What Data Can Reveal About the Workforce | HRO Today

People analytics (PA) continues to be a hot topic as organizations increasingly recognize PAs potential in revolutionizing recruiting, talent management, and other HR strategic areas that enable business results. Although organizations use forms of a) descriptive analytics – taking historical data and summarizing it into something that is understandable, such as a headcount report broken into demographics, fewer of them use more advanced forms of analysis such as b) predictive analytics – where statistical models are used to answer the question of what could happen, such as which salespeople are likely to resign within the next 90 days? and c) prescriptive analytics – providing recommendations on what to do based on predictions and what has occurred in the past. In this issue of HRO Today, p.11 begins an article that describes how 3 organizations use PA to drive their business strategy. Examples include how the loss of tenured salespeople would impact sales results, or how frequent transfers of GMs in a restaurant chain were driving the highest amount of employee turnover. The article provides practical examples of how organizations can integrate analytics into their talent management strategy. This issue includes other articles on various HR topics.