People Analytics (or HR Analytics) is officially “hot”. It seems that, all of a sudden, organizations have realized that their most important asset is people. In a new 2019 survey by Deloitte (10,000 respondents in 119 countries) over 70% of companies said they consider people analytics a high priority. However, only 9% of companies believe they have a good understanding of which people dimensions drive performance in their organizations.
People Analytics is "trending" in HR!
In other words, everybody knows they should be doing it, everybody is talking about doing it, but nobody knows exactly how they should be doing it. And there ain’t a better time to introduce this new connecting add-on than now!
What is people analytics?
People analytics is a deeply data-driven and goal-focused method of studying all people processes, functions, challenges, and opportunities at work to elevate these systems and achieve sustainable organization success.
Connecting employee feedback to organization outcomes
Wouter Buzing is an expert in People Analytics. He has worked for over 20 years at Effectory, the world’s largest independent provider of employee feedback. He is a comforting voice in a world with far too much data. His company has created new People Analytics tools to complement their existing suite of engagement feedback products. He puts it simply: “We connect employee feedback to organization outcomes. This is a crucial step, not only for employees, but also for the organization itself.” The kind of People Analytics an organization is looking for, depends on what kind of organization it is. For hospitals, governmental or non-profits it’s mostly about the process and quality indicators. For other organizations it’s also a question of efficiency and profitability.
People analytics or the future of employee survey
The traditional way of using statistics is based on percentages or means and standard deviations. It is focusing on understanding what is going on in a population. These descriptive statistics are the current form of employee survey. By using the employee data and calculating the average the companies can compare their scores with the competitors or one of their department with another department so that they can understand if one department is underperforming or overperforming.
The future form of employee survey has much more to offer. With people analytics not only we are able to collect and gather extraordinary number of data we are also able to make predictions. We are able to discover untapped data, if for example employee satisfaction and autonomy are related to each other. This can be determined by algorithms which in the future form of employee survey will easily identify which steps to take to achieve the desired outcome.
Benefits of people analytics:
- Better hiring decisions
- Longer employee retention
- Improving collaboration
- Enriching talent development
- Enhancing well-being
- Maximizing productivity
Challenges of people analytics:
- Quality of data
- Quantity of data
- Researching right outcomes
- Using right tools
- Administrating right analysis
- Data visualization
Create impact with People Analytics
Link feedback from employees to your organization’s performance
DownloadImpossible questions to answer for HR?
There are some issues that affect all organizations. Wouter recognizes the frustrations of HR. How to recruit the right people? Why is there so much absenteeism? Why is employee turnover so high? How to prevent regretted leave? Are we working our people too hard? How can we motivate our people? How can we improve internal communication? Difficult questions that sometimes seem impossible to answer. Fortunately that’s not the case.
“Our new People Analytics tools will show organizations what they need to do to create better thought-out workloads and better relations between employees and employers, benefitting both. Also, how to provide more learning programs and career opportunities. Giving people all the tools they need to succeed.” Wouter goes further: “We strongly believe that using our People Analytics tools will increase essential job indicators and decrease the number of regretted leavers.” It doesn’t have to be a lengthy process either. The tactical tools can provide targeted information to reach a certain goal within two weeks, following an engagement feedback project.
HR Analytics: Autonomy data infographic & fact sheet
Get data-driven insights about autonomy in the workplace by downloading this infographic and fact sheet.
DownloadBig Data is watching you
Many people are seriously concerned by the ethical issues. For example, the unscrupulous organizations who might use data to decide not to hire people based on who they are. Or organizations collecting and analysing workforce data without appropriate communication or explanation, causing unease and distrust among employees. Big Data is watching you. One study estimated that 81% of People Analytics projects are jeopardized by ethics and privacy concerns. Wouter answers these concerns with the best answer he can give: “If you can’t explain the benefit to your people, don’t do it.”
People-friendly HR analytics
Wouter uses a surprising analogy: “What we do can be compared with a knife. A knife conjures up negative associations. One can do very unethical things with knives. However, in the right hands, a knife can be used to cut and chop to create a culinary masterpiece. A knife can be used to apply oil paint to create a beautiful painting. A knife, in the hands of a surgeon, can save someone’s life. We use our People Analytics tools as a force for good, for employees as well as their organizations. What’s best for each person individually. And what’s best for the organization. The ultimate win-win scenario.”
Would you like improve your way of working? Find out more about people-friendly HR Analytics from Effectory.