HR Data & Analytics: It’s Time to Develop a Plan

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9 minutes read

Today more than ever, knowledge is power. You can’t make improvements to your business until you know where and what your problems are. Once you begin to address them, you need to be able to track your progress. Which is why, when considering new business software—especially HR software—data and analytical capabilities should play a key role in your assessment.  

A recent MIT Technology Review survey supports this assertion. Nearly half of the participants (more than 350 CDOs and CIOs from companies with $1 billion+ in annual revenues) reported that they were actively working to improve their data quality and processing over the next two years.

Join our upcoming webinar, “Top 5 HR Challenges That Analytics Can Solve,” on Tuesday, April 19, at 1 p.m. CST, for a comprehensive overview of select metrics and case studies by our panelists, EPAY analytics expert, Jeremy Fullmer, and HCMI CEO, Jeff Higgins. Register today!

Interestingly, those companies rated as “data high-achievers”—i.e., those furthest along in implementing their data-related strategies—were also the most advanced adopters of cloud-based software. It’s hard to do one without the other.

What are they using their data to accomplish? While “expanding sales and service channels” was the top objective for 45% of global respondents, “improving operational efficiency,” at 43%, was a close second. In fact, among U.S. companies, operational efficiency was the #1 goal, as identified by 46% of respondents.

And that’s where your HR software comes in. To a great extent, an organization’s operational efficiency—or lack thereof—can be measured through HR data and analytics, particularly workforce management analytics. That’s why this is such an important consideration when assessing HR software.

3 Questions to Ask When Evaluating HR Data and Analytics

When evaluating HR software for its data and analytical capabilities, the devil is in the details. It’s important to know what data is collected, how it’s stored and analyzed—and how easy the processed results are to access. You want to be sure the system is cloud-based and secured to the highest industry standards. (That’s another topic in itself—one you can learn more about here.)

There are three overarching questions to ask when evaluating an HR analytics program:

How Easy Is It to Use?

You can have the best data in the world, but if you can’t access it, it’s useless. Your HR software should feature a user-friendly analytics dashboard—ideally, one that can be customized to the preferences of each user—plus extensive, user-friendly reporting capabilities.

Analytics training should be part of the software implementation plan. Tip: when requesting HR software demos, make sure they include a detailed demo of the analytics, too.

What Kind of Data is Collected and Analyzed?

Chances are, you already know some of the criteria you want to be able to measure more precisely. However, from a general HR standpoint, you’ll also want to track:

  • Recruiting Metrics – This includes analytics that reveal how long it takes your organization to fill various open positions, which hiring sources are providing the strongest (and weakest) candidates, and your turnover rate for new hires. Knowing this information allows you to improve your hiring process—a priority for many employers right now.
  • Turnover Rates – In high-turnover industries, understanding turnover rates and patterns can make a big difference to productivity as well as labor costs. Analytics can reveal if your turnover problems are linked to specific worksites and managers—and why people are leaving. They can even help you anticipate future hiring needs.

What Are the Workforce Management Analytics?

If, like many employers, one key motivation for adopting new technology is to improve operational efficiency, then workforce management analytics are critical. This is especially true if you manage an hourly workforce.

Workforce management data is pulled from your time and attendance system. The processed data will allow you to stay on top of factors such as tardiness and absenteeism—both productivity killers—and overtime hours, which inflate your labor costs.

For companies that operate on slim margins, collecting and acting on this information can make the difference between profit and loss.

EPAY’s HR Analytics Solution

At EPAY, we’re passionate about HR analytics, because we know how transformative they can be. Our HR analytics solution—offered in conjunction with our HCM platform—is at once comprehensive and easy to use.

Its crown jewel is our workforce management solution, which is tied to our time and attendance system and tracks KPIs other programs don’t track. This includes granular information such as missed time-clock punches and managers’ time card changes—both linked to potential time theft and wage and hour violations.

And because our solution filters results by supervisor and worksite, employers can pinpoint their highest and lowest performing units and take swift action. In fact, one EPAY client is saving $1 million a year by using this data.

If you’re one of the many companies that want to better leverage HR data and analytics, watch our two-minute video snapshot. And for an overview of our HCM solution, download our HCM Buyers Guide.

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