HR analytics is helping more businesses put their available data to work for them in the realm of human resources and employment. From recruitment to retention, more businesses are empowering their HR teams with analytics software that is helping them get and keep the right people to help support the entire enterprise.
One way that HR is helping businesses save time and money with analytics is by using it to reduce the employee attrition rate and improve retention to decrease turnover.
The difference between attrition rate vs. turnover rate.
Attrition rate refers to jobs or positions within a company that an employee leaves or retires from and the employer chooses not to refill the position. Turnover is specific to jobs that an employee will seek to fill immediately or shortly after the employee leaves or is terminated. HR analytics can help you reduce both and reduce costly changes and losses in your human capital.
1. Data comparison
One way to avoid future attrition is to pay attention to the positions that are being created, to begin with. Usually, department heads must submit a request to hire for a position to leadership and HR. HR analysis can help drive down the attrition rate by helping employers understand the value of creating and adding that position. Looking at internal data and overall industry statistics can help you answer questions such as:
- Can the work being done by this potential new hire be added to someone’s additional responsibilities, or split between several existing employees?
- Is it more cost-effective to give someone a raise and expand their job description?
- Can the proposed position be done part-time?
- Do competitors have similar positions?
- Does this position add to the bottom line?
- Will this position become obsolete down the line with technology advancements?
- Is there a possible merger or buyout that could happen that would create redundancies? If there is, are there ways to reuse employee talents and skills in another necessary position within the company?
Having data analytics in your HR department gives you the tools to make the best decisions for your business.
2. Better employee engagement
HR analytics can help you keep the good employees you have from leaving and save you the cost and effort of having to find a replacement. Analytics is likely to give HR recruiters better, more holistic data about candidates prior to hiring, helping businesses better understand if that potential hire will be a good match in skills and in personality. It can offer in-depth insight into a candidate’s job history and other factors that will help you identify who’s likeliest to be a good long-term match.
Analytics can also help measure employee engagement and give you a heads up if your methods aren’t working to create an effective and committed employees. By looking at year-over-year performance reviews and other data, you can have a measurable way to understand which employees are performing well and better identify why; is it their managers, their past experiences and education, their personality, or the culture of your business? HR analytics can give you a foundation for finding out what works.
3. Overall feedback analysis
Capturing data in regular reviews and exit interviews is a great way to understand why employees leave, why they don’t feel satisfied, or what your business can do better. Feedback is essential to growth and HR analytics helps you capture that data, understand its significance, and use it to create solutions.
In an increasingly competitive global business landscape, it is important to be as educated and prepared as possible. When it comes to your people, HR analytics is one of the most comprehensive ways to understand and support the work of your personnel.
