The HR Revolution: Benefits of Data Analytics

Analysing the behaviours and opinions of our employees will play a big role in HR transformation. Data helps us to assign goals based on people's skills and to predict the chances of success. Knowing employees' interests and concerns helps to keep job satisfaction high, as well as to predict potential conflicts. Anticipating future work needs should be part of the company's mission. According to Gartner, HR data analytics will be one of the key areas in the Post-Covid 19 era. It is expected that in the coming years, this data-driven work culture will become an essential function in HR departments.

Benefits of people management and human resource analysis

The ultimate goal of people management is to find the information that is crucial for strategic decision making, and these are some of the benefits: :

1. Increased internal knowledge of the company, the sector and people
2. Improved decision-making
3. Attracting and retaining talent
4. Better evaluation of employee performance
5. Anticipation of potential conflicts

One of the keys to the success of people analytics is to turn employee feedback into real action. The goal is to analyse the most relevant data to make objective decisions about talent strategy.

3 main pillars to focus on

In this article, we will discuss the 3 main pillars on which any data analytics strategy should focus:

Being proactive

Understanding the present and future needs of the team allows us to respond to those needs. Data analysis in HR helps us to identify irregularities and also valuable knowledge that will help us to make objective decisions. It is key to go beyond statistics and reports to provide a better assessment of what will happen in the future.

Monitoring employee satisfaction and well-being

If there is one trend in organisations in terms of people management, it is knowing how to take the temperature of teams. Conducting job satisfaction surveys every two years does not seem to be the fastest way to create a strategy in line with today's needs. Organisations are constantly changing and we need to address the concerns of our teams. That's why some companies assess the mood of their employees every week to tailor their engagement plan to their needs and interests.

Implement policies that put people at the centre of the strategy.

In other words, putting into practice what has been analysed, heard and experienced in each team. It is a matter of translating the data analysed into reality and acting accordingly. With this approach, we will show the team that it is listened to and its opinion is the fundamental basis for creating people management policies. This has a very positive impact on the team, as they feel part of the company's strategy. The aim is to increase efficiency and therefore productivity.

As the McKinsey study states, "The best teams do not climb directly from one rung to the next; they are constantly repeating - retracing their steps and climbing the same rungs again - at each level of the journey to the top".

"People analytics is a vital tool for making strategic decisions and, above all, for predicting the future."