One of the main flaws in HR analytics is that it presumes humans will use reason to make good decisions. Anyone experienced in analytics will know that … Read more
What Good Runners Taught Me About Good Training Data
Imagine every morning you wake up, tie on a pair of runners, and hit the pavement. Race day is around the corner, and you’ve been training hard. Between … Read more
Finding Data for People Analytics Might Take You on a Safari
At the heart of most people analytics work is data pulled from the HRIS. HR professionals struggle with this for two reasons. One reason is that in a … Read more
When It’s Political, the Data Counts Less (Or Not at All)
An unfortunate weakness of analytics is that data doesn’t resolve arguments. This is disappointing because, often, that’s exactly what we are hoping … Read more
Don’t Ignore What People Say Just Because It’s What People Say
Qualitative data can be tough for evidence-based professionals because the whole idea of evidence-based management is to get away from opinion and focus on … Read more
Your Headcount Doesn’t Match Finance’s, So What!
Here’s a question: If a project is likely to have a hugely negative ROI, should we proceed? The answer seems to be yes, if the project is determining why … Read more
10 Reasons Why We Get People Management Wrong
The goal of a people analytics team should be to promote decisions informed by facts. Too often the goal seems to be to do sophisticated analytics for … Read more
What’s Keeping HR and Finance From Being Friends?
In the current business climate, pressure is on HR and Finance to pull together and manage the workforce more effectively. EY research has shown there’s “a … Read more
Don’t Be Afraid of Poor Analytics
If you’ve taken any analytics or statistics courses, you’ll have been bombarded with cautions about how analytics can go wrong. For example: Random … Read more
A Brief Guide to Data-Driven Scenario Planning
Preparing to increase headcount at a large organization is like comparing the cost of bread at different supermarkets: At your regular neighborhood store, … Read more
What’s Your Real Pay? Hint: You’re Actually Losing Ground
The Q2 2018 PayScale Index showed wages declined 0.9% in comparison to Q1 2018. The PayScale Real Wage Index, which measure wage growth in relation to … Read more
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 … Read more
Don’t Hire a Data Scientist to Lead Your People Analytics
The head of people analytics is a new role in HR and from what I’ve seen most organizations are not quite sure what kind of person they need. The tendency … Read more
5 Steps to Knowing and Keeping Your Best People
At the end of the first quarter of 2017, 45% of small businesses reported that they were unable to find qualified applicants to fill job openings. Our own … Read more
How to Use Data to Make Better Hires
There has been a lot of buzz around the use of people analytics, but the evidence for its impact has been sparse. Now, though, we have emerging evidence … Read more
4 Mistakes Companies Make Using Data In Recruiting
Let’s get this out of the way: Talking about big data is not one of your favorite topics. You’re an HR manager or a TA leader, not a data analyst, right? … Read more
An Uncomfortable Truth About Analytics
As an advocate of analytics its pains me to reveal the truth that analytics never delivers answers. No matter how big your data set or how clever your … Read more
5 Challenges to Getting Your HRMS Do Real Analytics
Leaders across the organization recognize that making workforce decisions based on facts and data — instead of intuition alone — is a key route … Read more
It’s Not the Data, But What You Do With It That Matters
Picture this: It’s a Friday morning, and five senior executives walk into a conference room to meet with the CEO — Operations, Sales, Finance, … Read more
The “Smarts” In the Systems You Have Can Make You Really Smart
We are rapidly moving from a world where HR analytics was a dream to one where it’s a well-understood tool. One illustration of this is the evolution of … Read more