To say technology has been changing rapidly is an understatement. A few years back, big data was all the talk and now it has become an assumption that it is being utilized in some capacity in all organizations. Currently, there is lots of talk (and concern) about Machine learning and AI and what it means for employment. In HR however, data and analytics is still in its infancy in many organizations.
Data driven insight is an ongoing target for HR and it has fueled much research and technical investment. While organizations are actively exploring people analytics, research by New Talent Management Network shows there is a significant gap between the promise and current reality of HR analytics. For example, in organizations with < $25Billion revenue, Excel still remains the dominant analytical tool and turnover analysis remains the dominant statistic. The research points out that in spite of a 34% increase in people analytics teams from 2015 – 2016, HR is still struggling to report on some of its most important objectives as illustrated below :
- Ability to identify high potential leaders – only 26% of survey respondents have access to this data.
- Ability to predict future gaps / challenges – only 22% of survey respondents have the ability to report on this information.
- Ability to share unique insights about the performance driving factors in organization – only 22% have this capability.
There are 2 main challenges facing organizations in their search for meaningful analytics.
1. Lack of confidence in their ability to produce anything other than basic insights.
Most resources with analytical capabilities are relatively new to the organization, typically with 2-3 years tenure. These resources face the following challenges:
- Unable to access senior executives for their inputs in building analytics that provide insights that are useful for the organization.
- Lack of a data driven culture and the absence of a data strategy for improvement in analytics.
- Need for focus on continuous learning regardless of position in the organization to keep everyone informed of analytical capabilities. Analytical team resources must continually learn about their industry and new benchmarks to be able to ask the right questions to executives and improve their analytical measures.
2. The lack of accurate, consistent, reliable data that fuels the kind of insights HR is seeking.
Today, organizations have hundreds of applications and being able to manage and use the data produced from each of them is a huge task that few organizations have mastered. An integrated technical environment is a must for analytical teams to be able to access data easily and be confident that it is accurate. Although many organizations recognize that integration is important, few have succeeded in creating an integrated data environment.
We all recognize the importance of better HR analytics and the potential it has to move the organization forward. We still have lots of work to do in this area though and it requires engagement from all areas of the organization to build and continually improve the data strategy.
Getting the right integrated HR software can be easy if you know what you are looking for. Download our free HCM buyer’s guide for useful tips.
