How many data points does your organization maintain for each employee record? Probably more than you think! The consensus among numerous I.T. and H.R. professionals and consultants I've spoken with is that companies generally maintain (albeit informally) approximately 400-500 data points for each employee. An initial response might be that your organization maintains nowhere near this amount. However, when you factor in things such as "effective" dates for things such as promotions, pay changes, titles, etc., the quantity of data points grows quickly. Unless your HRIS technology is advanced and systems platform highly integrated, the thought of managing data continuity across the entire organization can be overwhelming.

There is an alternative, especially if your company still maintains employee data on multiple systems, or has varied processes across operating units. The truth is, only a subset of the 400-500 data points really need to be standardized to ensure sound H.R. analytics and process continuity. The solution is to develop a mini master record for employee data. Colleagues I've spoken to generally conclude that companies can get by with a mini master comprised of about 50-80 data points.

To read more about this and other HR Data Management practices, visit my document posted on HR.com that's entitled: HR Data Management 101.   Let me know what you think or other ideas and experiences you've had around managing HR data.