Introduction
HRIS analytics is now emerging as a powerful tool for human resources professionals and business leaders. HRIS analytics is also known as people analytics or workforce analytics. It is a tool used by HR professionals to shape and support the strategic decisions of an organization. By bringing together the power of data and advanced analytical techniques, HRIS analytics offers many benefits that allow significant improvement in workforce management and organizational performance.
Maximising HRIS data for insights also allows HR professionals to propose solutions for more effective recruiting, talent acquisition, HR forecasting, performance management, and employee engagement. However, although HRIS analytics presents a wealth of opportunities, they also pose a significant challenge—there is a need to carefully assess information from multiple sources.
HRIS Analytics and Its Importance
HRIS analytics solely lies in utilizing modern digital advancements to extract statistical employee data. This facilitates modelling and optimizing the human capital in an organization. Transparency, fairness, efficiency, and productivity within the company can increase as decision-makers are able to take action based on correct evidence and data. Additionally, HR analytics has now become a new avenue for personal and professional growth for workers who are looking to expand their opportunities in the workplace.
Benefits of HR analytics
- HRIS analytics improves talent acquisition.
Hiring can be a costly task if not done correctly. An organization needs to hire the right individuals who are the perfect fit for specific job roles. This can be a daunting task, but this is where HRIS analytics comes into play. Leveraging data for HRIS analytics can significantly enhance talent acquisition for businesses. Information and experiences provided by applicants can be effectively analysed. The data derived by using algorithms combining it with the requirements of the company can shortlist the most qualified candidates. This way a more streamlined process of hiring can be created. This approach not only streamlines the recruitment process but also increases the likelihood of identifying and selecting the best-suited candidates for the job.
2. HRIS analytics improves employee retention.
With the data and information at hand, businesses can take necessary measures beforehand to address potential issues and improve employee retention. This data will give access to custom people insights that will help companies the chance of addressing mindset changes that are spurred by external factors such as the great resignation, and remote or hybrid work impacted by the pandemic. The data accumulated will give companies a better insight into behaviour shifts. This increases the focus on employee’s mental health, which will ultimately reduce turnover and maximize workforce stability.
3. HRIS analytics identifies skill gaps.
According to recent studies, technology is now a swiftly changing landscape and the workforce in a company is struggling to keep pace, with over 50% of employees, feeling unprepared for future skill requirements. To tackle this challenge head-on, people analytics emerges as a game-changer. This allows employers to pinpoint skill gaps within their existing teams. Using this strategic tool enables organizations to shift their focus from hiring external talent to investing in the upskilling of their existing internal employee resources. By leveraging data on employee performance and learning preferences, companies can now tailor training programs according to target requirements, and encourage a culture of continuous learning and adaptability. This will not only support and encourage individual skills but also align seamlessly with future organizational goals, offering a sustainable solution like reducing the need to hire new talent, to the evolving demands of the workforce.
4. HRIS analytics increases productivity.
Another benefit of leveraging data for HRIS analytics is a significant improvement in the areas of communication and collaboration. By analysing the data, HR professionals can improve productivity among employees of different departments. Using HRIS analytics, these data-driven strategies can maximize employee performance and drive successful outcomes.
5. HRIS analytics mitigates workplace misconduct.
Through the examination of behavioural data, HRIS analytics plays a crucial role in identifying potential concerns such as workplace harassment and bias. HR professionals can scrutinize key indicators and forecasting trends wherein they are then able to take a proactive stance in developing strategies to prevent and effectively address the chances of misconduct. This proactive approach not only serves to avoid risks but also contributes to the establishment of a secure and inclusive work environment. Ultimately, it cultivates a culture of respect and professionalism, promoting a workplace where employees feel valued and protected.
6. HRIS analytics improves diversity and inclusion.
Like every other factor mentioned above, the one perk and possibility often overlooked is diversity. To cultivate a workplace that not only provides support but also inclusion is a major factor for any organization. HR professionals can use these insights to monitor the diversity metrics in their company. This way they can support initiatives and include a supportive workplace culture where people from all ethnicities feel like they belong.
7. HR analytics improves performance management.
HR professionals can use the leveraged data derived from HRIS analytics to evaluate the performances of the employees in the company. These performance data can be evaluated against several factors such as high-performing employees, and underperforming employees. This way these factors can be addressed in a suitable and timely manner by implementing performance improvement plans for the employees underperforming. Employees remain motivated and employers can sustain retention rates.
Developing a powerful HRIS analytics strategy can appear intimidating to newer companies. However, by employing the right approach, organizations can discover invaluable insights from HRIS analytics that are crucial for strategic decision-making. Forward-thinking business leaders are actively shaping their people analytics strategies.
Companies must keep in mind that to have successful HRIS analytics deployed in their company, a well-defined action plan must be in place. Below are the six steps to develop an effective HRIS analytics strategy.
- Create an outline of the challenges or opportunities your company would want to address.
Before we dive into the world of HRIS analytics, it is essential to figure out what problems you want your company to solve. The first step is to start by spotting the challenges or opportunities, with a keen eye, in your workplace that could use some data-driven insights. By honing in on specific areas, you can then set clear goals and figure out how data can help find solutions for these opportunities or challenges.
However, instead of taking on all the issues at once, it’s a good idea to start small. This way, your company can manage things better and keep your focus sharp when implementing HR analytics best practices. Whether you are aiming to plan your workforce strategically, boost employee retention, or improve performance management, setting clear goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) helps you track progress and refine your HR analytics efforts.
Knowing what you want to achieve lets you customize your data collection, analysis, and
interpretation processes. This customization ensures you get actionable recommendations that can drive real and meaningful change going forward.
- Create a strategy that aligns with your organizational objectives.
The strategy created by your company needs to be in alignment with the broader business goals to ensure its success. This can only happen when the insights generated through HRIS analytics contribute valuable data that will align with the priorities and strategies set by the management.
Another way to move forward in this area would be to engage with stakeholders, senior managers, and decision makers to understand their priorities and areas of focus. The HR professionals must seek their input on areas where they have envisioned certain improvements. This way HR professionals can explain to them the benefits of HRIS analytics and how it can provide necessary information to support those objectives.
Once you have demonstrated the potential of HRIS analytics and its enablement of data-driven decision making which will improve the outcome, you will be able to garner the support and resources needed to implement your strategy effectively.
Collaboration is a vital tool in HRIS analytics. Collaborating with the leaders can be an example of how HRIS analytics can contribute to achieving business goals. This data for strategic decision-making can be the foundation for support, sponsorship, and resources to carry out HR analytics initiatives successfully. With the right support from the right management heads, your organizational alignments can be driven with a supported data-driven culture and ensure that the HRIS analytics strategy is closely intertwined with the business one.
- Create an access to assess data sources and identify gaps
For smart business decisions, having reliable and top-notch data is a must. Take a close look at the data sources in your HR tech tools and check if they’re fitting and accurate. Figure out a solid plan for consistently getting the data you need to support your people analytics strategy. Do a thorough check of the data you’re already collecting and analysing in your HR systems. This check will help you spot any gaps in the data you have.
Knowing the limits of your current data sources is crucial so you can tackle those gaps effectively. Don’t just stick to HR data – explore other sources in your organization. Team up with other departments to tap into info that could give you useful insights. Bringing in data from different places pushes up your people analytics game, helping you tackle problems better and make decisions with a clear picture.
A wide range of data sources are available that can provide companies with detailed comprehensive data for strategic decision making. Some of these sources include:
– Employee surveys
– Performance reviews
– Time tracking apps
– HR solutions
– Exit interviews
– HRIS analytics platforms
It is vital to fill in the gaps in the data and facilitate a holistic dataset. This will enable your organization to gain a deeper understanding of your company and drive a much more impactful HRIS analytics outcome.
- Embracing next-gen technology
In order to effectively leverage HRIS analytics, the company must adopt a modern reporting and analytics technology platform or a data-driven HR stack. These tools will enable companies to collect, interpret, and take the necessary action based on the data collected. For example, HRIS (Human Resource Information System), talent management software, survey tools, and data visualization. HRIS does the job of storing and managing HR data while simultaneously offering analytics capabilities. While talent management software provides analytics based on the track record of an employee’s performance. This track record is turned into analytics used for strategic decision-making. Data based on employee engagement and satisfaction is gathered with the use of these tools.
These data derived from various tools can be transformed into visually appealing charts and graphs. However, keeping all this aside, the source of the data must be derived from a reliable platform as the integrity of data can be compromised if not. This will make it challenging for companies to establish meaningful and engaging connections between people’s data and organizational objectives.
All in all, it is important to invest in the next generation of reporting and analytics technology since it not only empowers HR professionals to make informed decisions but also contributes to the efficiency and effectiveness of the HR function. Leveraging the capabilities of these tools can facilitate a deeper insight into the people data and successfully implement one’s findings to drive organizational success.
- Create a Launch for an internal communication campaign.
To create an overall data narrative, it is advisable to gather feedback from employees from various mediums such as SMS surveys, and feedback forms, wherein real-time input is captured from the employees through which valuable insights and perspectives can be derived and contributed to the overall data narrative.
The next step would be to analyse all the data collected. Once analysed, it is essential to communicate the findings and recommendations to all the stakeholders effectively in a clear, logical, and unambiguous manner. The data derived and analysed should be based on its impact on business objectives and potential outcomes.
In such cases, a user-friendly dashboard would be the ideal go-to mechanism where employees or decision-makers can access and freely use the tool. The data input from the employees has to then be presented in a visually appealing and easy-to-understand format to the stakeholders so that they can interact with the information provided and effectively gain insight on their own.
The perks of having an internal communication campaign is that all the information derived from the HRIS analytics data is effectively disseminated throughout the company. This encourages understanding, engagement, and support for data-driven decision-making.
- Conduct compliance audits
It is important to ensure legal and regulatory compliance given the sensitive nature of the data involved such as employee personal information and compensation data. This is an essential step to implement in the HRIS analytics strategy. A legal committee is involved to review and assess the proposed actions for legal compliance.
The compliance committee usually comprises representatives from every department such as HR, Legal, IT, and other relevant departments and they are responsible for designing, implementing, and monitoring policies and procedures that are related to data privacy, security, and legal compliance.
As this important step and measure is taken, it ensures that companies can uphold data privacy and avoid risks related to data misuse. This also ensures the integrity and security of the data while simultaneously building trust among employees and stakeholders.
Conclusion
As the landscape of HRIS Analytics evolves, companies that adopt data-driven HR practices will gain a competitive edge in attracting, retaining, and developing top talent, all the while achieving strategic business goals. It becomes the responsibility of the HR leaders to overlook this transformation. While establishing an HRIS analytics strategy may seem daunting, especially for those new to the field, it’s crucial to seize this opportunity.
When venturing into HRIS analytics, having a clear grasp of your objectives becomes crucial while aligning them with your organization’s business goals, and anticipating potential obstacles. These initial steps mentioned above are HRIS analytic best practices that pave the
way for developing strategic decision-making with HRIS analytics that not only adds value but also facilitates better decision-making and improved outcomes for your business.
Embrace the journey and tap into the power of HRIS analytics to unveil insights from HRIS analytics that drive organizational success. Armed with a solid understanding of your goals and challenges, you can lay the groundwork for a data-driven approach, fostering positive change and propelling your business forward.