{"id":2489,"date":"2018-05-15T17:58:10","date_gmt":"2018-05-15T22:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opsdog.com\/resources\/?p=2489"},"modified":"2019-05-13T11:21:52","modified_gmt":"2019-05-13T16:21:52","slug":"big-data-in-hr-business-intelligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/opsdog.com\/resources\/big-data-in-hr-business-intelligence\/","title":{"rendered":"Big data in HR and the value of human capital in business intelligence"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve had more than our fair share of clients ask us about big data in HR and business intelligence. \u201cWe know that big data in HR exists,\u201d they\u2019ll tell us, \u201cbut does HR business intelligence mean anything for us?\u201d<\/p>\n

If you have questions along the same lines, congratulations! You\u2019re part of the elite class of business professionals who know big data in HR even exists in the first place!<\/p>\n

The fact of the matter is, your human resources department is already managing scads of data\u2014both structured and unstructured. You have detailed employee data and profiles, performance review data, potential hire data, even data on disciplinary issues. And that\u2019s just the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n

This is all data that HR business intelligence thrives on, and that can lead to an effective and efficient HR dashboard. From a more bottom-line-focused perspective, translating all that information into KPI (that\u2019s Key Performance Indicator) visualizations results in your being able to discover entirely new areas for optimization and tracking performance. If you\u2019ve read our KPIs 101 series<\/a> (and if you haven\u2019t, you really should), you already know that KPIs are specific quantitative values which measure the effectiveness of your business. Their net benefit lies in their ability to serve both your employees and your company better.<\/p>\n

\"Guide<\/a><\/h2>\n

How to wrangle big data in HR for an easier HR BI experience<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve said it once (well, actually twice\u2014make that three times) and we\u2019ll say it until we run out of room on the Internet: just having access to big data in HR is not enough. All the data in the world won\u2019t help you if it\u2019s not wrangled out of its raw form and compared in ways that give it purpose and meaning. Otherwise, you\u2019ll end up feeling like you\u2019re on a beach, sifting through massive piles of sand in a vain effort to uncover the minuscule differences between them.<\/p>\n

Often, we find that companies understand this on principle, but don\u2019t have the \u201cpractice\u201d part down.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan you incorporate this particular KPI into the HR dashboard?\u201d they\u2019ll ask.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d we reply. \u201cJust show us the data.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is followed, all too often by a lull of sheepish silence. Not that it\u2019s the fault of a company. Many times, their internal departments just aren\u2019t equipped to handle the amount of data they have. This is certainly true of big data in HR BI.<\/p>\n

Luckily for you, you can skip past the trouble with OpsDog. We\u2019re old hats at data wrangling in HR. In fact, it\u2019s one of our major services<\/a>. We can work with your HR and IT departments to drill down to find only the most useful data that will result in the kind of HR report you want.<\/p>\n

In short, wrangling data isn\u2019t just an IT issue. Not to knock your IT department, but they will probably lack the HR operations experience to parse large amounts of data into the right insights. It\u2019s not that there\u2019s anything wrong with them; it\u2019s just not in their wheelhouse. You can\u2019t expect someone with a motorcycle license to fly an airplane.<\/p>\n

What you need is a group of professionals that understands that wrangling big data in HR is a business challenge. Like OpsDog. We pride ourselves on our HR KPI acumen, which helps assign the correct<\/em> information to an HR business intelligence project.<\/p>\n

The best HR data is clean and structured data. You wouldn\u2019t believe how many times we\u2019ve entered the data-wrangling portion of an HR BI (that\u2019s \u201cbusiness intelligence\u201d) project and had to explain to a company that half (or more) of their data was useless for their needs. Not to mention the work that goes into making data ready for implementing into an HR dashboard. Eighty percent of the time, you\u2019re manually tagging data with more metadata to make it useable at all.<\/p>\n

Wrangling big data in HR is a huge task, to be sure. But trust us when we say it\u2019s worth it. Because after that data is clean and enriched, you can feed a crazy amount of it into an HR business intelligence project. The great thing about BI is that it\u2019s incredibly unlikely, arguably impossible, to overload it if the data and inputs are structured correctly.<\/p>\n

Even clean data, however, isn\u2019t the end of your optimization journey.<\/p>\n

The right HR key performance indicators will do the big data work for you<\/strong><\/h2>\n

KPIs are an integral part of any HR business intelligence project.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve taken the time to read our latest articles on this topic, <\/strong>you\u2019ll know that KPIs are not all equally important. In fact, when it comes to using big data in HR to create a business intelligence dashboard, not all KPIs are going to give you what you want. The success of a project often comes down to your ability to choose the right<\/em> KPIs for your needs.<\/p>\n

Good news: OpsDog can be your secret weapon. The following two examples come from real experiences we\u2019ve had creating HR business intelligence reports. Of course, we\u2019ve scrubbed names for client privacy in this blog. Just know, you can get your own custom HR dashboard, too. Just ask<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A note: This project focused on some of the more traditional data available to an HR department. However, just like our custom services suggests, your own project could vary depending on your needs. With the amount of data your HR department has access to, it really comes down to your individual business.<\/p>\n

With that said, let\u2019s look at some of the possibilities in HR business intelligence.<\/p>\n

Examples of human resources KPIs for HR business intelligence<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Big

Using HR business intelligence, we can create efficient visualizations of big data in HR.<\/p><\/div>\n

Let\u2019s get one thing out of the way. \u201cTime to fill\u201d does not mean \u201ctime to hire.\u201d The first KPI measures the time between making a job opening public and having a job offer accepted. \u201cTime to hire,\u201d on the other hand, focuses more on the time between an approved candidate first contacting you and their hire.<\/p>\n

Seems like a small difference, right? Nope.<\/p>\n

You see, \u201ctime to fill\u201d as an HR KPI is a measure of how long the entire filling process <\/em>takes. \u201cTime to hire,\u201d by contrast, focuses on how fast your department moves in on the right candidate once they\u2019re found.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re probably asking yourself, \u201cSo what does that mean for HR business intelligence?\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve seen it many times: Companies eager to grow, but underestimating the length of time the hiring process will take. Or, inadvertently sabotaging themselves with ineffective use of job-posting channels, cumbersome recruiting processes, and recruiters that aren\u2019t producing the results they want. When used in a larger HR business intelligence dashboard, this KPI will help you measure the effectiveness of your HR department\u2019s recruiting measures. Tracking this KPI on an ongoing basis visually helps you review recruiting trends over time.<\/p>\n

When you use big data in HR to create a business intelligence dashboard, though, you get some additional perks. Need an example? Look at the picture above. See the section called \u201cAverage Time to Fill Drill-Drown?\u201d That\u2019s one of those perks we just mentioned. With an HR dashboard, you can use sections like that to answer some common questions: How different is the time to fill time-lapse between individual employees? What\u2019s the difference between my target time and actual time?<\/p>\n

\"Cost

Historical trends offer their own keen insight in HR business intelligence.<\/p><\/div>\n

Sometimes you just need to be straightforward. That\u2019s where a KPI like \u201ccost-per-new-hire\u201d comes in. Basically, you\u2019re measuring the cost of the recruiting-and-hiring process, divided by the number of filled positions during the same period of time. (Of course, you knew that.)<\/p>\n

Why are we including this KPI as an example? Precisely because of its straightforward nature. Need a relatively simple way to measure the effectiveness of your HR department? This might be it.<\/p>\n

This HR dashboard sample has all the hits. Look at the line graph. See how we can drill down on trends as specific as a day-to-day basis? And although this particular example doesn\u2019t show it, OpsDog also gives you the power to kick-start predictive analytics\u2014and see trends into the future. It\u2019s just a question of letting us know what you want and working with us to identify the right data to wrangle.<\/p>\n

What are the benefits of including \u201ccost-per-new-hire\u201d in an HR business intelligence project? It helps measure the efficiency of your recruiting practices. Consider:<\/p>\n