How Big Data is Redefining Human Resource Practices

The job market has become more candidate driven which has made Talent Acquisition Officials to have such a hard time in filling up open positions with the best talent. This is because hiring the right professionals in a candidate-driven market generally requires more time and resources. That’s why we see many jobs being advertised on different platforms everyday but it takes several months before these positions are filled. The irony of all this is that thousands of qualified and overqualified candidates apply for this job, but the talent acquisition officials lack adequate tools to help them in the recruiting process. Due to the market changes, Human resource professionals have little choice but to adapt and reconsider the traditional talent acquisition methods in order to remain competitive. The best way to manage this, is to implement big data into the human resource daily operations.

Application of Big data in human resource practices refers to the use of many data sources to evaluate and enhance practices including recruitment, performance, compensation, training and development, and overall organization performance. Human resource professionals can now analyze mountains of data to answer key questions regarding employee productivity, the impact of training on organization performance, employee abrasion among others. Again, a Sophisticated human resource software offers strong data analytics that can be used to make smarter and more accurate decisions.

Prerequisites to initiate big data in HR requires:

• Access to workforce data
• Having a workforce issue where understanding the probability of the future outcome is desirable
• Access to, or the ability to resource, advanced statistical analysis talent.

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Major Areas of Big Data in HR

Through big data, an organization is able to effectively manage employee data and make employee communications, on-boarding, and terminating employment more efficient. The organization can easily adapt to Organization-wide changes, gain a better understanding of HR and improve the overall efficiency of human capital. Big data for HR incorporates the following major areas:

• Predictive Analysis which involves attempting to forecast what could happen in the future based on past HR data.
• Infusing data from other systems related to finance customer service marketing and other functions, and having the ability to make daily decisions based on evidence that are directly related to HR processes
• Using both to then design workforce structure and planning.

Data will talk to you if you’re willing to listen, however, the challenge comes when data transforms into bundles and stacks of unorganized and unstructured data sets. HR metrics and workforce analytics are not a guarantee return on investment. You need to be able to decipher what data is appropriate to collect by enrolling for Data Science Courses

Job Listings

Companies rarely make their strategic direction public, at least the finer grains of it. Its however possible to introspect the strategic direction that a company is taking by looking at the job they are advertising. One such noticeable trend is the increase in Job adverts for data science talent.

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One particular job listing that caught my attention is a people data scientist listed by Pay Pal, below is an excerpt from their website.

“As the People Data Scientist – Principal, you will work with Data Analysts, Data Engineers and Data Scientists responsible for strategic analytics initiatives, research and experimentation. You will solve essential business challenges such as: Improving collaboration across the organization; Predicting which employees are at risk of leaving the organization before they leave; Predicting which of our 1,000,000 + applicant each year would make great hires and many other; Through data allowing employees to plan and navigate their future careers at PayPal; Identifying what characteristics make a great sales person, engineer, etc.; and, Any many other key questions we will leverage data to solve. Reporting to the Head of Global People Analytics, you will be directly engaging with PayPal People Strategy, Analytics and Technology Team to solve scope complex human and data questions, analyze, model, test, and build solutions that provide insights and recommendations”.

Paypal Website

Employee Motivation

Data Analysis can help HR managers track the performance of their employees effectively and be able to locate and reward the top performers. In case of ineffective behavior and violations of policies or expected standards, activities that always impact the growth of a company in some way- these stats can aid professionals in taking prompt action at the right time. Again, Data analysis can also disclose if any employee is facing performance issues and measures can be taken early enough to address the issues before it gets out of hand.

Resource Consumption

Looking at the tough economic effects that has come about as a result of COVID 19, human capital management seems into big focus. They are those companies who make effective use of their resources that can attain much more than their competitors. For instance, if someone lacks in scheduling, other professionals might face hardships by not arriving within the scheduled service window. Big data basically allows HR to leverage data for better resource utilization and workforce management. Starting from the tools that enable data-driven scheduling to dispatching to the ones that help balance the tasks as well as generate adequate revenue.

Human Resource Business Partners

HR business partners need several skills to perform their job effectively. However an important skill that lacks in some of them is the ability to analyze and interpret data. Yet with this skill in their toolkit, the HR business partners can apply business analytics to analyze returns on investment on an HR program. Analytics can be used to support decisions with data through business cases, such as a developing a leadership program, or piloting an employee satisfaction survey. Business analytics provide a wealth of value that can save organizations money. By connecting HR metrics to business performance, executives can see how HR impacts the bottom line.  Join our  2 days Human Resource Analytics Masterclass Programme to gain more knowledge on HR Analytics

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All HR Functions are Important

It is imperative, however, that HR teams strive to progress in all areas of workforce analytics, rather than focusing on just one or two areas. Proficiency in one area, like metrics reporting, will not automatically lead to progress in predictive modeling. Predictive modeling is not about having the most data at your fingertips— It’s about testing the right hypotheses. For example, if you’re testing for attrition risks for call center employees, you will want to identify a set of potential reasons (or hypotheses) why people are leaving— long work hours, low pay, difficult commutes, poor job fit, and the like. You will need to collect the data to test those hypotheses, and that does not mean “all possible data. Visit Coaching to book for a one on one coaching session

What Next?

Big data is essential for organizations whose main objective is to ensure  that their employees are being managed effectively and business goals are being met. Human resource Analytics may help the senior management team to align HR strategies to value creation. The key contribution of HR Analytics to value creation is the fact that it allows one to exploit individual level data and help design measures that can support employees in a personalized manner. To grow your career as an HR Analytics specialist register for a 2 day  Human Resource Analytics Masterclass

Future casting from universal to political views can change your Company’s fate. Companies should therefore apply predictive analytics and use that information to make perceptive recommendations.

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