Talent analytics is one of the most crucial tools for the HR department as it simplifies processes and reduces the chances of human error. It can help with various aspects of an HR manager’s job, from talent management to succession planning.
The HR department plays a crucial role in the future and growth of an organization. And so, having the right tools to help the managers handle the HR processes, such as recruiting, training and more, is even more critical — especially with the market getting extremely competitive. This is where talent analytics comes in.
Talent analytics is a data-driven approach that uses data analysis on various aspects of current employees as well as candidates to understand the impact they currently have or will have on the existing processes and business goals. The tool helps evaluate how effective human resources are and can be for an organization.
In other words, talent analytics collects and analyzes data of current and future employees to help HR managers make better-informed decisions. More often than not, the HR department finds and recruits the best candidate for a particular position using talent analytics as it analyzes the past behaviour of an employee and predicts their future performance.
In recent times, talent analytics has seen rapid growth in the market, which in turn reflects its importance to HR departments and organizations it is a part of. Even then, only 14% of companies reported having any form of talent analytics programs, while only four percent of organizations believe they have predictive talent capabilities today, according to Deloitte. This also highlights how organizations are now focusing more on employee experience — an aspect that many organizations need help with.
TALENT ANALYTICS: AREAS OF APPLICATION
To fulfill the various needs of HR, talent analytics has to be multipurpose. There are multiple areas where the tool can assist HR in making well-planned decisions that focus on the future and growth of an organization.
For instance, the HR manager just has to enter a question. The talent analytics software quickly analyzes employee data, available employment statistics, company surveys, company stats, and other data points to provide results that are most accurate. This simplifies the HR manager’s task and aids them in making well-informed decisions. Some application areas for talent analytics are:
1. APPLICANT MANAGEMENT
With the help of just a few clicks, talent analytics can shorten the recruitment process significantly. HR managers who are looking to hire can use the tool to analyze the resumes of interested candidates. And based on the analyzed data, HR managers can see which candidate, out of the hundreds, perfectly fits the position. The tool helps the recruiting process become quicker and reduces the chances of human error.
2. TALENT MANAGEMENT
One important aspect of the HR department is to follow and push an employee’s growth. This task can be simplified with the aid of talent analytics. The software enables HR managers to draw target comparisons between the current profile of an employee and the ideal need of a job. Additionally, it will also give HR an idea of whether there is a need for development for an employee or not. If there is a need, then the tool will even suggest required training procedures that will help in the growth of the employee.
3. SUCCESSION PLANNING
Talent analytics provides help to HR managers to find which employees have the potential for a leading position or any employee seeks promotion. In such situations, the software scans and evaluates the digital personnel files of current employees to find the most suitable match. For instance, if a current employee approaches the HR department seeking a promotion, the software will give the HR manager a detailed insight into the employee – their performance, skill set, areas of improvement, whether they require training or not, etc. Based on this insight, the manager can then decide whether the employee is fit for a promotion or not. In fact, since the software has access to other employees’ data records, based on its analysis, the software can also recommend who from the current employees is fit for a senior position.
4. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Another area of HR where talent analytics has proven to be helpful is performance management. The software can analyze and predict skill gaps, find employees that are the best for organizations, spot employees that are high performers, identify employees that are at risk of leaving and more. The software, after going through all the records of existing employees, can give recommendations to the HR manager about which of them require training, can be considered for promotion, need to be replaced, is slacking off, etc. This type of insight helps HR keep track of the performance of each and every employee without much hassle.
5. POLICY EFFECTIVENESS
When it comes to an organization’s policies, there is no better solution than talent analytics to give you an insight into which policies are working and which aren’t. Understanding the impact of policies on employees and on the organization as a whole will push the HR function to be better and come up with impactful strategies that help in the growth process. The review of the policies analyzed by the software will help HR to come up with policies that are on par with the various goals of the organization.
Apart from these applications, talent analytics also helps in monitoring the growth of employees, customizing deployment of employees, career planning of an employee and more. In fact, the latest versions of the software don’t just provide the HR department with assistance but also give them a glance into the future.
BENEFITS OF USING TALENT ANALYTICS
With the software being used along with other modern technologies, it is not that difficult to predict how far it will help the HR department and the role it will play in the growth of an organization. Some of the benefits of using talent analytics are:
- Opens a wide, new range of analysis options that can be used by the HR to manage corporate and personnel process
- Makes the HR processes more structured, data-driven and accurate
- Speeds up the HR process and reduces the chances of human error
- Talent analytics is user-friendly
- Helps the HR create an environment that caters to the needs of employees, which results in improved employee experience
- Helps the HR in making more empowering decisions that are less emotion-based and more fact-based
- Aids in understanding absenteeism and health trends, the results of which help increase productivity
- The information gathered from talent analytics will provide HR with an insight into what negative feelings employees might be feeling and also why employees are staying in the organization, helping improve retention
- Enables the HR to better understand relationships between teams and organizations
In the past few years, there has been a clear shift in the way HR departments work in organizations. Gone are the days when the focus was more on operational discipline, now, it is all about strategic planning. And to help them in this cause, many of them are slowly but surely, shifting toward talent analytics.
WRAPPING UP
There is no denying that talent analytics proves to be a powerful business asset — especially when it comes to HR. It lets the managers better connect with their organizational goals with the limited hassle and human error.
In simple words, talent analytics takes the guesswork out of the HR department. The tool plays a vital role in making HR work smarter and faster. By using the tool and combining it with other technologies, the HR department can ensure that they do not just hire the ideal employees but also train current employees to become better positive assets for the organization.
