Business Intelligence as a key tool for human resources
It is not unusual for us to address matters such as the importance of data in the Human Resources department on our blog. It is also not unusual that businesses are including analysis of the figures, that provide us with so much information about our organisation, into their departments.
An increasing number of clients come to us with common needs, given that over the past few years Human Resources experts have taken the importance of metrics and, of course, technology, seriously, as one is reliant on the other.
Although it is true that Human Resource were technologically abandoned for a long time, this is now in the past. The incipient needs for alignment in organisations with the other managers and departments mean that data gain the importance they deserve.
However, it’s not as easy as it looks. Data are a huge mass
which need to be structured to make sense. This is where the important role
played by data architects nowadays comes in. They structure the information
into graphics which respond to the questions posed by the experts in charge of
people management.
Quantitative data are not as important as qualitative data – which come out of
the former – such as engagement, or training and developing talent. Our
experience with clients shows us that the most important KPIs in this
department are those showing reasons for leaving and turnover, or predicting
metrics such as absenteeism or how long a recruitment process will last.
It should be stressed that we are working with people and not numbers, as many Human Resources Department heads often remind us. Therefore, data analysis needs to play for the benefit of everyone – the people managers within the organisation, its employees and its management. They are the support for decision making, streamlining processes and eliminating manual tasks, and the road towards digital conversion which will enable businesses to be competitive in a constantly changing world.