Making Data-Driven HR a Reality

     

HR professionals are bombarded with blog posts and research reminding them that if they don’t do something about people analytics, their organization will fall behind. According to Deloitte’s 2018 Global Human Capital Trends study, 84% of HR and business leaders view people analytics as important or very important.
 
But if so many people agree that analytics are important, why do business leaders struggle to find the time and money to properly invest in this capability? Why are many organizations still moving slowly, rather than prioritizing HR? HR professionals need to act strategically to get buy-in from your leadership team when it comes to investing in People analytics. 

Executives need to begin seeing People analytics as a business investment rather than just an HR investment. While the HR function’s budget pays for People analytics, the biggest return is felt at an organizational level.
 

People analytics is a net new capability, and it’s hard to place a value on a service HR has never experienced before. And it’s not just for large companies  - it’s for every size company. Consider other software and business intelligence platforms: years ago, CRM solutions such as Salesforce were a “nice-to-have”, but now most executives wouldn't even consider operating without it.
 
Keep reading to learn how to create a successful business case for adding a People analytics platform to your organization. 

Before addressing the competing interests of your C-Suite, ensure you have your HR stakeholders aligned. Help fellow HR leaders understand how an analytics capability improves both HR efficiency and corporate strategy.
 
Here are a few concerns that HR professionals can easily address with People analytics:
 

 
When providing practical, tactical examples, break down the use of analytics to explain how surfacing a new insight will drive more strategic decisions, and how the sum of these outcomes contributes to better business outcomes. 

Of course, buy-in from HR doesn’t guarantee your investment will be approved. Shaking up how things have always been done in favor of new technology can mean competing with old ideas and traditional ways of doing things. Your C-Suite and Board will naturally seek the most cost effective way of achieving business results, which means you’ll need to be prepared to showcase the business value of a People analytics tool.
 
While the existing HR software and tools you’re already using will hold data and have reporting capabilities, they are not made to answer holistic people questions. Human Resource Management Systems (HRMS) provide a wealth of data, but no meaningful way to analyze trends and give managers a deeper understanding into their workforce.
 
Similar to Business Intelligence (BI) tools, People analytics tools collate data from multiple HR recordkeeping systems to look at the big picture and deliver meaningful insight. If your organization is already using BI tools, your C-suite may push for you to develop your own dashboards within these existing investments. However, these platforms are not designed with HR needs and requirements in mind.
 
People analytics platforms come with pre-built content, questions, graphs, and charts that enable HR leaders and their stakeholders to gain insight in a matter of minutes. They provide insight based on real, live data and compare with your historical trends to drive strategy. 

In the end, a people analytics investment needs to pass muster with your C-Suite stakeholders, most notably your CEO and CFO. Demonstrate how data-driven people decisions contribute to improved organizational performance, whether it’s in the form of increased revenue, better employee retention, or enhanced customer satisfaction.
 
When communicating with executives, follow these guidelines:
 

 
Always reinforce the very simple goal of investing in People analytics: to deliver insight. Getting people to change old behaviour and take new action will yield a meaningful outcome. 

A successful People analytics investment involves overcoming decades of entrenched old perceptions of HR investments. It requires shifting away from investments that simply make HR more automated, like efficient recordkeeping systems. It means moving towards seeing HR as a strategic player in your organization’s business strategy. Finally, it means moving away from report requests fulfilled by many people and multiple systems to placing analytics into the hands of the people who make decisions.
 
When all this is taken together, it adds up to a solid case for people analytics that demonstrates value—not just for HR—but for the entire business.

White paper - The Datafication of HR: Graduating From HR Metrics to People Analytics
https://hello.visier.com/datafication-of-hr-graduating-hr-metrics-to-people-analytics.html
 
Blog - Reports vs Analytics - What is the difference
https://www.visier.com/clarity/reports-vs-analytics-the-difference/

Paul Rubenstein is Chief People Officer at Visier. With more than 25 years of experience consulting and working in HR, Paul Rubenstein has extensive expertise in leading the transformation of Talent Strategies and HR Functions, with work spanning M&A integration, corporate strategy, total rewards, outsourcing, and service delivery design. Paul most recently served as Visier’s Vice President of Advisory Services where he worked with senior executives from Global 2000 organizations to help them drive change through data-driven HR practices. Prior to Visier, Paul was a partner at Aon Hewitt, where he advised large enterprise HR leaders on talent and HR function strategy, and was the general manager of the leadership and assessment businesses. Paul’s experience includes global consulting at Mercer and working in the HR functions of Home Box Office, Scholastic, and Hyatt Hotels. Visit www.visier.com Connect Paul Rubenstein Follow @visier