“What can you do to increase collaboration between HR and other leaders?” That question was asked of Peter Navin, SVP of employee experience at Grand Rounds. His answer, which took me aback, was “analytics.” I always position analytics as a…
Big Data Archives
Are You Overlooking the HR Research That’s Already Out There?
Most of the useful data crunching in HR occurred long before the term analytics graced the booths of every darned vendor in the trade shows. That work was done by trained scientists in universities and subject to peer review. It…
Data Journalism for HR: A Beginner’s Guide
For the average person, data without a narrative is like a trip into the wilderness without a compass: overwhelming and disorienting. But when the facts are tied together by a good story, an otherwise intimidating journey turns into an enriching experience….
In the Rush to Big Data, Don’t Ignore the Legal Risks
Dear Littler: We are revamping our online job application. I asked our HR director if we should eliminate the question asking about an applicant’s hobbies. Not only does she think we should keep the question, but she says we need to…
You’ve Got Data. Here’s How to Use It to Have an Impact
The need to be data-driven in business is commonly accepted. Planning and making decisions based on hard truths over conjecture is the day-to-day norm for sales, marketing, product development and customer success functions the world over. Yet, somehow, HR still…
There’s Value In Pulling Together Metrics
The hype about HR analytics is sufficiently disconnected from reality that it’s worth taking a step back and reviewing where we are. Most of the work that companies are calling HR analytics is really just HR metrics. We’re getting good…
What Do You Do When You Have Too Many Hypotheses?
The most useful analytics begin with a clear question that is relevant to the business. For example, does it pay to continue to recruit at small universities or should we stick with the big ones? This gives the analytics team…
Is Your Data Digging Turning Up Fake News?
I was reading a description of different advanced analytics methods and I felt there was something quite wrong. I had hard time putting my finger on it. Technically the descriptions were accurate, but at a more subtle level there was…
AI Is Beginning to Take On the Quality of Hire Challenge
One thing people often observe about technology is that the initial hype seems overblown, then one day the wave breaks upon us and things are moving faster than expected. Last year, when I first mentioned Ideal, a Toronto-based company offering…
Three Practices Every HR Team Needs to Adopt
An HR team can make all the difference in the internal success and versatility of a business. From hiring the most qualified talent to maintaining a strong and healthy company culture, HR reps play an integral part in thriving organizations….
Need C-Suite Buy In? Here’s How to Get It
Imagine a world where every great HR initiative gets properly funded: Retention programs are fully backed by the C-suite, recruitment snafus are nipped in the bud before they become big problems, and even the CFO meets employee engagement initiatives with near-giddy enthusiasm. Sound like…
6 Steps for Making Smart Decisions With Wearables Data
Several years ago, data gathered from sociometric badges (wearable devices equipped with sensors) revealed something interesting about the Bank of America’s call center employees: Those with the fastest “average call handling time” were also the most social. The company then…
Make Sure There’s a Business Purpose Before You Jump
It may be true that the average line manager is more data-savvy than the average HR manager, but that doesn’t mean they have a clue about how to approach people analytics. The fact that they may think they do only…
How Analytics Are Like Windshield Wipers
Imagine you’re driving a Ferrari. You’re going really fast, cruising up and down mountain passes, with nothing in your way. Then it starts to rain. The only problem with your Ferrari is that you don’t have windshield wipers, so you…
Don’t Let Analytics Replace Good Judgement
When a sports writer asked hockey coach Mike Babcock about a particular hockey analytic, Babcock responded, “We don’t know if any of it’s true.” What did he mean by that? The analytic in question was the Corsi statistic, and it…
Hiring Insights From a CEO Who Places Non-Traditional Workers
Parallel Travel is a rapidly-growing San Francisco Bay Area startup that works with talented local artists across the U.S. to design unique experiences at vacation rentals. It’s an exciting place to work, with the frenzied nature of startup life and…
5 Steps for Linking Employee Engagement to Business Outcomes
When it comes to employee engagement surveys, you don’t always get what you pay for. Consider this: Many years ago, a municipal organization I worked with in a previous role spent $150,000 on an employee engagement survey. The results were…
Three Reasons Why HR Needs Data Science
Data science has crept into so many areas of business that even smaller companies have begun to adopt some of the techniques large organizations have been using to better understand their customers and their business. Increasingly, data science is making…
An Economist Says You Should Start Thinking Like One
What would an economist do? It’s a question that more and more organizations, including those involved in hiring, are asking themselves. Economists are good at making sense of markets, trends and behaviors and are experts in collecting data and analyzing…
As You Embrace Predictive Analytics, Consider These Issues
Think in the most personal sense about data you share at work. You share with your employer, and sometimes with potential employers, so many aspects of your life: details about your professional path, your personal status, health care, social-economics, legal…