DRIVEN BY DATA

People analytics can help companies to not just recruit the right talent, but also engage and motivate their current workforce to improve overall retention

- PRANITA BHOSALE

When talking about analytics surfaces, most people prefix the terms ‘data’ or ‘business’ to it. But did you know that analytics can be applied to people too, especially in the human resource (HR) management domain?

People analytics is a result-oriented method of studying people, processes, functions, challenges, and opportunities at work. This discipline can elevate overall organisational culture and achieve sustainable business success since the assessment is based on data, business acumen and is aligned to the company’s goals.

Before you dismiss it as modern-day mumbo-jumbo, take a closer look at some companies that leverage the practice to create more business value. Behemoths like Google, Walmart, and Microsoft have invested in people analytics, believing it plays an important role in hiring the right talent at right place and right time.

BIG ON DATA

Until a few years ago, while professional qualifications played an important role in hiring a candidate, the final call often rested on the interviewer’s gut instinct. This intuition-based decision-making could often go sideways, especially in a service-oriented industry like hospitality.

On the other hand, data-backed test score results in people analytics can give a recruiter more qualitative information about a candidate’s leadership skills, personality traits, behavioural aspects and aptitude. According to Kallol Saha, HR Director of Crowne Plaza Today Gurugram, the tool can be customised by adding specific technical competencies as well. This can be done by translating strategic business challenges into analytic questions and using evidence-based information to infer insights derived from the analytics.