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How should an HR Business Partner use Reporting and Analytics?

HR business partner using analytics to advise leaders and guide decisions

In this article

In this blog, we look at some of the basic characteristics of being an effective HRBP and provide tips on how to use workforce reporting & analytics to drive business outcomes. We’ll break it down into analytics projects that Do things (operational), Help things (strategic), or Fix things (change).

HR Business Partner

Roles

  • HR Business Partners (HRBPs) support clients in accomplishing their business goals
  • HRBPs run initiatives to increase productivity, support the development of organizational capabilities, acquire, develop and retain talent.
  • HRBPs roll out HR programs and change into the business unit

Skills

  • Business Acumen
  • Line of Business (LoB) knowledge
  • Customer relationship management
  • Talent Acquisition/Recruitment/Interviewing
  • Org development and change management
  • Communication and consultation

Competences

  • Understanding the LoB financials, objectives, strategies and measures of performance.
  • Understanding the LoB strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
  • Understanding the LoB business plan, people/headcount.
  • Understand the key LoB people metrics, engagement and sentiment (current and recent history)
  • Assisting in LoB identify and manage people risk – and how that translates into the ability to deliver on their LoB plan
  • Contribute to, design and implement people programs

When it comes to Data-Driven HR, HR Business Partners must:

  • Focus on what’s relevant to the business
  • Develop their personal skills and competencies
  • Adopt a capability mindset
  • Ensure Data-Driven HR is not just a one-off project.

The HR Business Partner should invest in time in reporting and analytics activities using a balanced, three-pronged approach.

Operational Reporting and Analytics – Do Things

Improves the efficiency and effectiveness of standard HR, talent management, and people program activities for your LoB like hiring, headcount management, turnover, movements, learning and development, and performance management.

Operational reporting and analytics help the HRBP focus on the basic, yet important stuff from a day-to-day perspective and gain the trust of the LoB leaders, LoB managers, and LoB employees. A key dimension here is to use your HR data to help deliver BOTH efficient and effective HR processes and programs.

Operational reporting and analytics is all about taking a data-driven approach to doing the things you should be doing

Strategic Reporting and Analytics – Help Things

Focus on the juicy business issues faced by the LoB. These “use cases” are driven directly from what is important to the organization-at-large, and the LoB – and in direct alignment with the 1-3-4 year strategy of the LoB – or the strategic milestones of your business plan.

For example, a data-driven approach to prepare and mobilize a new customer support team should be used to focus on a new product hitting the market in 18 months.

Strategic reporting and analytics is about you helping the LoB with the things they need help with – specifically from the people side, and adopting a data-driven approach.

Analytical Projects – Fix Things

Focus on identifying and understanding outliers – both the good and bad – and for implementing projects and change based on data-driven insights.

A simple, yet always powerful example of such a project might be focused on improving an abnormally high turnover rate of key personnel, or improving an abnormally high turnover rate of experienced hires in their first 2 years.

Analytical projects are all about fixing things within the HRBP’s scope in your LoB – using a data-driven approach.

Do. Help. Fix.

It’s expected that when you identify all of your reporting and analytics activities, you might find some gray zones between these 3 areas – don’t worry about that as it is the least of your worries! The most important thing is to just get going.

Take a look at our infographic below:

How HR Business Partner Reporting Analytics Infographic 1 11zon (1)