It’s no secret that big data is taking a bigger role in the current workforce. According to the latest data released within the LinkedIn Global Talent Trend Report, HR professionals who have a skillset will find themselves in demand more than ever.
Human Resources Director reported on its website that the LinkedIn report indicates the number of HR professionals who have data analytics as part of their repertoire has increased by some 242% in the last five years.
Some 73% of those participating in the most recent LinkedIn study indicated that people analytics is a major priority within their current organizations. Even with such a high percentage of companies reporting that data proficiency in their companies will be required in the future, more than half are still in need of updating or upgrading their skills to meet that challenge.
Why Is Data Analytics So Important?
The LinkedIn 2020 Report indicates that data analytics allows companies to pinpoint problem areas such as high turnover. Data analytics can look at contributing factors that cause workers to leave. There several other data point that people analytics can help HR professionals and C-Suite decision-makers:
- Measuring employee performance
- Identifying worker core skills and any deficiencies
- Predicting worker or candidate success
- Strategic workforce planning
- Elimination of hiring and promotion biases
LinkedIn recommends that HR professionals who wish to add data analytics to their list of skills encourage company leaders to begin a pilot program that zeroes in on specific problems within their organization. Then start using the information to solve them.
Dr. Eric Knudsen, head of people science research at LinkedIn, told reporter Rachel Ranosa that he believes that HR professionals should use the discipline of psychology along with data analytics. “People are more complex than just analytic data appearing on a spreadsheet,” he said.
Knudsen recommends for those HR professionals who want to get started using data analytics in their organizations to tackle small problems first and then incrementally work up to larger and larger ones. He also recommends that those who want to want to learn more about the brave new world of analytics do so by learning a bit about psychology and statistics.
“Remember: data is decision support,” Dr. Knudsen said. “Bring theory into the conversation, and suddenly many things begin to make more sense.”