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People Analytics at Work: Achieving Objectives and Realizing Outcomes [Part 2]

People analytics dashboard linking objectives to outcomes and impact

In this article

Let’s move onto the doing of people analytics – metrics, segmentation and analysis/insight. We like to think of analytics within a broader context, flanked by business objectives at one end and business outcomes at the other.

Analytics

Today we’ll delve into the important middle piece – the analytics – made up of metrics, segmentation and analysis/insight.

Analytics

Metrics:

  • Identify the metrics you need to capture that align with the objectives you’ve set as priority. Depending on your objectives, this may require seeking data outside of HR as well as within your HR and Talent systems.
  • Don’t worry if you don’t have every piece of data you need at the outset. By starting with a targeted objective you can begin identifying the data you have in-house, the data you’d like that resides elsewhere in the business, and the data you need to start collecting.
  • It won’t be perfect at the beginning but the key is to get going and fill the gaps as you move along. And it’s a guarantee that you have enough data at your disposal right now that you can start building insight.

Segmentation:

  • Once you have segmented the data, it’s time to start drawing insights from it.  This means looking for patterns that support business objectives as well as looking for outliers, anomalies, hotspots and areas out of alignment with business objectives.
  • The data and analytics provide a solid picture of what’s happening, say, with turnover in the organization, but making sense of it requires your input. You need to think about what the data is telling you within the context of your own organization. This is where you can start to say “this is what’s happening, and here’s the reasons why”.
  • If you don’t know the reasons why, it may be necessary to dig a bit deeper – consider going to the source with some qualitative research (e.g. an employee focus group over a pizza lunch) or a short targeted pulse survey to build understanding of the ‘why’ behind that number.  
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Analysis/Insights

  • Once you have segmented the data, it’s time to start drawing insights from it.  This means looking for patterns that support business objectives as well as looking for outliers, anomalies, hotspots and areas out of alignment with business objectives.
  • The data and analytics provide a solid picture of what’s happening, say, with turnover in the organization, but making sense of it requires your input. You need to think about what the data is telling you within the context of your own organization. This is where you can start to say “this is what’s happening, and here’s the reasons why”.
  • If you don’t know the reasons why, it may be necessary to dig a bit deeper – consider going to the source with some qualitative research (e.g. an employee focus group over a pizza lunch) or a short targeted pulse survey to build understanding of the ‘why’ behind that number.  

People analytics can be very exciting at the same time as daunting and overwhelming. That’s why we stress the importance of starting small and keeping a precise focus on areas of priorities. With your objectives clearly defined, you will have a guide for the metrics, segmentation and analysis/insight phases of the framework. Schedule a demo today.