Greater insight is a work force imperative for organisations
Imagine piloting a plane without a navigation system, altimeter or air speed indicator. It's a scary thought, yet most HR leaders today are flying blind when it comes to work force planning and aligning their talent strategy with future business growth.
According to a recent Harvard Business Review (HBR) study, only 9% of companies surveyed use predictive analytics to inform their workforce decisions. The good news: many organisations recognise the gap and are taking the right steps forward, leading to an increased use of talent analytics.
According to that same survey HR joins the analytics Revolution, 57% of the respondents plan to employ analytics using data integrated across multiple systems. Randstad Sourceright's 2016 Talent Trends Survey shows about the same percentage of HR leaders around the world saying they use talent analytics in workforce planning. By leveraging data and business intelligence, they are able to align their efforts with the goal of business leaders everywhere - which is to transform HR from a cost centre to a source of competitive advantage.
How can talent analytics help better align HR to the business? In one case study profiled by Deloitte, an oil and gas industry employer was able to use analytical data to help anticipate future label supply, shape its own workforce planning and execute talent acquisition and retention initiatives. By studying analytical data, that included the trajectory of oil and stock prices, the employer was able to anticipate the retirement of workers and plan accordingly.
This is one example of how talent analytics can be applied for a specific industry need, but in your organisation the insights may apply to different areas of the business. Analytics can pinpoint when and where you will need talent, assess the availability of talent in a given location, reveal how cost effectively you acquire talent, assess the quality of hires and provide visibility into your entire workforce, including both permanent and contingent talent.
These capabilities will only continue to improve as market offerings grow more mature, and the delivery of intelligence becomes more seamless and automated. The impact of this evolution is being felt today. In the same Randstad Sourceright survey, 74% of respondents say they have greater visibility of their workforce as a result of automation, while another 60% says it has improved the accuracy of their workforce planning. And 62% says it is a great time saver.
How much your organisation can benefit from enhancing talent analytics will depend on many factors, but one thing is clear: In today's competitive landscape, you can't afford to fly in the dark anymore.
Contents of this article are part of the report, 2016 Talent Trends, produced by our sister company Randstad Sourceright. Access the full report here