HR has relied on the use of data and analytics for years but has only recently begun to embrace people analytics. Defined as using a data-driven approach to inform your people practices, programs and processes, people analytics is a powerful resource for HR. After all,
human capital is the source of all business success—it makes sense to analyze people to understand and even predict enterprise performance. Recently, HR departments have begun to leverage this powerful tool – and it’s changing the game for many businesses.
HR today is all about understanding people and predicting their actions and responses. And, as Josh Bersin has said, “…People Analytics” as a business discipline has arrived. Our research now shows tremendous growth in this market, and a significant shift away from measuring HR toward a real focus on using people data to understand and predict business performance.”
Unfortunately, while we see more organizations beginning to talk about it, 92 percent of HR departments don’t believe they’re proficient in using people analytics. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Use the following got tips to get started or build your proficiency in using people analytics in your organization.
To establish a solid foundation and use people analytics correctly you’ll need to create a department specifically devoted to this area—one completely separate from the traditional HR team. Why? Well, for the most part, the people with traditional HR backgrounds (or in closely related subjects) tend not to have the skill sets needed to perform sophisticated analyses. You’ll do well to draw from different talent pools. In fact, statisticians or mathematicians, not HR experts, are the best heads for these groups.
People analytics that start in the HR department affect every part of business, so it’s important that someone on the team understands the various units. The best people analytics teams draw talent from across the organization.
