BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here
Edit Story

6 Ways To Use Analytics To Better Manage A Workforce

IBM

By Eric Lesser, IBM

Marketing, finance, supply chain: your business relies on analytics to run all of these functions.

But your workforce? Not so much. According to a recent survey of about 350 HR leaders worldwide, less than 16 percent use analytics to dig into their data to predict and get ahead of looming talent problems.

That’s a lost opportunity if ever there was one. In our economy, a smarter workforce, or one that is eager to learn new skills, able to adapt to changes, and willing to collaborate with folks across continents and time zones, can make a real difference in business performance. Successful companies use analytics and data to figure out how prepared their workforce is -- and what steps they need to take to help employees succeed.

A new IBM Institute for Business Value study, "Unlock the People Equation," identified six forces propelling organizations to use analytics to better understand and manage the workforce. They are:

  1. Changing labor market dynamics: Today’s workforce has become more global and mobile and less anchored in traditional employer-employee relationships. In fact, it is becoming more difficult to keep track of the workforce, while at the same time, stay on top of fast-moving changes in emerging skills and capabilities. Some organizations are starting to use analytics to predict turnover and estimate future demand for certain skills. Using this insight, they can more effectively design training programs that provide their employees with the skills they’ll need as the market changes. At the same time, they enable companies to make better decisions about what they can build up from the inside, hire from the outside or link up with key partners.
  2. Skyrocketing data: Data is everywhere. Information is being gathered from social networks about topics trending with employees, neuroscience data collected from online cognitive tests,or insights gleaned from sensors about how employees come together and share insights. It sounds like science fiction, but this is all data that companies are starting to collect and analyze to gauge employee aptitude for certain positions, determine how people collaborate, and how changes in the working environment affect employee morale.
  3. Rising regulatory and compliance demands: In an information economy, the demands for greater risk management and transparency keep rising. Using analytics, leading organizations are able to track how they’re addressing risk in hiring and promotion decisions.
  4. Shifts in strategy: Mergers and acquisitions, evolving leadership requirements, and the constant need for business transformation all mean that companies have to react and adapt quickly. Analytics help companies make smarter, data-driven workforce decisions in lockstep with these strategy shifts. For example, analytics can indicate potential skill shortages, which could prevent companies from establishing a sales force in a new geography.
  5. Higher employee expectations: Holding on to great talent and keeping employees engaged while increasing productivity is a huge challenge for organizations today. Businesses can’t afford to invest in employees and then be surprised when top performers resign. Companies now have the ability to understand what is driving turnover and identify the actions needed to prevent top contributors from jumping ship.
  6. Company-wide use of analytics: As more groups inside a company adopt analytics to understand and drive business, the pressure builds on HR departments to do the same. To a certain extent, it’s just about practicalities. Companies are already investing in analytics, so why not use its capabilities company-wide?

We’re a data-driven society. The global economy runs on information. It’s about time that organizations started managing their workforce using the same data-derived insights.

Eric Lesser is the Research Director and North American Leader for the IBM Institute for Business Value.

There is a new way to work, and it's made with IBM. Learn more at ibm.com/madewithibm or join the conversation at #MadeWithIBM