People Analytics in fast growing companies: Lead start-ups to data-driven HR

(A version of this article was published in Raconteur, in partnership with bob)

Mark is the CEO of a fast-growing company. He had fund-raised millions of dollars and received a lot of recognition in the press. From the outside looking in, Mark is a success story waiting to happen. Yet, he is having trouble sleeping. His company is about to release a major product, but many of his best engineers are leaving the company. He lost 24% of his R&D department in just two quarters. How did this happen? And how was he so unaware of the way his employees were feeling?

Getting to the root of employee turnover

The costs of employee attrition are high, especially when losing a high performing employee. They take with them extensive knowledge of the company, relationships within and outside the organization, specific business practices, and much more. The important questions Mark must ask himself now are: What is happening in the company that is making people want to leave,? Who can he go to for help? Is this something he should discuss with human resources?

HR and People Analytics

Unfortunately, many HR leaders have not acquired yet the tools needed to analyze their people data in the right way. They can hold conversations with their employees and try to make sense of certain trends, but in the end, they would have trouble providing Mark with evidence-based answers. This is where People Analytics is becoming increasingly important to growing companies, and particularly to HR. People Analytics expert explores, infers and communicates significant data patterns to initiate and support strategic business decisions related to people in the organization.

Common questions that people analytics can answer include: How can we find more top performers? How can we better engage our highest performing workers? Which qualities do amazing teams have? Which people are most likely to stay in the company or leave it?

Two things are happening in the domain of HR and People Analytics: First, it is being used to predict future behavior based on present data. Secondly, it is being used for the sake of both HR and other departments in the company. Gaining answers to these types of questions can save a company from significant loss.

Why many CEOs need the People Analyst?

In an increasingly competitive space for top talent, a new profession has emerged: The People Analyst. This analyst is in charge of combining all the data a company has on its people to tackle business challenges. Much of the work of the People Analyst can be supported by machines. Many HR-tech companies understand the importance of data in knowing how to manage and engage people effectively. For example, bob, an all-in-one, cloud-based HR and benefits platform, is making headway in this field. This platform consolidates all the rich real-time data of a company into one system and gives decision-makers valuable insights into their employees from this data.

What about privacy and data protection?

As more people are becoming aware of the importance of protecting their data, privacy and data protection plays an important role in People Analytics. Regulations are being put in place to offer rights over employees’ data: Employees must be informed about data usage, data transferring and period of storage. Anyone who analyses employee data will need to follow these regulations.

People Analytics can help

Had Mark hired a People Analyst who can access the right platforms and tools, he would have been able to track how his top performers feel and behave and could have taken preventative measures to stop them from leaving. If you are a company in growth mode, you know how crucial is to retain your employees. People Analytics serve as an important way for you to stay on top of everything that is happening in your company.