Many company departments rely on analytics for decisions they make and strategies they implement. Through using analytics and data, these departments can get a better idea of what their customers and clients need or are looking for.

While analytics may be used primarily in logistics or marketing, HR is beginning to dip its toes into the world of tracking and measuring insights through analytics software. Many companies already implement analytics into their human resources, but those big data metrics aren’t always being used with practical applications.

As we get deeper into 2017 and HR analytics become more popular, we expect to watch businesses take advantage of big data in new ways. Here are some of the areas we see growing with the appropriate implementation of HR analytics.

Data-Backed Hiring and Promotion Processes

The hiring and promotion processes for businesses can become complicated. When a hiring manager is in charge of sifting through applications and selecting the candidates who fit best, their own personal bias comes into play. This can prevent the most qualified applicant from getting the job. The same idea applies when HR is looking at who should be promoted.

HR departments can use the data gathered through analytics to look at who deserves the job or promotion best. Through their analytics, HR professionals can see who is performing better than coworkers and who has the right skills for the position.

Tracking of Engagement, Productivity and Job Satisfaction

Your human resources department is responsible for ensuring company employees are meeting certain standards and performing their jobs correctly. Unfortunately, this can be difficult to track. In 2017, we believe analytics will help HR departments see how engaged and productive employees of the company are.

Job satisfaction is another area HR departments must be aware of. Although very few employees want to openly admit to their boss that they are unhappy in their jobs, employees who do not feel connected or committed to the work that they’re doing can cause the whole company to suffer. Through the use of analytics, HR departments can help make suggestions on how to improve job satisfaction.

Better Management of Operations and Costs

If you’re trying to oversee the costs and operations of an entire company without analytics, there are definitely going to be some key components you miss. Through implementing HR analytics in 2017, business owners can use data knowledge at all levels of their companies to improve operations and reduce costs.

Analytics can help HR departments get a better view of how the company is running and what could be modified to save money or time. With the right programs, systems and software, HR analytics can actually be beneficial to the company as a whole, not just to the HR department.

Plan for the Future

Analytics can also be beneficial for creating plans for the far-off future. While you may have a strong workforce now, this does not necessarily guarantee the workforce will continue to stay strong in the next few years. Through using HR analytics, companies can track what problems may come in the future, what those problems could cost the company, and what the HR department will need to do if that problem happens.

This idea is especially true for companies with employees all around the same age or experience level. If you don’t have a healthy mix of ages working for your company, you risk having each employee retiring around the same time. Without a proper plan on how you’re going to navigate this situation, the HR department could be left scrambling for new hires. With proper analytics, you could see this coming.

When the HR department takes advantage of analytics, the entire company will benefit. With a stronger focus on hiring the right employees, ensuring they’re doing their job productively and efficiently, and overseeing the operations of the entire company, the HR department will give business a better boost.

Using analytics within the HR department will become something companies can’t ignore in 2017. As the technology advances, HR analytics will become just as crucial as analytics in other business departments.

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