Excellence in the human resources (HR) department can be instrumental in a company’s success. After all, HR professionals assume responsibilities like hiring and firing, on-boarding and training updates and making employees happy, productive and eager to stick around.
People who work in HR often use technologies to impact their work, big data among them. Here are six ways big data in HR has had an impact.
1. Assisting HR Professionals in Representing Their Companies Accurately
Most candidates understandably want to know what it’s like to work at a company before they apply for positions there. They wonder what the typical atmosphere is like, what the company values most and how employees feel about being part of the workforce.
One of the ways enterprises tap into HR data is by surveying workers and finding out how they feel through anonymous pulse surveys and similar polls. The associated information can tell businesses how likely employees are to recommend the company to others, and what they’d say when describing it. Then, it becomes easier for the HR staff to frame the company in ways that match workers’ sentiments when writing job ads.
2. Enabling Better Performance Measurement
Big data can also offer useful ways to see which employees excel compared to their peers. Then, it’s easier for an HR team to conclude which workers are most deserving of promotions, for example. Conversely, at some large companies, employees who are struggling to keep up may remain unnoticed.
Applying high-tech analytics to HR data reduces the chances that employees fall through the cracks. It could also reward the people who are the most productive during a given workday.
3. Helping HR Representatives Narrow the Candidate Pool
Hiring for open positions can be a costly, time-consuming task. However, big data in HR makes recruiting top talent easier. Firstly, managers could use software to look for internal employees who might be good fits for open positions. Some big data software also has artificial intelligence components that automatically screen for desirable keywords within resumes. That makes it easier to find the right people from the outside.
Using big data for staffing helps companies fill open positions in less time. The technology allows them to find better-qualified candidates, too.
4. Boosting Employee Retention and Satisfaction
Focusing on keeping workers satisfied and wanting to remain with the company are two crucial aims. When companies fail to do that, the costs associated with turnover can be substantial. According to a 2018 survey by Work Institute, those expenses for businesses will reach $680 billion by 2020. Then, even if workers don’t get so fed up with a company that they leave, dissatisfied employees can tarnish a company’s reputation by going public with grievances.
HR data can help companies figure out what factors make employees most likely to quit. It can also pinpoint which workers might be feeling upset about their roles, allowing HR representatives to intervene proactively.
5. Determining Which Benefits Workers Need, Like or Use Most
Candidates often look at companies’ benefits information when deciding whether to apply for positions there. That’s not surprising, considering a 2018 survey found 40% of small business employees depend on their benefits for financial security. Also, if candidates or workers perceive a company offers subpar benefits, they may view competing companies with better benefits as superior places to work.
It’s increasingly common for companies to use big data in HR to find out the best ways to make benefits packages for workers. For example, they can track how many workers choose to enroll in health insurance or retirement plans, and how satisfied they are with those perks. The resulting information helps companies decide if their employee benefits are sufficient or need tweaking.
When it becomes time to improve worker benefits, polling the employees and analyzing their responses could help businesses make smarter, more relevant decisions, too. Listening to what workers want could help companies avoid wasting money on benefits they won’t use.
6. Checking to See Where Knowledge Gaps Exist
When a workforce has adequate training, things like injury rates, embarrassing blunders or feelings of being overwhelmed with job responsibilities should decrease. HR data can show enterprises how to improve their company training programs. It can reveal the most pressing needs while enabling companies to take a more individualized approach to employee education.
Plus, big data can indicate the payoffs of making training better. It then becomes easier to justify those changes to employees, board members and other stakeholders.
Big Data in HR Gives Competitive Advantages
This list highlights how HR representatives can dig into data to tackle their needs. Doing so can help their companies and employees thrive in an ever-demanding landscape.
