You’re asked to identify and deploy data-driven HR practices, but you aren’t exactly sure where to start. You might have some HR data stored in spreadsheets, filing cabinets, and various systems but aren’t sure what to do with it or how to make the data-driven decisions you’ve been asked to make. How can you use the data you have to help your leaders transform the organization? The answer is through HR analytics. What is HR analytics, and how does it help you make the most of data? Keep reading to find out. What is HR analytics? HR analytics, sometimes referred to as people analytics, talent analytics, or workforce analytics, collects, analyzes, and uses employee data to inform and transform HR decisions. HR analytics allows an organization to make data-driven decisions based on various types of HR data collected. Some examples of HR data that the HR team might gather as part of their analytics include headcount, compensation, work location, onboarding details, turnover rates, employee engagement, learning and development opportunities, and more. In the same way that marketers gather data about their target customers to plan campaigns and marketing efforts, HR collects data about their employees or candidates. HR teams can use HR data analytics to better understand an organization’s workforce and better plan for the business’s future success. Why use data in HR? Data might not seem like part of the puzzle when it comes to HR, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. When gathered and used in a meaningful way, HR departments have an opportunity to reap a variety of benefits from HR data. Here are some of the advantages of gathering and using HR data: You can unlock powerful insights about the employee journey. HR data can provide solid insights about your company. You can gather data on the experience as a candidate pre-hire, how candidates move through recruitment and hiring stages to become employees, and how employees experience and perceive the company culture over time. Data in these areas helps identify areas of opportunity based upon actual feedback (as opposed to guesses or assumptions) for more significant change. You can better forecast resource needs. HR teams and employers can use HR data to predict and forecast hiring and resourcing needs. Managing recruiting and hiring can also reduce employee burnout from heavy workloads, leading to higher retention rates. It’s a win-win for everybody when you use data to grasp who you need to hire and when to do so to maintain steady streams of productivity. You can make HR processes more efficient and effective. Gathering data on HR processes can help you spot ways to make things more efficient that may have otherwise gone unnoticed. These improvements will not only benefit future employees who walk through these processes, but HR will also save time and energy spent on these projects. Challenges of HR analytics Gathering data when implementing HR analytics comes with its own unique set of obstacles, as evidenced by some of the most common challenges HR professionals experience when starting to collect HR data: Data can come from many different (and potentially inconsistent) sources. No matter what specific types of analytics you focus on, you’ll likely need to pull data from various departments and tools within your organization. For example, you may need to gather compensation and payroll data from finance. When collecting data sets from different departments, it can be tricky to consolidate and unify them in one centralized place. Some data sets may not align with others depending on each department’s process for gathering and maintaining their own information. Privacy and compliance can lead to murky waters. HR professionals aren’t strangers to working with sensitive information, but abiding by privacy and compliance laws can get complicated if you have to bring in other departments (like IT, for example) for technological assistance when working with sensitive data. Not only that, but HR always has to pay attention to protected characteristics and types of data from candidates or employees that can’t be stored or used. HR professionals may not have a data analytics background or the skills needed to run with the HR analytics strategy. Generally speaking, analytical and quantitative classes aren’t a part of formal HR education programs. HR professionals dabble in the “human” side of things, not the numbers, right? The problem is that HR analytics expands beyond high-level data sets, creating a steep learning curve for those who aren’t data proficient. Some argue that HR analytics takes the “human” out of human resources. HR analytics and gathering data can allow you and your teams to make better informed and data-driven decisions, but don’t forget that HR is ultimately about human beings. It’s important to understand that data can work alongside the human elements that make HR beneficial to an organization. Examples of HR analytics in action The use of HR analytics has grown in recent years, and companies across the globe are now using HR analytics to achieve big goals. If you’re unsure how HR data and analytics can help your organization, read through these real-life examples of HR analytics in action. Google People analytics has a significant impact on major corporations like Google. Google began to think seriously about using HR analytics in 2006 to support its People Operations organization. In a project known as Project Oxygen, Google set out to better understand and define the role of managers within their organization. Using observations and data from performance reviews, productivity metrics, and double-blind interviews, Google identified eight behaviors exhibited by the company’s best managers. European telecom company McKinsey & Company helped a major telecom company develop a talent and leadership strategy to drive their recruiting efforts. After identifying key findings such as a shortage of leaders and doubts about the HR team’s credibility, McKinsey & Company helped the organization lay out a strategy based on the data findings. Ultimately, recruiting time for the telecom company was cut in half. Once the three-year plan concluded, the company’s talent pipeline was strong enough to fuel company growth for the next five years. How to implement HR analytics Are you ready to implement an HR analytics strategy at your organization? There are a few tips to keep in mind as you get started. 1. Identify a business problem that needs to be solved What are you trying to solve for? Perhaps your organization wants to boost its retention numbers or reduce onboarding time for new hires. Choose one business problem to start with and focus on only one at a time. If it makes sense for you and your team, you can create a complete list of business problems to solve and prioritize them for future reference. 2. Identify relevant data you’ll need to get started and where you can locate it You’re going to need a centralized hub to unify and store all of your data. Start by identifying what data you need, where it’s being collected throughout the company, and how to gather and consolidate it. This step will likely take you some time, but it’s sure to pay off in the end. 3. Find a mix of analytical tools that work best for you and your team HR professionals aren’t necessarily trained in analytics, and that’s okay. You’ll need to develop your team’s analytical capabilities through training and development, and then you should choose tools that make sense for your team to use. Keep in mind that you don’t have to select the fanciest, most complicated analytical tools to help you achieve your desired results. 4. Analyze and transform your data Conduct data analysis and be prepared for insights that will help transform the data and your organization. This is where various methodologies, data models, and hypotheses come into play. With these key findings and insights, you should determine recommendations to help your business improve and solve the business problem you identified at the start of the process. Communicate your recommendations clearly to the key stakeholders and decision-makers. 5. Implement data-driven changes and evaluate their success Once you’ve communicated your data-driven recommendations to the organization’s key stakeholders, you’ll need to identify what changes are agreed upon and implement them. Test your hypotheses, start preparing your organization for changes, and then put a plan in place to monitor the success of those shifts. How to use Wrike as your HR analytics software You’ll need a tool to help you organize and analyze your HR data, and Wrike is a great option to use as your HR analytics software. Here are just a few of the features that make Wrike the perfect software option for you and your team: Secure collaboration so you can maintain and store sensitive data with ease Streamlined HR process capabilities and functionality HR templates, like the Employee Onboarding and Offboarding Template Wrike Analyze for powerful, diverse analytics dashboards and enhanced reporting Are you ready to put your HR data to work? Sign up for a free trial of Wrike today.
There are tons of employee motivation theories out there, which makes it tough to know how to get the behavior and engagement you want at your organization. Here are some ideas, examples, and ways both managers and individuals can pinpoint employee motivation.
As meetings grow more frequent, it's easy to forget what makes meetings effective in the first place. Time is taken for granted, and instead of collaborating, most attendees are checked out: either working on something else or holding side conversations.
You have a rockstar employee on your team. They always go the extra mile, wrap up projects before the assigned due date, volunteer for new work, and always lend a helping hand. Suddenly, you start to notice that employee pulling back. They stop going above and beyond and barely meet minimum requirements, start missing deadlines, and act bothered every time you interact with them. Why the change? You might have a disengaged employee on your hands. Don’t panic yet. With a solid understanding of disengaged employees, how to identify them, what they cost your business, and how to help get them back on track, you’ll have your top-notch employee back in the groove in no time. What is a disengaged employee? Employees can exhibit levels of disengagement in various ways. But generally speaking, a disengaged employee isn’t enjoying their work, is unlikely to go the extra mile on any project or task, and may actively dislike the company they are working for. Even worse? Disengaged employees are sometimes known to spread negativity amongst other employees — meaning it’s important to nip disengagement and detachment in the bud. How to identify a disengaged employee The first step in addressing the problem is identifying disengagement by spotting the warning signs. Keep an eye out for these red flags and common characteristics of a disengaged employee: Employees withdraw or act disinterested. Disengaged employees may not become disengaged overnight. This change might happen slowly over time, and it starts with signs of withdrawal and general disinterest. Say you have an employee who always used to raise their hand and dive into new projects, but lately, they seem less likely to volunteer or avoid new work altogether. This is a common sign of someone who is becoming disengaged. Employees frequently become absent without prior planning or reasoning. Absenteeism is a red flag when it comes to a detached employee. If you notice that an employee stops coming to work suddenly or starts using multiple sick days back to back, your employee is potentially displaying signs of disengagement (although, of course, remember that they could actually be ill too). Employees miss deadlines and don’t seem to care. Disengaged employees likely aren’t striving for maximum quality and may not care if they aren’t fulfilling expectations. These employees might be doing just enough to keep their jobs or continuously ask for extensions on projects because they aren’t making any progress. If an employee’s productivity is declining, it can signal low engagement. Employees show a negative change in attitude. We all have bad days, but if an employee repeatedly acts out through rudeness, cynicism, or other negative feelings, this change in attitude might signal a larger problem. No matter the cause of the attitude shift, it’s essential to get ahead of this type of behavior before it impacts your other employees, or even worse, your clients and customers. Employees start defying the rules. Resistance to feedback and suggestions and refusing work when it’s assigned can be a sign of disengagement. Defiance could be an employee’s way of trying to feel heard or expressing their anger or boredom resulting from feeling disengaged. Sure, there could be other issues at hand like company-wide changes, for example, but constant defiance is a behavior that you should keep an eye on. How can employee disengagement impact a business? So, how costly is having disengaged employees? Disengaged employees leave their marks on businesses and can cause more of a ripple effect than you might realize. According to a Gallup report, companies with higher employee engagement see better customer engagement, higher productivity, better retention, and higher profitability by 21%. If that’s not convincing enough, another study revealed that disengaged employees in the U.S. cost companies anywhere between $450 and $550 billion per year. And when we look at turnover, a Korn Ferry study revealed that 33% of respondents cited boredom as their top reason for looking for a new job. So, when disengagement is severe enough, businesses have to deal not only with the cost of losing employees, but having to train new hires to replace them as well. How to help and manage detached employees Needless to say, employee disengagement has a big impact on businesses, from cost to culture and everything in between. With an employee engagement strategy and thoughtful plans for managing disengaged employees, you can help your detached employees and your business before it’s too late. Let’s take a look at tips for managing detached employees. 1. Communicate more frequently with detached employees Communication is crucial for creating a high-engagement culture. A disengaged employee may start communicating less with their teammates and manager, but increasing communication is a must to help them get back on track. Using a centralized tool like Wrike can ensure that your teams communicate and connect frequently. Keep in mind that communication is a two-way street, which means if your employee has feedback to share with you, it’s essential to hear them out and make a note of areas of improvement on your side. 2. Identify motivators and create a professional growth plan An employee might be tasked with work that isn’t motivating or exciting, leading to disengagement. Knowing how to motivate a disengaged employee can help you get them back on track. Spend some time with your employee, identify natural talents and hidden motivators, and see if you can squeeze in new work that aligns better for them. Maybe your employee is in a role that isn’t a good fit any longer, but there might be another role better suited for them within the organization. In this instance, you should follow the same process of identifying key motivators and where that type of work might appear within your organization. If a transition plan is needed, consider developing a professional growth plan together. Put that plan into a project management tool like Wrike to keep track of progress and hold each other accountable for the transition’s agreed-upon timeline. 3. Reward positive behavior and improvement Communicating with your detached employee and identifying an actionable path forward together provides the opportunity to see positive behavior change. That change shouldn’t go unnoticed. When you see a shift in behavior and your employee starts to become more engaged, pause and take time to reward the improvement you’re seeing. Consider asking your employees how they prefer to be recognized for their achievements in advance (such as when you onboard them), so you can recognize them in a way that’s meaningful to them. 4. Regularly conduct employee engagement surveys Employee engagement surveys are a useful tool to help you get ahead of disengaged employees by giving them an opportunity to share feedback and voice their concerns. Conduct surveys of your workforce at least annually to gather feedback and address areas of improvement on the business side. Be mindful of any concerns that multiple employees raise. When possible, follow up with employees who seem disengaged or frustrated through their survey results to get ahead of more severe levels of disengagement down the road. Disengagement doesn’t have to be an inevitability When you notice an employee is becoming more detached and disengaged, that isn’t the point of no return — instead, it’s the time when you need to step in and right the ship. Getting disengaged employees back on track isn’t easy, but it’s almost always more than worth the effort. Give all of your employees the transparency and visibility they need to succeed. Get started with Wrike today.
