Monthly Archives: April 2019

HR Data Analytics is very topical right now in Human Resources. It is a new emerging trend within the building blocks of a best in class HR function. It is also a very under developed science and is stronger in the theory than the practice. Indeed there is also a growing logic that it is really an IT discipline rather than a HR discipline. In most organisations that have such established roles it most often aligns with the SME(subject matter expert) sub team within the larger HR functional team.

Most HR knowledge is found in a myriad of company databases. To clean this data up and get it ready for analysis, it ideally needs to be transferred to well catalogued data warehouses. From there the data can then be data mined and that’s where data analytics activity commences. Data can then be interrogated, analysed, trends identified and/or hypothesis challenged. As the model and skillsets grow, it can aspire to reach the level of predicative analytics. Given all this, what are the current skillsets that HR professionals working in this HR discipline will need to display?. A word of warning, they are in short supply and very hard to find.

Skilled HR Data Analysis requires a diverse and often unrelated set of skills and capabilities. The early emerging skills that seek to define the successful HR Data scientist best, include as many of the following as possible.

1. Business Acumen
2. HR Acumen
3. IT/Technology Infrastructure
4. Project Management
5. Statistics
6. Procurement
7. Stakeholder Engagement
8. Data Mining
9. Storytelling

The ultimate aim of all data analytics is to drive better decision making based much more on scientific analysis rather than pure hunches or generalisations. The HR journey into this playing field is only starting, but long overdue.

We all crave recognition and appreciation. It is part of the human DNA. In Organisations this goes for managers as well as team members. In sport it goes for coaches as well as players. In families it goes for parents as well as children. We all seek validation and like to be valued by others and recognised for our efforts.

We as HR professionals need to be fully aware of the above and focussed on it. We have a responsibility to facilitate positive, proactive praise & recognition as part of our overall HR strategy. Modern-day workforces are demanding instant feedback and constant positive reinforcement when they deliver good results. They are no longer prepared to stay with companies who ignore this or who haphazardly engage in it.

Organisations who want to build strong engagement and higher performance levels need to invest in well thought-out and structured reward and recognition programs. The good news, to do so is not costly, at least not in financial terms. It does however require deep insights into your Organisation, your employees and what motivates them individually. Such programs must be developed into specific, visible, appropriate and timely recognition outcomes. They must be part of an overall culture tenet and moulded into a system that automatically recognises and rewards positive behaviours and work output.

Managers who seek to build teams, challenge them to innovate and strive for high performance will need to invest time and creativity in this arena. Authentic leadership will require such proactive effort.

My advice, never underestimate the power of recognition and personal appreciation. It correlates well with building effective engagement levels.