{"id":82,"date":"2017-07-05T21:48:40","date_gmt":"2017-07-05T21:48:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hrnetsourcedemo.com\/blog\/?p=82"},"modified":"2017-07-05T21:48:40","modified_gmt":"2017-07-05T21:48:40","slug":"the-problem-with-hr-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrnetsourcedemo.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/05\/the-problem-with-hr-data\/","title":{"rendered":"The Problem With HR Data"},"content":{"rendered":"

Data is good.\u00a0 It gives leaders and managers a logical base from which to make decisions.\u00a0 \u201cBig Data\u201d has become a buzzword as new tools are now available to tackle the tremendous wealth of data companies have about their organizations.\u00a0\u00a0 However, it can seem intimidating when you hear of PhDs doing deep-dive analysis and modeling — in an attempt to not only understand \u201cwhat is\u201d but also to predict \u201cwhat will be\u201d and how to prepare for it.<\/p>\n

Can a small company with 200 employees really do this?\u00a0\u00a0 Are \u201cHR data analytics and metrics\u201d buzzwords that apply only to the big guys?<\/p>\n

Visier<\/a> hosted a webinar on the topic of HR Analytics and this question was asked by one of the attendees.\u00a0 The honest answer was that smaller companies don\u2019t necessarily need the heavy duty analytics tools.\u00a0 What they can do is adopt the practice<\/u> and discipline<\/u> of using available data to help run their organizations more effectively.<\/p>\n

What are the problems that smaller companies face when it comes to HR data?\u00a0 What are the basic practices that need to be adopted?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Collecting HR Data<\/u> \u2013 Problems: \u201cWe don\u2019t track that item<\/em>.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s on paper<\/em>.\u201d \u201cWe use spreadsheets<\/em>.\u201d Collecting the data is important \u2013 even just for legal reasons.\u00a0 Managing in-house talent without hard data (skills, education, training, performance) is fertile ground for subjective decision-making, a proven de-motivator in organizations.<\/li>\n
  2. Organizing HR Data so it can be useful<\/u> \u2013 Problems: \u201cThe information is in a tall pile of papers in the back room<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s in boxes stored on the back wall of the HR office<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s all over the place:\u00a0 spreadsheets, payroll reports, timekeeping system reports.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t have the time nor the tools to organize my HR data.<\/em>\u201d Reminds me of my old college notes in boxes that have been sitting in my garage for over 20 years.\u00a0 Waiting to turn into museum pieces.\u00a0 Ok, nobody cares about my college notes.\u00a0 But family might be interested in 20 years of photographs collecting in 10 shoe boxes.<\/li>\n
  3. Analyzing HR Data<\/u> — Problems: \u201cWhere do I start?\u201d \u201cThere\u2019s so much data. What do you want to know<\/em>?\u201d Valid questions.\u00a0 I remember a co-worker spending lots of time creating graphs of this and that.\u00a0 We had just started collecting data, so the first graph consisted of two points sitting at the bottom left corner of the line chart. Just because some data is available doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it\u2019s important or that the time is right to analyze it.\u00a0\u00a0 Think about what\u2019s really important to the business at this time.\u00a0 Brainstorm over coffee with your Executive Team members.\u00a0 Share the potential of how HR data can impact the company.\u00a0 Do nemawashi<\/a>.\u00a0 Now that you have an idea of where to start and what needs to be analyzed, make sure you make it to Item#4 below.<\/li>\n
  4. Generating Actionable Insights<\/u> \u2013 Problems: \u201cNow that we\u2019ve analyzed the data, <\/em>so what<\/em>?\u201d This is where the rubber meets the road. Watch out for analysis paralysis.\u00a0 Make sure your objective analysis leads to specific actionable insights as well as answers to management questions such as \u201cHow did we get to this point, what needs to change?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWhat\u2019s your recommendation?\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Smaller organizations can adopt good practice and discipline with regards to handling employee information. Having the right tools will enable HR Managers to provide data-driven advice to COO\u2019s and business owners.\u00a0\u00a0 An HR database or an affordable HRIS for small companies<\/a> is a worthwhile investment to consider.\u00a0 The HRIS can pay for itself with the cost-savings derived from better visibility into labor costs and benefits costs, for example.\u00a0\u00a0 One employment lawsuit for alleged discriminatory practice can put a small company out of business.\u00a0 These can easily be avoided with proper documentation driven by HR recordkeeping discipline and practice.<\/p>\n

    If you are an HR Manager at a small or mid-size company, remember that your data is a valuable resource.\u00a0 In order to get actionable insights from it, \u00a0you don\u2019t have to be big. You just need to do it the right way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Data is good.\u00a0 It gives leaders and managers a logical base from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[6,15],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrnetsourcedemo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrnetsourcedemo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrnetsourcedemo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrnetsourcedemo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrnetsourcedemo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hrnetsourcedemo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83,"href":"https:\/\/hrnetsourcedemo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82\/revisions\/83"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrnetsourcedemo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrnetsourcedemo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrnetsourcedemo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}