People Analytics: what data supports talent management

High turnover? Falling productivity? Low adherence to organizational culture? Difficulty in talent selection? Whatever the problem your company faces, the People Analytics can help you. In fact, if you don’t already have this tool, it’s time to implement it.

A method that collects, organizes and analyzes information, People Analytics allows the detailing of professional profiles and the prediction of behaviors and patterns within the company. It is interesting, therefore, from recruitment to performance evaluation, going through all areas of the HR ecosystem. It is a support tool that is not only relevant in the search for strategies to solve or prevent problems.

Therefore, HR leaders will be safer and more certain in their decision making with this tool, consequently saving time and money and bringing many advantages for companies.

Success stories

Using People Analytics, the consulting firm Nielsen, for example, was able to reduce employee turnover. In 2015, the company noticed that turnover during the first year of employees was high and decided to investigate the causes of the problem. After analyzing several variables and many internal interviews, HR managers realized that changing positions was an attraction for newcomers.

Therefore, Nielsen created two strategic programs, the “Golden Year”, which in Portuguese means “Golden Year”, to closely monitor the employee in his first 12 months, and the “Ready to Rotate”, “Ready to Rotate” ”, Which allowed professionals to present a satisfactory performance to transfer to other positions. The result? The turnover fell by half.

IBM was another corporation that relied on People Analytics to find a solution. But in this case, the intention was to improve the organizational climate. In order to understand what was frustrating its employees, the company started to monitor internal social networks.

By identifying recurrent keywords in the professionals’ conversations, it was possible to understand which feelings they had the most towards IBM. HR, then, started to prioritize internal communication and grant more constant feedbacks to its employees, increasing their engagement.

How to identify good leadership?

Another successful case provided by People Analytics is Project Oxygen, or Project Oxygen, operated by Google. The experience lasted 5 years and was intended to show whether leadership was really necessary in the company, in addition to indicating what skills would be essential to them and whether employee turnover would be related to managers.

Statisticians were called in to do a series of analyzes, starting with the evaluation with notes from the managers. Qualitative surveys to know the satisfaction of professionals and the qualities that employees expect from a successful manager were also carried out.

With the data in hand, Google analysts understood that the relationship with the manager is essential for the employee’s permanence in the company. Poor leadership does not generate engagement, decreases productivity and favors turnover.

After the Oxygen Project, Google was able to identify who would be the most effective leaders for the organization. In addition to technical skills, it would be essential to hire professionals with valuable soft skills, including good communication and genuine interest in the team.

System deployment failures

According to a study from the North American consultancy McKinsey, currently 70% of the companies highlight People Analytics as a priority. However, many of them do not know how to apply the method in practice.

Team sizes, software and employee roles, and analytical capabilities vary widely according to each company. However, the problems usually appear in the first steps with the verification of the data and the reporting of them. In most cases, the information has no long-term impact. They tend to be very superficial and, in this way, HR is unable to implement consistent processes or have correct and predictive decision making.

In order not to fall into this error, follow, below, tips for success when implementing the system.

Organize your data

See the information that your company already has, including those that come from outside, coming from social networks and resumes, for example, and those that are born internally, such as surveys conducted by the company’s areas and successful projects.

Next, it is necessary to outline an objective or problem to be solved to start the search for insights.

Add strength

Do not concentrate People Analytics information only in the Human Resources department. Have at your side other teams from Marketing and IT, for example, to find more agile and efficient solutions.

Set priorities

At first, choose the most important issues to be resolved. Don’t try to analyze all the company data at once. Embracing all company conflicts at the same time will not bring positive results. Guide the teams and start slowly according to your possibilities.

Train your team

After choosing a reliable People Analytics software, provide training to the manager and staff to use it properly. Support materials and courses are also always welcome.

Planting and harvesting

Have you deployed People Analytics and are curious to know what practical advantages it can bring to your business? So stay tuned:

Closer and more effective management

Knowing more about the professionals and teams, it will be easier to promote employees, restructure teams, adjust bonuses and benefits and promote awareness campaigns.

Anticipation of solutions

With data in hand, HR will be able to detect flaws in processes or underperforming or underutilized professionals. With a more holistic view of the company, it is possible to solve problems before they even appear. People Analytics will even provide results from a decision made.

The goal is to build a culture that anticipates and not only reacts to problems, a culture of trust and empowerment, as is explicit in this article from the Society for Human Resource Management, a North American entity that researches organizational environments in 165 countries.

HR routine optimization

The system will provide more agility and security to HR, minimizing risks of wrong hiring, for example, and opening the way for a more efficient management of processes.

Cost reduction

Hiring better, optimizing processes and making the organizational climate healthier contributes greatly to employee retention and increased productivity. People Analytics is certainly a tool that mitigates expenses and gives a better direction for financial resources and even for the time used in each step of the task flow.

Did you find the theme interesting? How about learning more about the topic with an article on HR decision making based on data?