaluate your standard compensation packages.