It’s time for HR to move from just collecting data to driving insight that connects “the needs, interests, and capabilities of the workforce with the needs of the customer, ultimately creating more value”, writes Ben Eubanks, Chief Research Officer at Lighthouse Research and Advisory in his third UNLEASH column.

That data thing? You might be doing it wrong.

In the world of HR, one of the longstanding challenges has been adopting and utilizing data in a meaningful, high-impact manner.

So many of us in our HR careers have been told that the answer to this challenge is to measure things. When we do, then we’re told to measure more things or to measure them more often.

“You already measure turnover? Well, here are five other metrics you should start measuring right away…”

That’s no different than saying you can bake your favorite brownies if you just keep stirring them. Stir them faster. Stir them with different mixing spoons. Stir them in a different bowl.

Wrong! They’re going to bake only when you put them in the oven.

To bring this metaphor back to HR data, we’ll only have an impact when we use the data to create insights, get leadership buy-in, and tell a compelling story.

If the data you’re using don’t tell you something that aligns with one of these three areas, then it’s frankly a waste of time to collect it:

• Stop: something we should stop doing because it’s creating negative outcomes or has no ROI.
• Start: something we should begin doing because we believe it’s going to create positive outcomes.
• Continue: something we should keep doing because it’s working.

The hard part of people analytics is getting from a bunch of metrics and data points to a set of specific, decision-impacting insights.

Our team recently completed the Lighthouse Research & Advisory Data-Driven HR Study of over 1,000 employers in an attempt to understand where HR teams currently are and what they need to improve their standing in terms of a data-driven approach (ping my team if you want a deeper dive into the data).

There were some positive elements and some that were chilling to say the least. Let’s take a look at some of the big takeaways from the research and how they can help your organization take a step in the right direction with people analytics.

The 4 key components for data-driven HR success

Anyone can have a business-aligned, data-driven HR function if they have four critical elements in place.

Those four key elements:

1. Leadership
2. Insights
3. Framing
4. Technology infrastructure

Let’s examine each of these four items and look at a few practical ideas on how to make them work.  

1. The right leadership

HR teams with fully supportive leadership are 50% more likely to say they balance a people-focused and data-oriented approach.

One of the most heartbreaking questions I hear when speaking at conferences or virtual events is “What do I do if my leadership doesn’t really support or believe in HR?”

While some of you read that and think that it’s not possible, the truth is that there are HR teams struggling to add value and support the workforce without having real buy-in from leadership.

They either don’t truly see the value HR can provide beyond compliance or they don’t care. The end result is the same: a lack of interest and support.

The good news is that the disinterested leadership group represents fewer than 10% of employers, according to the research study.

About six in ten HR teams say that their leadership is fully supportive. The other 30% have leaders that are interested, and that’s where HR teams have to lean in.

See, leaders won’t be invested until they are interested.

HR teams have to capitalize on that interest in order to turn that 30% from merely interested to fully bought in.

While that might sound “hokey,” it’s the essential foundation for a trusted relationship.

When I ran an HR team, my CEO’s favorite phrase was “tell me how we can, not why we can’t.” That requirement applied to all functions, not just HR, but we do have a reputation for being blockers of decisions for a variety of reasons.

If we want leadership to support us, they have to know that we’re spending every ounce of our effort trying to streamline and align people, skills, and aspirations to the needs of the business.

That’s a foundation of trust that serves as a springboard for data conversations and usage.

Practical suggestion: Several years back an HR friend of mine told me about an audit they did with their leadership team and some key stakeholders in the business. They gave them a scorecard to rate the HR team members on things like reliability, trust, and business alignment. It was a hard pill to swallow for some of those that didn’t score highly, but it also gave them clarity on where to invest their time and effort to repair those relationships.

Pro tip: make sure that the team members understand this is meant to be a process improvement exercise, not an indictment on them as a person!

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