CEOs want more data on talent management and are willing to increase investments in HR data and analytics. Organizations that use talent data effectively have reported a boost in employee performance, employee engagement, and gross profit margin. For any organization, it is important that the management have constant access to the right talent data. According to a research report, “talent analytics” is becoming a hot subject of discussion among top companies across industries. Always at the centre of nearly every business decision, talent analytics is an indispensable tool that gives direction on decisions relating to hiring, promotion, and training. However, problems creep in when, despite the significant investments in collecting and analysing data, companies are not able to measure their returns. Studies have shown that more than 70% of companies continuously pump money into new tools and knowledge networks. However, only 12% of companies believe that their efforts have yielded results.
It is therefore imperative to improve the effectiveness of talent analytics. The onus lies on the HR team. So, how do they go about doing it? To get the act together in the realm of talent analytics, an organization—according to one expert—should identify factors that can effectively “pull” data for analysis throughout the organization and then “push” HR measures and analysis to audiences in a more impactful way.
To win the board’s buy-in in “pulling” data for analytics, the HR function should educate senior decision-makers about the value of following important considerations:
- Receive the right contextual information at the right time.
- Understand the derivative value of analytics and apply them.
- Corroborate analytics information with real scenarios.
- Perceive both the intrinsic and extrinsic impact that analytics would have.
- Understand the implications that analytics will have on people and brand.
The power of putting the right person in the right role putting the right person in the right position is one of the most important determinants of corporate success. It is in this context that having wrong or incomplete data will prove costly: it would end up creating many Frankensteins inside the organization with each staff becoming a resource drain. It is always a costly upheaval when an organization has to reject new hires for fit rather than competency. Things become even worse when such data is used to ensure succession planning and to cultivate talent at the top. Therefore, it is important to have quality data. To ensure constant access to credible information, the HR team should engage in capacity building measures organization-wide to identify and validate the data “pull” mechanism.
As the nature of work keeps changing, employees need new skills and competencies. To thrive in a competitive environment, organizations should have the ability to interpret data and collaborate across units, functions and geographies. This effectively puts the recruitment and management of talent at the forefront of every company activity.
