People Analytics, also known as, talent analytics or HR analytics has become a large trend in data. The data gathered from People Analytics can easily be applied to a multitude of different industries, including recruiting, psychology and performance analytics.
We will focus on recruiting.
People Analytics data can be used to seek stronger candidates for your clients or to better understand what your client really needs vs. what they think they need. It can be applied to retain those candidates and better motivate them, increasing performance with the hires they already have. People Analytics can even be used to boost retention rates and work satisfaction.
The technical definition is the application of “statistics, technology, and expertise to large sets of data, which results in making better management and business decisions for an organization.”
People Analytics can give insight to the personality traits that lend to high return on investment. Such as showing the link between taking initiative in the workplace, and higher overall performance. The ability to better understand your people creates the ability to better understand the relationship and what actions can that create profits, such as workplace satisfaction. This kind of information is invaluable to companies in many ways. Even smaller companies can benefit from data that sheds light on performance altering factors.
If you consider your hires an investment then People Analytics can teach you how to gain the most from that investment.
For instance, a more engaging, pleasant workplace has been shown to increase productivity. So knowing how the current employees feel about their workplace, can really help you find a good candidate to submit. Companies in data analytics can market this as a strong advantage.
Other examples of People Analytics in play are within ATS (Applicant Tracking System). Boeing, for instance, uses these systems to eliminate resumes by using keywords. Using an ATS simplifies their hiring process, eradicating underqualified candidates without spending more time or money than they need to. The keywords the ATS is searching for are determined using People Analytics to understand what factors will be a strong fit for their working environment and desired outcomes.
Imagine this:
- You are recruiting for a company that struggles with performance.
- You applied analytics to their data via surveys with their current staff.
- Now, imagine that these analytics showed that the client’s hires were dissatisfied with the teamwork and also felt undervalued.
- Using data analytics you would notice that this might be a cause of their lagging performance. Perhaps, this client is asking you for someone with additional qualifications thinking that their issue is weak people when really their current hires aren’t reaching their potential because they aren’t feeling appreciated and aren’t part of a strong team.
Now, as a recruiter:
- You could use this knowledge to suggest a candidate that is better qualified but also has a background in team building and management.
- You could suggest that they could work with your current situation and improve productivity by strengthening the team and work environment.
When People Analytics is applied to recruiting it creates an opportunity to really look at the bigger picture and see what is and isn’t working.
This example shows you how People Analytics can be invaluable to a recruiter. The knowledge that can be gleaned from HR analytics can make the difference between a short term hire and a long-time employee, or the difference between stellar reviews and good ones.
Taking advantage of these analytics will enable you to take your candidates a step above and also enable you to create a more powerful relationship with the client due to your understanding of their situation.
You can only make use of the data if you have the structure and environment to do so. At Chameleon, we have professional data services offering you just that. Check out our reporting solution that will help you understand your data both within and outside the workplace.
Let your data do the work for you with People Analytics. After all, it’s all about People.