Big Data: Not A Mere Buzzword

Tech disruption is not about the shaking the very foundations of the business landscape, but, redefining crucial HR functions of recruitment, retention, training, performance and talent management.

- Manish Mittal

For decades, companies have been generating data related to employee records, salaries and assessments. However, in a constantly evolving marketplace, there is a definite need to develop HR strategies beyond simple comparisons and intuitive decision making. This requires qualitative validation and the integration of both the existing and new data sources. A real transformation is in fact warranted!

While companies attempt to contend with rapid global expansion and challenges in talent acquisition, they are increasingly relying on data and logic driven analytical tools to make more accurate hiring decisions, and, measure efficiencies in talent management. The Oxford Economics Global Talent 2021 report states, "The new global marketplace calls for a fresh HR approach and mindset to manage the enormous change process." The report further states that "HR executives will need to use new analytical tools to understand and plan for the future, assess the impact of decisions, optimize performances, prepare for different scenarios, and, align talent management with larger corporate strategies."

Analytics: The Buzz word

Analytics is the new buzz word in HR departments, who are increasingly seeing value in implementing data analytics to align HR objectives with business transformation strategies. Validating this trend are insights from a 2015 Tower Watson survey of more than 1,000 organizations, which discovered that HR data and analytics are among the top three areas towards HR technology spending. More and more companies are deploying Big Data solutions to harness volumes of data in the form of employee records of skills, performance, health, qualifications and experience etc. to evaluate and improve talent metrics and workforce productivity. Leveraging big data insights adds significant value in recruitment and employee retention.

Recruitment