This piece from Peter Cappelli in the Harvard Business Review touches on an interesting subject. What really is “Big Data” and how does it relate to the current trends in human resources? One of the reasons for the special attention being given to big data in HR is that the department is always under pressure to be more analytic – to drive business goals directly instead of focusing more on “soft” issues at a firm. Peter writes:
As with most of “the next big thing” stories in business, big data is really important in some areas, and not so important in others. As a literal definition, HR does not actually have big data, or more precisely, almost never does. Most companies have thousands of employees, not millions, and the observations on those employees are still for the most part annual. In a company of this size, there is almost no reason for HR to use the special software and tools associated with big data.
To read the full article on Harvard Business Review, click here.