HCM Analytics: Uncovering the real value of your employees

By Pradeep Upad, VP of Consulting, NorthgateArinso

To effectively drive an organization’s workforce, provide accurate and timely guidance on corporate strategic initiatives in support of business growth and even to justify the value of the team’s very existence, HR must have a solid handle on its knowledge capital (i.e., data). It is imperative for HR professionals to think strategically, input the right value–add information and use the results as effectively as possible.

What can HR do to become a true business partner? The answer is Human Capital Management Analytics.

There are several factors impacting the need for better accountability with HR data. For many HR directors, discussions around HR's presence at the executive table are nothing new. However, in light of the recent recession, this debate is relevant once again. The recession has increased scrutiny on all activities and decisions related to human capital.  During times of restructuring, an organization's talent is the most affected. This means the team in charge of people management should be reporting in at the highest levels of the company.

A good HR data management process has become essential to be a true business partner.

Putting analytics in place

Capturing employee and talent data can be difficult. In order to be effective, HR professionals must fully acknowledge the data, identify KPI's and settle on the technology approach.

A staged approach is often the most appropriate. The first step is to put in place a consolidated technology platform to capture your HR related data. This is a very important step as your outcome is based on the quality of the input. To increase the data quality and to make sure it is kept up-to-date, companies need to have self-service tools in place to enable the workforce to manage their personal situation. By installing good data entry procedures, HR can easily monitor the changes to your database. After all, HR needs to remain in charge of the HR data, but it involves commitment from the whole workforce. This stage can be considered as fundamental in building good reporting.

Next, HR and their business partners should determine meaningful metrics to be tracked and recorded. HR can then adopt more sophisticated technology for analytics. In this step, business intelligence solutions offer valuable information for business decision makers and can help the HR department make better fact- and data-based decision.

Putting your data to work

Data management is only a means to an end. You can let your teams get bogged down in all the reporting and analysis in the world, but it's what you do with the results that makes the difference to your organization. When HR uses data to make policy and organizational changes, measure the success of these changes and report back to the executive team; the department will finally get the recognition it deserves.

Through clear reporting and easy-to-use dashboards, the HR director can show how a review of benefits offered to employees has improved, for example, absence levels, which has a very clear impact on the bottom line. Alternatively, identifying a positive trend in employee retention will help demonstrate what you've saved the business on the cost of recruiting new starters. In hard economic times, cost is everything and having the right data on hand on short notice can mean justifying HR's existence at the highest levels of the company.

Even more important than reporting on what has happened, is the HR director's responsibility to look forward, identify potential problems and create solutions in advance. HR directors are now starting to use the process of data mining to predict what's going to happen.

If HR professionals have the right information at their fingertips, they can report clearly and succinctly, which in turn translates into the concrete data proving the positive difference HR contributes to the company.

Biography

Pradeep Upad is the VP of consulting at NorthgateArinso U.S. He has 20 years' experience in planning, delivery, and management of complex business programs. His expertise includes systems and process integration, HR BPO solutions, ERP packages, supply chain solutions, custom application development, technical architectures, operations, sales support, contracting, and outsourcing. He holds a master's degree in computer science from New York Institute of Technology and a bachelor's degree in physical science from Osmania University, India.