I have been a human resources practitioner all my professional life.I started from processing payrolls and benefits, job orders and overtime pay. I was there at a time when one employee meant one manila folder, a file called 201 File, which is everything there is to know about any one person in the company.
I have worked my way up over the years and I am now seeing a great shift in how business organizations perceive the role of employees in the firm — and manage them.
With modern technology, I have seen how human resource can in itself be a source of a copious amount of information.This data is so massive and so multi-faceted that managing HR is no longer just a matter of compiling pieces of paper in a folder for documentation purposes.
In that folder is a wealth of information about an individual person; in that stack of folders is aggregate data about the nature and quality of the people you have in your organization.
Physical file out, HR analytics in.
These days, managers like me agree that because human capital — talent — is the most valuable asset of any company, a mismatch or a shortage in talent is a threat to corporate success. HR analytics, which is the manner information about employees individually and in general are mined and transformed into meaningful and actionable information. The ultimate objective is to make use of the information to generate revenue, reduce costs, mitigate risks and execute strategy.
At first I was not comfortable with the use of such high-tech, highfalutin terms such as “HR analytics” or even human capital management software and the like. But after I have seen the quality of information they deliver, I dropped all resistance and became convinced.
And take note: the HR analytics software does not only provide information about the employee’s background, experience and expertise. It is also able to monitor his performance in the organization vis a vis the performance indicators established for the position and on the best practices and benchmarks in other similar organizations, and in the industry. We are then confident that this is how things are done not just in our team but in others as well.
People are complex beings, with some aspects seen and others not so apparent. The appreciation also differs depending on who is viewing or assessing them. This is similar to a three-dimensional puzzle that will help you evaluate whether this individual talent is doing well or could do better, and whether you current crop of talent are best fit for the company’s short-and long-term goals.
Indeed this is not just big data; it’s better data.
The question is this: What is the best HR metrics and analytics software that you can use for your organizations to maximize your so-called ROI — return on investments — on talent?
SAP HR analytics, through SuccessFactors, is a great option to help your company gain agility. For example, I as an HR executive am able to analyze, access and report on successes or failures. Because the HR analytics software I am using is backed by the SAP brand, known for its reliability, global reach and impeccable record, I am always able to plan and execute decisions in pursuit of company goals while avoiding or minimizing disruptions brought by talent issues along the way.
I know I am in good company, because most of the Fortune 500 companies make use of the same HR analytics software to help them in their HR issues. People, after all, are what drive anything. It makes sense that we invest in getting to know them better.