What are HR analytics?
HR analytics can be defined as a decision support tool that identifies and measures the impact of human resources on a company’s operating results.
In other words, HR analytics are not only useful when it comes to calculating KPIs related to human capital – salaries, absenteeism rates, turnover, etc. – because they also link pure HR indicators to data linked to the company’s performance. They also allow us to accurately quantify the relationships between these different statistics.
For example, we can investigate whether the increase in turnover within the sales team has an impact on the decrease in sales.
Contrary to what you may believe, HR analytics are not just limited to HR management; they entail a multi-disciplinary approach involving all the company’s departments, who assume shared responsibility: sales, finance, marketing, etc.
They can be used within an organization in two different ways:
- 1) as a cross-departmental tool, not only for human resources, but also for all company entities: marketing, R&D, finance, etc.
- Or 2) as a dedicated team within the HR department.
The second option is problematic in the sense that the issues addressed by HR analytics go far beyond human capital considerations. Quality of work life, in particular, goes far beyond the remit of the HR department.
Which factors determine QWL?
Quality of work life (QWL) is an approach that aims to combine employee well-being and organizational performance. A pledge by the management team, and a commitment upheld by all company departments, QWL is based on several key factors:
- Work schedule.
- Working environment.
- Quality of inter-employee relationships.
- Employee duties and tools.
- Respect for employees’ work-life balance.
There are various quality of work life indicators that allow you to evaluate the well-being and commitment of employees more effectively:
- Employee turnover rate, also known as turnover. A high number of resignations and contractual terminations could indicate a certain degree of discontent in the workplace, pushing employees to leave the company.
- Absenteeism rate. The absenteeism rate is the number of absent employees compared to the number of employees present (over a given period). The frequency of absences, sick leave and workplace accidents is a good indicator of QWL.
- Information related to salaries, such as age, gender, place of residence or occupation. For example, if the company finds that the majority of its employees live more than 50 kilometres away from its premises, commuting may also be considered a contributing factor to a reduction in QWL.
- Employee Net Promoter Score (ENPS), which determines the probability of your employees recommending your company. This indicator may have some limitations due to its simplicity, but it does give you a good idea of how committed and loyal employees are to their company.
How can HR analytics be used to improve QWL in companies?
Improving quality of work life and organizational performance go hand in hand, hence why HR analytics are particularly well suited to supporting this approach. In fact, data can help you better understand your employees and implement measures that benefit the whole company.
Conducting regular surveys
The traditional annual questionnaire on employee well-being is an important, yet insufficient, tool. Since the working environment is increasingly changing, QWL issues must be identified on an ad-hoc basis.
Analytical technologies enable regular HR reporting by collecting feedback from employees on various topics: commitment, performance, well-being, etc. This approach allows you to anticipate critical situations more effectively and improves decision-making.
Creating a QWL barometer
To implement an effective quality of work life policy, you must fully assess the current situation. By creating a QWL barometer, it is not only easier to understand the working environment within the company, but also to verify its compliance with labour laws.
HR analytics can also detect trends or worrying signs in real time: psychosocial risks, burn-out, etc. HR departments can therefore implement appropriate measures to address the situation.
Identifying the causes of absenteeism
Through Big Data, you can produce HR reports that identify the origin of factors contributing to discontent in the workplace. This means that companies no longer wish to quantify absenteeism by calculating days of absence or the duration and frequency of these absences.
Data analysis allows us to put absenteeism into perspective and draw more contrasting conclusions. For example, a rise in absenteeism could result in an increase in the number of employees absent or the number of days absent (these are two separate issues).
The company could also identify a certain seasonality in absenteeism, which can be attributed to a busy work period.
Improving internal communications
Employee experience largely depends on the quality of dialogue within the company. However, the bigger and the more decentralized the organization, the more difficult it becomes to disseminate relevant messages and achieve a good reception rate, hence the need for internal communications adapted to the needs of employees.
However, HR dashboards are an effective social dialogue tool. This may seem counter-intuitive, because you may be wondering how a series of numbers and statistics can facilitate communication The answer is simple: HR analytics present objective data, rather ideas and perceptions, which are subjective by nature.
It is therefore much easier to explain the quality of work life policy and its challenges through figures. This approach helps to ease potential tensions around sensitive issues, such as absenteeism, turnover or professional equality in the workplace.
Better support for change
When a company undergoes a transformation, a period of instability will inevitably ensue, potentially testing the loyalty of employees. A concerted educational effort is therefore essential to maintain a satisfactory QWL.
Data analysis can therefore assess the extent to which your employees have adopted your new strategy. This is the basis for an effective change management strategy, featuring appropriate messages and measures.
Improving the onboarding of new employees
The first few weeks of a new recruit’s time with the company are crucial as they progress in their career. In other words, if the employee feels good from the outset, they will be more likely to stay at the company in the long term.
By regularly collecting feedback from newcomers, then analysing it with the help of dashboards and HR reports, it is easier to understand their aspirations, what motivates them and the obstacles they face. This allows you to implement appropriate measures to facilitate their integration.
Working towards professional equality
HR analytics allow you to measure the results of your professional equality policy in real time, particularly with regard to gender parity. It is also possible to measure the impact of these measures on various indicators, such as absenteeism or salaries.
HR dashboards also allow you to monitor your senior employee policy with a view to increasing their involvement. For example, you can easily compare their salaries, training or work stoppages against the overall workforce.
Which HR analytics tool should you use to improve QWL?
The Business Intelligence tool is now the most suitable solution for generating and managing HR indicators, while also contextualizing them within the framework of a QWL approach. With this intuitive and flexible tool, you can easily carry out complex analyses, even with a large volume of data.
Meanwhile, data visualization allows you to create dynamic HR dashboards, updated in real time, enabling companies to fully exploit their data.
Well-being survey, barometer, internal communications, change management, etc. HR analytics play a key role in improving QWL on a daily basis. However, companies must use a Business Intelligence tool to succeed in their QWL efforts. These tools allow them to process and analyse a wide variety of data, while also generating relevant HR dashboards and reports.
