How Can HR Analytics Enhance My Career?

Human Resources is a world that involves much documentation, important conversations, and guiding executives and staff.

The major responsibilities of an HR team can be strategically approached with the right data and analysis, which brought about the growth of the HR Analytics field. A relatively newer field, HR Analytics takes HR and blends it with data analytics to enhance the entire HR field. 

These analytics include collecting, analyzing, and reporting relevant information to key company leaders for making decisions. Often referred to as KPIs, or key performance indicators, these data points can be closely managed by a Human Resources Information System, or HRIS.

What Kind of Data can HR Analytics Include?

Many of the general areas of HR management practice can be closely tracked and analyzed. These can range from recruiting to staffing numbers and company reviews. Some specific examples are:

–        Recruitment and hiring: Everything from the number of qualified inquiries to the source of inquiry to time to fill and the hiring process can be tracked. Some key data points can include time to fill – the time between a job opening is created and when it is filled; time to hire – the time a candidate spends throughout the recruitment process, from application date to accepting an offer; and offer acceptance rate – the number of candidates that accept a company’s offer compared to total offers made.

–        Employee performance: Measuring workforce performance can help fill gaps and find motivations. Examining data including revenue per employee – a rate measuring a total revenue divided by headcount, the completion rate of tasks, percentage of billable hours, projects completed on deadline, etc. can all lead to better performance company-wide.

–        Culture and engagement: Keeping employees thriving and engaged is a key prong of helping with retention. It’s much more costly to manage turnover than it is to invest in culture development and keep employees inspired and committed. Some data points and KPIs that can help a business identify a challenge and take action: Turnover rate, absenteeism rate, the average tenure of an employee, and participation rate in company-wide engagement initiatives.

–        Training and development: Professional development and training can help retain talent and encourage business growth. Measuring data such as training success rate, or knowing how many employees have completed a specific training; competency rating, or how proficient certain team members are with skills applicable to their position; and advancement rate, or how many employees progress to higher levels within the company.

These details and more are part of the curriculum of Montclair State University’s Master of Science degree in HR Analytics. You’ll learn the many different forms of data that can be tracked and analyzed, as well as the technology to do so and how to use that information to help lead company change. 

The Real Job

Access to data and defined analytics is important and of course a major part of HR Analytics. However, it is the skills of taking that information and turning them into insights that help drive business decisions. Implementing change is challenging, and HR managers and leaders have to walk from understanding measurement and metrics to providing technical analysis, to presenting guidance to senior leaders and helping to execute needed changes to help meet company goals.

If you are looking to grow your skillset in this arena, a degree in HR Analytics can be a catalyst to get you there. Data management and analytics are continuing to play a larger and larger role in HR responsibilities as technology and KPI management becomes more robust. The HR leaders with the right training will be able to step into leadership roles and play a key part in company improvements. Learn more about Montclair State University’s HR Analytics Master of Science degree now!