Investing in people analytics brings high returns
Learn about approaches to start implementing secure cloud environments to create a more inclusive culture and improve employee retention.
It might seem counterintuitive that something dry and finite, like data sets, can affect something malleable, like company culture. But, the emerging field of people analytics is helping forward-thinking companies develop not just better decision-making capabilities, but also more welcoming work environments. And more open and affirming workplaces create a more inclusive culture, which leads to better employee retention and ultimately, better innovation and financials.
Research shows that companies comprised of diverse teams are more innovative and have better business outcomes than homogeneous competitors. Gender, ethnic, and LGBTQ+ representation is important up and down the organizational ladder. But if new hires leave soon after they’re recruited because the existing company culture drives them away, the value they bring evaporates. How can companies use people data to help create the kind of culture that encourages every employee to stay?
Using people analytics to boost employee retention
Improving people analytics isn’t a single one-and-done, dashboard-type solution — it’s a longer-term investment. With a solution like the Snowflake data cloud, paired with tools like Power BI and Tableau, companies can collect employee data and use machine learning for attrition modeling. Relevant data might include employee age, role, seniority level, job satisfaction scores, overtime hours, and learning paths they’ve completed.
Let’s say the narrative presented through the data indicates that people who are at greater risk of leaving are concentrated in one department, maybe even a particular team. And perhaps the dashboard also shows that the team has fewer members who’ve completed training to help them grow in their roles. Using this insight, a simple tweak in the company’s internal communications strategy could increase engagement with training materials the company has already invested in — and remind employees that the company is interested in helping them develop their talent.
In a world that’s not quite post-pandemic, people analytics can also help you track employee well-being. How many hours are employees working? Have certain teams logged excessive overtime? Many parents (mostly women) are juggling working from home while also managing their kids’ online learning. Constant interruptions disrupt the flow of work and make it hard to complete deliverables on time. The “Do you have children?” and “What are your children’s ages?” are salient questions to include on surveys. You could use insights in this realm to develop some ways to help people manage stress and avoid burnout — especially working moms.
Collecting people data — both active and passive
The onboarding process and exit interviews are two built-in data-collection points in every employee journey. You can also develop surveys to track employee engagement and well-being. These methods are all active data collection efforts, and they take time.
Another way to gain insights within your organization is to passively collect “digital exhaust” — the digital remains employees leave behind as they work. A Harvard Business Review report stated that while most companies don’t have the means to capture and analyze this data, the insights to be gained are rich. The report also lays out six specific frameworks that create the basis of “relational analytics” in any company. Once those frameworks are identified, an organization can collect and act on the insights.
For example, managers can see how people are communicating and make plans to increase cross-departmental collaboration if teams seem to be working in silos. People analytics teams can even use relational analytics to make predictions about how individuals and teams will meet performance goals. Relational analytics data is dynamic, so these data sets need to be constantly updated. A solution like Snowflake makes it easy to make decisions faster with automated data sets.
Saving time, staying competitive
A data management platform in the HR stack takes pressure off the HR department. Role-level security allows managers to gain insights about their own teams, without continuously relying on the HR function for small asks. Duplicated efforts are eliminated, and data literacy increases as people across the organization — with training — adopt the tool. And, as they get more comfortable with data, they’ll start to experiment and innovate with ways to keep employees secure, engaged, and within the company fold.
If you want help assessing your existing data platform, developing smarter operational processes to improve your employees’ experience, or advice on creating a people analytics ecosystem, please contact Yuvi Sidhu on LinkedIn.
Slalom is a modern consulting firm focused on strategy, technology and business transformation. Learn more and reach out today.
