People Analytics: 7 Steps to Perceive Your Work through Important Data

Although it sounds unbelievable, the vast majority of HR professionals in the Czech Republic admit that they manage their actions without deeper data analysis and only a small fraction of them have progressed in so- called “people analytics” so far that they can share the results with the rest of the management. On the other hand, it’s not specific only to Czech companies. The companies elsewhere in the world are gradually learning to work with the data produced by your employees and teams. 

So, let’s have a look at why People Analytics should have a privileged position in your HR strategies. And also, how to start when you haven’t had time to focus enough on this strategic area yet.

How to perceive People Analytics?

Working with the data, produced by your teams and colleagues, isn’t much different from working with other data sources. It’s just about getting the most accurate and comprehensive picture of your processes and actions. And on the basis of this, it’s not only possible to analyse individual actions but also to model them or use data to predict future trends. 

You can’t manage what you don’t measure

The main goal of People Analytics is noble: to improve the functioning of your company so that efficiency is combined with satisfaction and personal development of all people in the company. People Analytics should become the main layer in your company covering all the others- from recruitment to competencies and talent management. 

People Analytics also fulfils the specific function on another level. Once HR is data compatible, its datasets can interconnect significantly better with datasets of other departments. As a result, the importance of HR perceived by the managers will move to a completely different level. The entire department will finally get to the point where it should have been a long time ago in terms of respect and involvement. 

How to use People Analytics

So how do you ideally implement People Analytics in your company? Here are 7 basic steps that will help you to overcome critical “phase 0” – the beginning of all beginnings. 

Get the All-in-One HRIS platform

If you’ve just opened an Excel spreadsheet and you’re going to build your first People Analytics dashboard, close it. Working with the data, that you need for analysis, will not be complicated any more.

The data should be collected and prepared by the tools. Your role is to evaluate and interpret them, and prepare strategy based on the data outputs.

This won’t be possible without a high- quality All-in-One HRIS platform. That is, a kind of data and process brain that works and evaluates the maximum amount of available data. The advantage is that it collects them in one place so you can have a comprehensive picture of the actions in the company very quickly. At the same time, it’s more efficient in collecting data. You need a lot of them directly from employees. So, the fewer barriers you put in their way, the more willing and accurate they will be to help you. 

After all, you can try out what the HRIS platform can do for free by activating our Sloneek for a trail period.

Collect only relevant data

You can be easily overwhelmed by data analytics so much that you will drown in it. The amount of data that you can and should collect is huge. And each correlation with other data brings new amazing points of views that will attract you. Therefore, set clear horizons and start with the data of the highest priority. 

They can be divided into two categories- the data that are the easiest to collect or you have already been collecting them, and the data absolutely essential for advanced analytics. In case of the second category, you will probably implement a wide range of new processes. And quite often, you will find out how little you actually know. Don’t let that discourage you. This will be the first and really important step to be more efficient in the future.

Set your goals

If your company is performance-driven, a number of KPIs will probably be defined or even OKR goals and parameters. Moreover, there will be defined KPI or OKR goals for your department. 

Go through them again and find out which data you need to be able to measure the fulfilment of your goals. Then classify them into priority category. And vice versa- for which goals, the data that you can already collect will be crucial. Then consider whether the given form or the selected data detail will be appropriate. 

Don’t forget about legislation

When working with the data, it’s easy to fall into loophole- i.e., to handle the data that you should either not work with without your employees’ permission or store and process them in conditions that don’t comply with basic security standards. Yes, in most cases, these are Excel spreadsheets. 

If you use HRIS platform, the legislative aspect is sufficiently guaranteed in the vast majority of cases. However, if you want to work with the data beyond it, you should consult data collection, storage and use with the lawyers.

Experiment, explore, enrich

It’s the colour typical of Czech HR. Maybe, to some extent, the colour of Czech management as such. Things aren’t done at the right time because they are “too new”. Processes don’t change because “it’s not tested”. We don’t work with the data because “we don’t know what will come out of it”. 

Let’s accept the fact that sometimes it’s necessary to tread the path and that making mistakes on this way is natural. No one can tell you in advance which data will be suitable for you and which data are the most relevant.

You should consider working with People Analytics to be a long-term and never-ending process. This process includes experimenting, exploring, enriching with new data as well as closing of dead ends. As long as you don’t lose drive, it’s okay.

And be sure you need it because as your business changes, so will the priorities within People Analytics.

Make it easier

Regardless of the complexity of the project, data outputs must always be simple and efficient. Learn to work with the maximum level of simplicity: search for shortcuts, if you add a new metric, think whether it could replace the old one with worse informative power. 

Remember that the simpler and the more understandable the analytics will be, the greater chance that broader management will understand and learn how to work with it. 

Interpret and present

The main driving force of any data analytics is its purpose. It’s obvious when you present and interpret the first outputs. First of all, do it in your HR department- a broader discussion of experts will help you to formulate the outputs. If you are satisfied with interpretation, don’t be afraid to present it to management. You can get feedback on what data collecting would particular teams appreciate. 

How to work with dashboards

Then, the data should be presented in the form of dashboards accessible to the managers. You can use applications such as Power BI, Tableau, Qlik or others that are applied in your company.

You will probably prepare data outputs with a specific data analyst. It will be up to you to figure out what the dashboards should contain. Here are some tips of the most common ones:

1.)Operational dashboard

Basic data aggregation, e.g. the number of employees, workloads, organigram based selection, the number of advertised positions and unfilled positions by departments. 

2.) Team dashboard

It should focus on the performance of the teams: competence quality, overtime and also regular feedback and satisfaction monitoring.

3.) Predictive dashboard

Above all, it should serve you and your department. You can focus, for example, on monitoring competence gaps, filling the positions and potential risks of under-provisioning or modelling team structure in case of more work or conversely reducing it. 

Don’t worry! They are “just numbers”.

High-quality People Analytics can move your company forward incredibly fast. It will help you to make qualified decisions, identify problems before they arise and gradually save time to deal with the issues that will push you forward.

You and your fear of making mistake will be the biggest barrier. However, there’s no need to worry- these are still just numbers that you can supplement with your bird’s eye view and intuition. You get another voice in the discussion which you can fully accept only when it becomes relevant.

So, take a deep breath and take your first step as soon as possible- Sloneek will be pleased to help you.