Human resources is left with “big data hand-me-downs” while the other departments in your company, typically finance, marketing, and accounting receive all the top tier programs. It makes sense on some level that the revenue-producing verticals in a company will receive the highest budget investment when management is deciding on data analysis strategies and systems. Although the HR department collects mounds of data on a daily basis, they are often given no big data help or not the right type to suit their needs.
This can be quite challenging as the work force grows and managing diverse employee information becomes more difficult.
Says JoAnne Kruse, chief human resources officer, American Express Global Business Travel, “Data can play a key role in taking decision-making to a next level—in, for example, planning for investments in employee programs, benefit options, and managing information and employee behavior to lower call center support costs.”
With more sophisticated performance-management data, the HR department can improve an oft-critized function of the workplace, performance reviews. Instead of having an annual review, you can model out an employee’s performance over the course of a year, checking in often.
Companies should be forward thinking and empowering their HR team with actionable insights from big data thereby making the hard decisions – like new investment programs, benefits, recruitment, and talent-development processes easier.