Research shows that organizations who use HR data in making management decisions report 26% higher revenue per employee than organizations that do not use HR data. And while this data is taken from the private sector, public sector organizations can also use the same strategies to fight downward pressures and to do more with fewer resources.
How Municipalities Can Leverage HR Data to Counter Downward Budget Pressures
To truly get the benefit of HR data, organizations have to take the next step and gather insights that translate into business strategies. For private sector companies, this analysis helps them gain competitive advantages and can actively contribute towards increasing revenue and profits. And for the public sector, strategic utilization of data can help with efficiency and dealing with the ever-present downward budget pressures.
Here's how tech giants LinkedIn and Google are leveraging HR data in unique ways.
For example, LinkedIn employs data scientists to correlate the length of an employee’s review of their manager with job satisfaction. This, and other data points, allow LinkedIn HR to create a employee “heat map,” identifying when an employee may be suffering burnout. Using this technique enables LinkedIn to modify an employee’s roles and responsibilities in order to retain him or her, saving money on turnover, recruitment, and retraining.
Google uses an algorithm to identify candidates with the highest probability of succeeding upon being hired. And, like their counterparts at LinkedIn, they employ “what-if” analysis to predict which employees are at risk of leaving, thus allowing intervention to improve retention. Google's data-focused HR practices have contributed to their success of generating $1 million annual revenue and a whopping $200K in profit per employee.
Granted, the above tech companies have deep pockets and the technical resources to allow significant HR data analysis, but in many small, but not insignificant ways, the future is already here for small-to-medium sized organizations, including municipal governments as well. Now's the time for HR leaders to begin to dig deep, start to analyze existing HR data, and uncover the treasures within.
Does your municipality or organization leverage HR data in significant, novel ways? I'd love to hear from you (info@stargarden.com) to find out more.
- http://www.sierra-cedar.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2015/10/Sierra-Cedar_2015-2016_HRSystemsSurveyWhitePaper.pdf
- http://converge.xyz/big-data-now-integral-part-talent-recruiting/
- https://thefutureorganization.com/5-hr-trends-ebook
- http://www.eremedia.com/tlnt/how-google-is-using-people-analytics-to-completely-reinvent-hr/