Dive Brief:
- Data analytics have long been touted as a potential critical tool for HR leaders, but without the right talent, the data may be nothing more than a pile of confusing numbers – and many HR departments struggle to bridge that gap, according an article at Human Resource Executive.
- HRE cited a report from PwC that found the proportion of data-analysis talent housed in HR from relatively large employers (1,000 or more employees) was pretty slim - ranging from no one dedicated to it at all to maybe five or 10 people.
- The study also found that 52% of employers have no dedicated HR analytics team, and nearly 40% have no analytics strategy. As such, they are are missing out on a "powerful opportunity," Rishi Agarwal, principal in PwC's people analytics practice, told HRE.
Dive Insight:
Agarwal says employers are always asking themselves why turnover is high, diversity and inclusion are lacking and leader growth is in slow-motion.
"All these questions really need underlying data and analysis, not only providing data and reports but also sitting down at the table with the business to answer some of these questions," Agarwal told HRE.
Apart from the many complexities involved in staffing an analytics team, Helen Friedman, Willis Towers Watson's workforce analytics and planning global practice leader, told HRE that it's critical in any analytics initiative to involve stakeholders and HR business partners company-wide in a way that proves it isn't just "another HR process."
