Critical Thinking and Old-line Hr Department

1. Why do more companies not use analytics to solve such problems? How would you argue to make the case for analytics in an old-line HR department? Most companies do not use analytics because they approach analytics as a technology issue, focusing on hardware and software without thinking through the problems they want to solve. They also follow more their intuition and gut feelings. According to the authors of the article “Workforce analytics: Making the most of a critical asset”, published in July of 2012, describes “Analytics does not have to be a whip used to increase the stroke count associated with extracting more from individuals. Rather, it can provide the opportunity to build a more effective, empowered and engaged workforce that increases the value of the larger organization.”

How would I make analytics in an old-line HR department? Nobody else besides HR cares about analytics. HR people are the only ones who know this and can get the most out of HR data. HR department have the knowledge to interpret the data. I would argue that either the meetings with the steering group must be very frequent or HR Analytics will have to sit in HR to get the required frequent interpretations of data and findings. HR will also understand the legal aspects of the data much better than anyone else and this will help the HR Analytics team avoid running into serious legal issues. In conclusion, organizations should adopt HR analytics to enhance the strategic contribution of HR executives and lead to better decisions and organizational outcomes.

2. What resources could an HR professional consult to begin building expertise in this area of analytics? Human Resource professionals can develop the needed skills to interpret metrics by doing research and utilizing that research to keep employees happy where they work. Using analytics, HR professionals could use the resources of their own employees to consult to begin building expertise in this area. For example, they could give their employees surveys to find out what will make them happy in their workplace, and find out what needs to improve in their specific branches of the companies. Every little step will bring an effective use and create expertise on this area, at the end everything is about trying.