People Analytics: The Story of People Behind Data

Imagine starting your day with a push message on your smart device that not only tells you what to do today but also gives you information on what is important tomorrow.

Day in day out we are busy participating in meetings, dealing with administration, collecting and following up on data. Sometimes we almost forget to really listen to what that data is trying to tell us and how to proactively take action. The same applies to dealing with People Analytics; analytics can add great value to the performance of organizations.

More organizations are picking up the trend of driving and steering on high quality data and reporting on that. Within HR this trend links to the daily fact-based decision making.

We noticed that a lot of organizations feel the need for business intelligence (BI) and data analytics but do not really know where to start. The following concerns and questions pop up when thinking about this topic:

EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE

Today our personal and professional lives are connected 24/7; at any time we are ready for interaction. Smart algorithms are making our lives a lot easier and we can find them in daily elements. We expect Netflix to recommend us movies and series based on our historical view behavior. Next, we trust our thermostat to know exactly when we arrive home so that the temperature is just the way we like it. In fact, we even follow our navigation system, that reads our agenda and the current state of traffic, to know when would be the best time to leave for our next destination.

We expect the same service and comfort from the organizations we work for but unfortunately it is not yet on the same level. A smart algorithm could help consult managers on when to focus on the development of their team-members, or notify them that today is the day to plan a 1-on-1 meeting with that team-member who asked multiple times for help. This specific information helps us to look forward, work more efficient and even prevents possible burn outs. Next to that, it helps firms to improve satisfaction, engagement and performance of people.

COLLECTING OF DATA

As HR, we collect data of people every day, in ERP systems, notes of 1-on-1 meetings, during meetings with business partners and during annual performance reviews. All the data we collect are stored in word, excel, access and/or other databases. What do we really do with that data? Stored information is like a story that will never be told. The data is useless if we do not connect it, put it in the right perspective or context and transform it into knowledge and insights.

COMBINING NEW TECHNOLOGIES

Getting access to data and information and discovering its potential value has become easier the last couple of years. New technologies and platforms are enabling us to connect more sources of data with each other and even to combine financial, sales and employee records. The power of combining is enabling you to ask questions, create focus and develop vision for your HR strategy.

MAGIC PEN?

Data analytics is not a magic pen that writes the story of insights itself. Data analytics requires understanding, interpretation of context, skills and the right mindset. What we noticed is that organizations do not really know where to start and they ask questions like: how can I keep my knowledge up to date and how do I get trained on these specific skills.

At Talent Peaks, we use a transparent analytics growth model where we scale organizations in levels and guide them to grow from a basics operational reporting level to the level of predictive analytics.

VALUABLE DATA FOR AN OPTIMAL EXPERIENCE

At Talent Peaks, we believe that Data & Analytics will help ask questions and tell stories that support you in taking proactive actions. We also see technology contributing to the creation of the optimal journey of candidates, employees, talents and users.

You have already taken the first step by storing data into an ATS, HRIS, time registration or payroll system. The next step is to create insights and unlock the value of data; we can help you with that.

Questions that we often hear are:

TELLING A GREAT STORY WITH TALENT PEAKS?

At Talent Peaks, we can help you tell a great story by:

Together we will work on an approach where we will define your HR processes and strategy based on facts and figures.

WAY FORWARD

We would like to invite you to join the webinar on People Analytics organized together with Connexys on Thursday March 30th from 10:00-10:40 AM for free.

• First part: We will share the current state of people analytics within HR using some theory and use cases.
• Second part: We will show you a demo on a BI tool so you can get an impression on what possibilities there are to connect the tool to an ATS system.