This article introduces the basics of using People Analytics, offering advantages in the recruitment, the talent management, the training, the employee retention And the forecasting future trends. Aqsone guides businesses in implementing these solutions to maximize their added value.
According to the Bersin by Deloitte study, only 14% of organizations respondents have implemented advanced or predictive Analytics models for make a decision on human capital. 56% of the companies surveyed remained in the first phase, that of “operational reporting” : companies act more on the opinion and “feeling” of HR professionals, for example by relying on their experience, rather than using the data available.
Human Resources teams are becoming more and more aware that employees are The real engine of the company.
The methodology People Analytics, also called HR Analytics is closely linked to Big Data and data-driven strategies since it consists in collecting and grouping together a multitude of HR operational data specific to the company, such as employee demographics, payroll data, performance data, and engagement data. And also data external to the company such as labor market data, demographics, and much more.
The real strength of the People Analytics approach is that it can retrieve, structure and analyze all this varied data so that the HR function makes better informed decisions; such as obtaining information that will help the organization optimize its performance and that of its talents.
All these promises of digital transformation are fascinating, but in practice, on the ground, the implementation is not so simple.
First of all, there are business obstacles related to data sensitivity, since the data used is linked to the employee. It is necessary to work closely with the teams delegated to the data protection in order to know what is allowed to analyze and share. The RGPD (General Data Protection Regulation), implemented in 2016 at the European level, forces companies to comply and has a particular impact on the HR function. To be compliant, the RGPD requires us to define for each use case the points below:
A second obstacle is the lack of knowledge about the use of data. Indeed, very often business experts do not suspect that it is possible
Finally, there are the technical obstacles associated with historical data since, very often, there are no Information Systems per se in the HR function, and all the data comes from different sources (finance, headcount, training...). Storage is also a key point. You have to be able to Define a secure storage environment in order to consolidate the data, to ensure its quality and to exploit it. And finally comprehensiveness, because not all employees have the same length of service in the company, and some data will not be available on the same history for each employee.
People Analytics represents a real Gold mine to improve recruitment but also for talent management, HR development or even workforce and skills management. Here are some examples of uses:
By relying on People Analytics, HR can for example identify skills needs businesses in the next five to ten years, and thus establish a recruitment strategy and new types of profiles to look for.
Analytics makes it possible to measure the impact of training investment on business results. On the one hand, it is possible to quantifying the performance of a training course (number of sessions, occupancy rate, cancellation rate, impact on employee performance...)
On the other hand, it is possible to know the investment cost carried out on an employee.
The phenomenon of churn represents the flight of employees from companies. In order to reduce impact and costs of churn, it is important to anticipate it. Data analysis makes it possible to understand this phenomenon of churn and to determine which employees are most at risk of leaving the company in the coming months or years according to their position, workplace, age group, skills, for example. The implementation of a predictive model makes it possible to determine the Probability of departure of all employees and thus to implement an action plan to retain them (ie. training, mobility, salary increase).
By using internal and external data and based on the history of past developments, it is possible toIdentifying tomorrow's talents, on the one hand in the company and during recruitment.
By making it possible to cross-reference HR information with each other, but also with information from other business lines, analytics brings a new dimension to the HR function. Now able to align with business challenges, its role becomes strategic for the company.
The HR function must rely on efficient decision support tools in order to prepare for the future of the company. The HR director of the future will have to be able to combining data science and business expertise. Predictive analysis is essential because it will allow companies to anticipate and, in this sense, it will become a valuable asset in HR policy in the years to come. Little by little, we are going to enter a new era where HR Analytics will be complemented by a machine learning approach, that is to say, we will intelligently analyze what has already happened in the company to predict the future.
Internally, employees thus have the feeling that they belong to a well-defined group where the performance of collective work is highlighted and better measured.
Outside, the happier employees will be and will have the feeling of being taken into account in their work, the more they will be able to promote their company. The link between the employee and his employer is in fact mutual: the trust of one reflects positively on the other. However, being one of the “top employers” is a powerful tool for attract, retain and engage top talent.
Aqsone has been supporting its major account customers for 5 years on these People Analytics issues, from thinking about relevant use cases, the implementation roadmap for such solutions, to the production of use cases with high added value.
