Maybe it’s just me, but in the fall, I tend to roost a little, reflect and get some planning done for next year. Many businesses do the same…and many of you are wrapped up in 2014 Budget Planning cycle right now.
If you’re in that zone right now, I’d like you to think through something…and it’s really quite a serious topic.
Can you afford NOT to have some level of focus on workforce analytics in 2014?
Me thinks not, but then again I do live in the workforce analytics business so I get to see the latest and greatest research (from the likes of Harvard Business Review, Gartner, Aberdeen Group and Bersin by Deloitte) about the benefits and reasons why you should be using your HR and workforce data to drive better business decisions.
In fact, Harvard Business Review just claimed that the “payoff for companies that get this right is enormous”. Imagine that? The Harvard Business Review, yes, the HBR positioning that by using the masses of HR data that you already collect, the “payoff” could be “enormous”. (Source: Corporate Learning Network)
Now that’s bold and exciting—and it means competitive advantage for some, and it’s game-changing for others.
The companies I get to work with are progressive and innovative businesses with progressive and innovative HR and business executives. They have said, in one way or another, enough-is-enough, we have this workforce data and we are going to take advantage of it to drive better business decisions.
They all needed to start somewhere – and universally, they made the decision to just get going —because every day, month, quarter and fiscal year they weren’t “in”, they were leaving money and value on the table.
Many have funded workforce analytics through an underperforming budget item (like a job board fee or other recruitment channel) that was redirected to the greater good. Others knew it was worth it strictly in terms of the time and effort saved—freeing up team members from having to constantly crunch and manipulate numbers in excel. Some jumped at the chance to contribute powerful, new, and data-driven insights to their Executive discussions. And for others, the business case and ROI was so clear when we helped them (using their actual data) to clearly understand their excess costs, untapped opportunities and ROI during a Free 30 Day Trial, that they simply couldn’t afford to NOT continue….because they saw first-hand, the “payoff” could be “enormous”.
So here are my suggestions and your opportunity:
- Quickly research and understand (contact me if you wish) how workforce analytics can drive big value and competitive advantage.
- Understand that there are simple, affordable and rapidly deployable workforce analytics solutions that can have you seeing and using your data like never before.
- Speak with your HR colleagues, CHRO/HR Lead and the internal clients/LOBs you serve about the need for more evidence-based decision making in HR.
- Put workforce analytics on your plan for 2014….even if it is “investigate workforce analytics options” or “build business case for workforce analytics”. And if you want to go further and “implement full-suite workforce analytics” that connects all of your disconnected HR systems and data to business outcomes, then that’s cool too, we’d love to share with you how we can help you do that simply, affordably and in 48 hours.
…and your opportunity:
When it comes to workforce analytics, now is the time HR, now is the time. All you need to do is just get going. Get it onto your 2014 Plan.
It’s your workforce data. You should use it.
John Pensom, CEO
QuIRC, a Canadian company delivering cloud-based workforce and business analytics through their insight-as-a-service offering called PeopleInsight
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