Part 5 of 5: Getting started with people analytics, 10 common questions

August 23, 2016 PeopleInsight Workforce Analytics Employee Relations, HR Analytics, HR and Technology, HR Policies and Procedures, HRMS, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring, Training and Development, Union Relations

In our last few blogs we covered numbers 1 through 9 of our list of the 10 most common questions and concerns HR professionals raise when considering getting started with workforce analytics. It’s time now for #10.

At this point, we’ve talked about:

I don’t have the time to start another initiative right now.
We don’t have the skills needed for robust HR and Business Analytics.
I don’t have the budget.
Can’t my HR systems provide these analytics?
What about IT, isn’t analytics their turf?
Our data isn’t clean. It needs work before we can start.
We’ve just installed a new HRIS (or we’re just about to…), shouldn’t we wait?
How do I demonstrate that workforce analytics is an important investment?
It seems overwhelming. I don’t know where to begin.

Now let’s move onto the final question and one that deserves some serious attention “How do I select a workforce analytics provider to partner with?”

10. How do I select a workforce analytics partner?

Do your due diligence. Here are a few key areas to get clear on:

Assess each provider on your key criteria. If you’re not sure, here’s a few to start:
- Time to first insights
- The ability of the solution to:
  - integrate all data sources
  - perform powerful segmentation
  - produce high impact executive dashboards
  - deliver results fast (quick filtering, ability to slice & dice on the fly)
- Human Resources & Analytics subject matter expertise
- Cost
Ask questions—and lots of them. Find out who will be working with your data and your team, find out what their background is… it matters that they’re knowledgeable in Human Resources.
See the solution in action. Ask to drive so you can check its power, speed, agility and the look and feel of the visualizations.
Find out what kind of ongoing relationship you will have. Make sure you’re teaming up with a true partner who will be involved in helping you get the most of the solution and continually working with you to elevate your game within the organization.
Go to the Source. Make sure you speak to current clients. This is the best way to really get a sense of how each provider operates and what you can expect in the relationship on an ongoing basis.

So there you have it…answers to 10 of the most common concerns and questions related to getting started with workforce analytics. Hopefully by addressing these, we’ve helped bring you closer to workforce analytics and have provided you with information to overcome obstacles and just get started!

Note: this is an excerpt from our eBook: Getting Started with People Analytics | 10 Common Concerns and How to Overcome Them.

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PeopleInsight Workforce Analytics

Workforce Analytics at PeopleInsight

John Pensom is CEO of PeopleInsight with 20 years’ experience in the "people" business and gained deep knowledge in how technology, information and analytics drives business and culture change. PeopleInsight is a Canadian company delivering cloud-based workforce and business analytics; it connects and unlocks traditionally disparate HR, talent, engagement, business results and external market data to deliver rich insight through analytics in clear, visually appealing and actionable ways. Read more