Big data, big opportunities Your digital guide to people analytics www.thomasinternational.net
Although big data has become one of the most used buzzwords in the business world today, it is still a new concept for many. A vast number of organisations currently talk about how they plan to use, or currently are using, big data to analyse trends to strategically enhance their business performance. However, most do not actually do it. Many either do not realise the level of they have available to them, or do not yet understand how to use this to inform their people decisions. It s time to bring your processes into the future and embrace the age of big data to enable more savvy and informed decision making! Page 2
So to help you, we ve compiled a guide to the key areas where data can support you in your people decisions. This knowledge is based on best practice and our vast work with organisations across the globe, assisting them to create solutions utilising that you may already have at your fingertips. There is no end of applications for people analytics, but it all starts from understanding the possibilities that your data presents to you, asking the right questions and setting out the objectives for your unique analysis. So let s explore some of these possibilities Page 3
Many people will be dissuaded by the word big in big data, but this does not need to be the case. Depending on the business environment, there is a wealth of that can be used to build effective analysis, which can be as simple as: Age Gender Length of employment KPIs (e.g. sales figures, call volumes, etc.) Performance review scores Training attended By examining data, we can identify patterns and strengths within the organisation. If you combine this with gained from Thomas tools, you can also identify which profiles and factors are most common in the business. This will enable your organisation to play to its strengths, communicate in the most appropriate way and identify the culture as well as where the key talent lies within the business. In comparison, it is also important to identify any weaknesses: areas, skills and factors that are less common within the business. This will help you to understand whether the skills within the organisation need addressing, whether they are a cause for concern or action and whether the organisation will be able to deliver what is required on the strategic agenda. It can also help to plan for what it may look like in one, three and five years (or beyond) and plan for the skills that will be lost in that time. Page 4
There are many ways to implement people analytics at various stages of the employee lifecycle. Looking at existing data Identifying Strengths Identifying Weaknesses & Skill Gaps Identifying & Informing Actions & Strategies Talent Mapping L&D Talent Communication Succession Planning Culture Culture Talent Rewards Recruitment Succession Recruitment On-boarding Communication and Change L&D Page 5
Recruitment On-Boarding The data can help to guide the direction of your recruitment strategy: Do you need to recruit for certain skills? Is there a particular profile or factor that best suits the roles you are recruiting for? Do you need to recruit talent to develop ready for succession? Information can also be fed into job adverts and descriptions to encourage individuals with the best fit to the role and company to apply. This also allows the applicant to get an idea of the culture to expect (this could impact on retention). The insights from your data could help with the direction of on-boarding documents, potentially allowing a new starter an insight to each team s culture and how they like to be communicated with. Talent/L&D The data may also give insights for talent strategies: Identifying the best people to put forward for talent programmes Locate pockets of key talent to develop and keep hold of Areas where talent development needs to be focused upon. Communication Culture Rewards Analysis can reveal the ways in which particular departments prefer to communicate. This can provide a huge advantage to organisations when communicating to their employees as they can make sure it is done in the most suitable way. Additionally, challenges with communication can be identified and a solution put in place. Understanding the culture of the organisation as well as the leadership can help ensure that any change required is communicated and implemented effectively. This will help you to make sure that the message is understood and processed in the best way for each individual or team. By understanding the culture of the organisation and the spread of individuals within the business at the beginning of the process, the organisation can have a starting point to measure from, enabling them to demonstrate change and ROI. By identifying the factors and motivators that lead to the organisation getting the best out of its employees, rewards and incentives can be designed in alignment. Succession Planning ROI Engagement, motivation and teamwork The organisation can use the data to identify individuals with attributes that are most similar to successful leaders. This will allow you to develop those people in preparation to step into any vacancies that may occur. By understanding what the landscape of the business might look like in the future with the current workforce, the organisation can plan for eventualities of people leaving and the skills gaps that this might create. Any data analysis can give you a clear snapshot of your current people situation. By having a clear picture of the current landscape, not only will you be able to demonstrate how your HR strategic agenda affects performance and productivity, but also how you have managed to drive improvements from evidence based decisions. By using the data you have available to better understand your people, managers have the power to improve the interactions and dynamics in and between teams or departments; increasing productivity and engagement. Page 6
The Thomas DATA approach to big data Decide what your question is - before you know what you need to look at, you need to know what question you are trying to answer. Top tips and things to consider: What are the business challenges your organisation is facing right now? What would you like to achieve? Make it relevant Link it to a business or strategic objective How will you measure the results? Seek engagement with stakeholders Analyse the data think about the data you will need. Top tips and things to consider: Make the most of what you have already Is it sufficient? What data don t you have? What would be nice to have? What methods of analysis will you use? Translate the what have you found in your data? Does it answer your question? Top tips and things to consider: What are the patters/correlations that have emerged? Present the findings in an engaging and intuitive way Tell a story and emphasise the so what? Present a link to a compelling business case Apply your findings there is no point if you are not going to take action! Top tips and things to consider: Use your findings to inform your decisions and actions Demonstrate impact and ROI of your people strategies Page 7
Our expert consultants are on hand to guide you through the process of using big data to secure the future of your talent. Thomas International UK Ltd Harris House 17 West Street Marlow Buckinghamshire SL7 2LS 01628 475 366 Sign up now for a free, no obligation consultation on how we can support you. Page 8