HR and Big Data: marriage possible, but there is still work to be done
For a long time, BigData anddata analytics were not the top priority of HR departments, but lately these aspects have become increasingly important. Indeed, it is no longer possible to think about achieving business goals without a data-driven and analytical approach. Indeed, more and more industry studies are pointing out that HR professionals will have to become true HR Tech Experts in the future. So let's see how the world of Big Data relates to the HR sector today and how HR professionals can leverage data analytics for theefficiency of their activities.
What is Big Data
By the term Big Data we refer to large amounts of structured and unstructured information and the methods for processing and analyzing it. Organizations retrieve Big Data from a variety of sources. These sources can be public and accessible on the Internet (think online publications, data generated by social networks, forums, etc.) or internal to the organization. In this case, it is mainly historical data obtained from archives or data generated from physical devices, such as input detectors.
Big Data and HR: all areas of possible development
Big Data offers enormous opportunities for improving workflows in human resources. Some large companies that are particularly focused on experimentation and innovation have already noticed this. IBM, for example, has analyzed data from more than 40 million employees to determine the key personality traits of salespeople so as to tailor their job post descriptions. The data, however, is not only useful in recruiting: it can also be invaluable in supporting HR's retention efforts, helping to identify which activities are most effective in keeping employees with the company longer.
A winning data collection and analysis strategy in HR can therefore lead to the improvement and automation of the talent acquisition process, higher candidate engagement rates, increased employee retention , greater care in talent development activities , and evenincreased productivity.
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Barriers to HR's extensive use of data
Despite this, the adoption of Big Data in HR processes is still very slow. There are several main reasons for this. On the one hand, there is the cost of implementing a work process focused on data collection and analysis. Then there is also the complexity of technology to consider: capturing and analyzing Big Data in HR requireshiring outsourcedprofessionals, configuring software , and building an IT infrastructure. Therefore, the use of big data for HR activities is often still seen as a luxury and not a necessity, especially for small and medium-sized companies. On the other hand, there is often resistance from management, which believes that the use of such technologies can bring a dehumanizing factor within processes.
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Best practices for making the HR and Big Data work
To facilitate the adoption and use of Big Data within the enterprise, here are some key tips:
- start by creating a solid data collection structure, without which no analysis can be processed;
- filter and clean data: 80% of data analysis involves cleaning data to eliminate repetitive, outdated, and misleading results;
- works iteratively, breaking the work down into more circumscribed actions, rather than trying to frame and manage the whole process at once;
- keep business objectives in mind when monitoring and analyzing usable data-don't fall into the mistake of drawing your inferences solely from available data.
The amount of work will certainly be large in the early stages, but using Big Data for HR practices, as we have seen, is now imperative in order to obtain up-to-date information on personnel and workflows, constantly optimize processes already in place, and subsequently develop strategies for managing possible future events.
