How to Make People Analytics Work?

Why are people leaving an organization so frequently, and why is absenteeism becoming a major issue?

Trying to solve these questions with just rows and columns on a spreadsheet might not get you very far. Besides, by the time you possibly find an answer,  it may have already cost you a lot – resources, money, and time!

Consider the engineers at a bridge construction site. They rely on data and deep insights to understand how various elements like concrete, iron bars, and local weather conditions interact to build a sustainable bridge that supports the daily traffic of hundreds of vehicles.

Expecting engineers to perform this complex analysis in their heads or on basic spreadsheets is impractical, especially given the fast pace required in today’s world.

Similarly, in the HR field, different forms of analytics are revolutionizing how decisions are made. People analytics, for instance, helps bridge the gap between guesswork and fact-based decision-making.

While I’ve extensively discussed people analytics, its challenges, and People Analytics as a Service (PAaaS) in a previous post, which you can find here: Why Should You Consider People Analytics as a Service (PAaaS)? this article will focus on connecting the dots between people analytics and business success—undeniably the ultimate goal for all organizations.

Making People Analytics Work 

In all my years of working on People Analytics projects, some best practices worked more than others. 

Those are:

Involve Leaders

Start by getting such leaders on board who are excited about the possibilities people analytics offers. Remember, no one likes change, especially when it is about embracing a data-driven culture. But, there are people from the senior management who support change – you need these leaders on your side. 

Leverage Data

People analytics revolves around how well you leverage data. 

• The first step is to identify a variety of relevant data and their sources, such as employee records, performance reviews, and engagement surveys. 
• Ensure this data is complete and accurate by validating and cross-referencing it.
• Streamline master data across these data sets to create a unified, consistent view.

This process eliminates discrepancies, facilitating more reliable and actionable insights for informed decision-making in workforce management and development.

Pay Attention to What Your Staff is Saying

Listening to your staff is crucial for not just the success of people analytics but your business too. 

Constant updates of your staff’s feedback and concerns are crucial, as they provide valuable, qualitative, and real-time data. This insight can highlight underlying issues, inform improvements, and enhance employee engagement. By incorporating employee voices into your analysis, you can create a more responsive and supportive work environment.

Start Small and Then Scale

In people analytics, starting small means focusing first on data you trust to be accurate and complete, such as payroll records or attendance logs. This approach allows you to build a reliable foundation, refine your analytical methods, and demonstrate early successes. As you gain confidence and expertise, you can gradually incorporate more complex and varied data sources, expanding your analytics capabilities incrementally.

Benchmarks are Important But So Are Business Realities

In people analytics, prioritizing your data trends and business realities over industry benchmarks is crucial. While benchmarks provide a general comparison, your organization’s unique context, goals, and challenges are better addressed by focusing on internal data. Analyzing your own trends offers more relevant insights, helping you tailor strategies that directly impact your workforce’s performance and engagement, leading to more effective decision-making and competitive advantage.

Ask Relevant Questions

In people analytics, start by framing questions that directly relate to your business challenges and goals. For instance, you might ask, “What factors influence employee turnover?” or “How does training impact performance?” 

Seek answers to these questions by analyzing your data, and looking for trends and correlations. This targeted approach ensures that your analysis addresses real issues, making it more actionable. Once you have insights, you can then develop specific metrics to monitor these factors over time, continually refining your strategies based on data-driven evidence.

Trust Your Intuition & Business Logic

In people analytics, trusting your gut and business logic can be key to identifying dependent variables for a defined metric. For example, if you’re analyzing attendance and absenteeism, consider factors specific to your industry, such as the impact of weekdays. Intuition and experience can guide you to recognize patterns and correlations that might not be immediately evident from the data alone. 

In Conclusion

Data is not meant to replace your intuitions. On the contrary, when the power of data and your experience-based insights come together, wonders can happen. 

I read this somewhere, “Intuition to the power of infinity can lead us to beautiful results and knowledge to the power of infinity can also.” So, let them work together to bring the best results.

By combining data analysis with your understanding of business dynamics, you can identify meaningful variables that drive more accurate and actionable insights, leading to better-informed decisions.

You may be at any stage of people analytics but if you need help, you can trust Nuest Consulting to drive value and relevance faster, at the most competitive costs. We come on board with the expertise, and experience required to make people analytics work. 

Want to discuss the details? Schedule a Strategy Call today.