Workforce analytics has become an essential tool for organisations that view workforce performance as the key to improving business results, according to a new global survey of business leaders by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services.
With workforce analytics, companies must integrate technologies, metrics, data, and processes to measure and improve workforce performance. The goal is simple: Put the right people with the right skills in the right work, provide them with the necessary training and development opportunities, and engage them to perform at their highest possible level. The research indicates that the effort is worth it. Advanced users of analytics are far more likely to say their organisation is effective at leveraging their workforce. They have the most engaged employees and thrive in the toughest conditions. And they do fewer headcount reductions because they have lean and efficient workforces to begin with.
Yet companies appear to be struggling to deploy analytics. More than a quarter of survey respondents use little or no workforce analytics, and the vast majority (61 percent) report their use as tactical, ad hoc, and disconnected from other key systems and processes. Close to half report they are unable to integrate workforce data with other systems (CRM, ERP, financials, etc.) to make business-critical decisions in real time. Whilst many report using KPIs such as the number of performance reviews completed or the number of employees completing learning coursework, this transactional data is insufficient for making strategic business decisions.
The payoff for companies that get this right is enormous, the results suggest. Respondents who are more effective at leveraging their workforce see significantly better business results: They enjoy higher quality, productivity, customer satisfaction, and market share — and they’re more profitable, too. Workforce analytics is getting them results.