A Comprehensive Guide to HR Analytics

The purpose of data in its purest form is to provide an overview of important facts that guide professionals in their decisions. Data provides key workforce productivity metrics in the case of HR analytics. From workflow to budgets and processes to identifying underlying problems HR analytics are leading the way to improved HR efficiencies. Finding time to sort through data, not to mention collecting it is the biggest challenge for most organizations, but HR analytics software can help resolve this issue. 

Discover our comprehensive guide explaining HR analytics, their meaning and reference points to help you understand how analytics can resolve ongoing issues.  

What is HR Analytics?

HR analytics provide helpful insight to empower HR departments to make smarter decisions. Although the idea of data can sound a little technical, the nature of the data is very familiar and very useful for HR teams. There are four levels to HR analytics including:

1. Operational reporting: At Level 1, data provides insights into past performance. This is important because it allows your team to understand why past events occurred and often how. As a result, you have a fundamental understanding that confirms events using data already available. This is probably why most organizations reach this level, as they can use the data they’ve collected.
2. Advanced reporting: Advanced reporting provides more frequent reports making it more proactive. It creates a more predictable routine of data review making it easier to look at relationships between your variables.
3. Strategic analytics: This level offers a more thorough analysis for things such as helping to create causal models or reflecting on the outcomes of relationships between variables. This could include something like what is driving churn.
4. Predictive analytics: At the highest level, this data provides information that helps predict outcomes so you can plan for eventualities. So, you might look at your turnover numbers in hand with market and promotion data to assist with workforce planning.

Level 1 is the most common level organizations reach followed by Level 2. This is most likely because the average HR team is not prepared to tackle the scale of information at Level 3 and 4. The good news is, that once you have access to data, you will become better at using the information and more capable of tackling the higher levels.

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How HR Analytics Software Helps Anticipate Employee Needs

The easiest way to begin leveraging HR analytics is to use HR analytics software. The system is all-encompassing providing information that allows you to keep on top of HR performance. You can set tasks that contribute to employee retention such as alerts for upcoming performance reviews. Instead of trying to collect feedback from employees to help you become more responsive, you can use your data to identify issues. Understanding your employees’ needs is easier with access to in-depth analysis. You can also identify skills gaps and look for opportunities to improve training or find possible mentors. When you know where skills gaps exist you can also address where inefficiencies lie and address opportunities to improve workflow.

Optimize Performance and Reduce Costs

With the right HR analytics software, you can not only improve but actually optimize your hiring practices so you reduce churn. The insights provided by your HR analytics solution keep you efficient, improve employee retention and positively impacts your bottom line. You can also improve the management of labor costs by tracking overtime. You can anticipate when someone is approaching overtime and also arrange for better staffing with work hour reports.

How to Find the Right HR Analytics Software for Your Team

With the right HR analytics platform, insights allow you to become more efficient. You can focus on the things you know are working and remove or improve the things that negatively affect your effectiveness and profitability. Efforts become more collaborative when HR teams provide input on which HR reporting and analytics features will prove the most useful to your organization. You can seek a customized solution to streamline and automate your HR system, so you always have access to the reports and data that make you more efficient.

Access for All Levels

The strength of HR analytics is that it can be used by all levels and departments. When incorporated into an HR analytics software you can allow team members to access workforce reporting based on their role and level. Using role settings ensures the most important information for each department is shared to improve management. You define who benefits from the information available, to make the most of HR analytics.

About the Author

Kayla is the Marketing Manager at Paypro Corporation overseeing all inbound and outbound marketing and sales efforts. She has 7+ years of experience working within the B2B and SaaS based solutions space and thrives on creating messaging and campaigns that introduce products and services to those who need them most.