Workforce analytics
Human Resources departments in all industries are relying more and more on workforce analytics not only as statistics on a report, but as a way to make effective decisions. Workforce analytics uses statistics and software to organize data related to the workforce and their performance. With this information, leaders can optimize how they manage their workforce, as well as decide on the most reasonable business strategies to implement. It can help in many procedures from recruitment to performance enhancement. Some companies use the data recollected to predict an employee’s probability of success, identify the need for new positions or reassignments in the different departments or simply optimize the organizational structure, identify physical risks to certain posts, factors that influence employee satisfaction, predict technological needs for today and the future, and finally identify future leaders in the company to motivate and cultivate them for their possible future roles.
Everyday more executives are finding in workforce analytics the key to building their companies up and becoming more efficient and productive. But they are not just depending on data that relates to production in a factory, but to data that can give insight to talent-related criteria. This data is the one that most leaders are craving to make sound business decisions and have something to support their decisions. It has all come down to handing in the right analytics at the right time. So, this is breeding a new kind of company, one that can produce and incorporate workforce analytics deliverables, along with the tools and technology to create them, and of course a strategy that will motivate and increase the use and adoption of these tools and data.
Recognize the signposts
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Most companies don’t have the numbers related to talent development and performance outside of production and quantifiable outcomes. This lack of insight leaves them at a loss when making certain decisions, so it is important for your company to analyze what they are measuring and try to include some of these important criteria. First off, your company must determine the required knowledge, capability and skills needed for a specific business strategy, and then recognize what they have in-house, what gaps exist and the best ways of filling those gaps, be it through hiring new talent or training in-house employees. At all times, having the statistics on workforce performance will come in handy, especially in times of turbulence. Understanding who your high and low performers are will make all the different when identifying the opportunities to close performance gaps. In the same way, this will help to retain valuable talent with different retentions plans, that in the long run will ensure a constant growth in your operations. On the other hand, it will also identify clear strategies and moments in which redeployment, retraining and reduction of the workforce is required. Although, it is known that in moments of crisis cut backs are almost unavoidable, there can be other alternatives like reassignment, and reallocation of resources to higher-priority areas. Additionally, we cannot leave out knowledge retention through collaboration and knowledge sharing, and career path development and succession plans that will keep your company moving if departures occur.
Using the data strategically
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Having this data is not enough. CEOs and HR leaders are understanding the importance of this more everyday. Although there are hundreds of metrics that can be used to improve your business and the performance of your workforce, ideally we can get much more out of these metrics if they are aligned with the business strategy. In this way, you can find opportunity for improvement from insights offered by workforce analytics. One of the leading areas that could be considered to have strategic significance is “ROI” on workforce. Return of workforce investment has usually been mitigated by strategic workforce planning by looking ahead three or five years to analyze the future demand for talent as well as the supply. This unfortunately does not affect the now, and so the immediate impact on labor costs, productivity and financial results is not calculated. In an effort to find strategies that will help today’s company in the short-term future they should implement headcount management, talent acquisition pipeline and financial forecasts. Now, for an operational workforce it could go a bit beyond the analysis of the gap between forecasted or budgeted labor costs and current ones. If and when companies align forecasted and projected headcount labor costs, they will be able to reduce downstream consequences like severance, shortages or poor-quality hires. Additionally, companies can also curtail high-potential turnover, improve new-hire quality and focus on the strategic roles that HR should have in the company. By following the leading practices in workforce analytics you can ensure that your company will have data to support their decisions. What you need to ensure is that all of the data is relevant, and recollected at the right moment, so as to aid those making the decisions just when they need it.