Redefining HR

What does a career in People Analytics involve? What are the different roles and opportunities available?

It has become imperative to support and identify the value and potential of employees to achieve sustainable business growth.

From being an auxiliary wing of any organisation to a strategic partner, the Human Resources (HR) department of an organisation has come a long way. This was largely due to the application of People Analytics in all operations. An oft-cited example is how Nestlé’s HR team used methods and techniques of People Analytics and Digital HR to help its leaders and managers examine gender pay gaps and develop better inclusive policies.

In recent times, it has become imperative to support and identify the value and potential of employees to achieve sustainable business growth. According to LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends survey, 73% of HR leaders said that integrating People Analytics would be an important focus for their businesses in the next five years. Some of the most in-demand roles in this section are:

HR Analysts: Collect, compile, and analyse data and statistics. Employee-relevant activities like managing personnel inventories, talent acquisition, management, and operational improvement are a few of the many key aspects of this role. They are also extremely pivotal in providing appropriate recommendations for recruitment and workforce planning.

Global People Analytics Specialists: Are in charge of collecting, analysing, and maintaining employee engagement data. They also play an important role in conducting employee surveys as well as upward feedback. The role includes monitoring and auditing human capital data to ensure integrity and security in an organisation. They must also help in local office inquiries and assist in establishing collaborative relationships with IT, data providers, and clients in local offices.

Human Resource Information System Specialists: Are responsible for the implementation, support, and maintenance of the HR information management system. They act as an advisory to the management for any system requirements and resources. Their primary responsibilities include providing technical support and day-to-day responsibilities involve assistance in maintenance, troubleshooting, and design of HRIS and other HR applications and systems; securing data integrity, maintaining regular reports of employee record data, and analysing data flows.

Getting started

An effective and promising way for a successful career in People Analytics would be to take up a certification programme. Contrary to earlier times, HR professionals now need to be equipped with the knowledge of emerging technologies, be able to employ SaaS when necessary along with being able to apply analytics to derive definite conclusions.

Even before the inclusion of analytics in this, HR was a crucial part of every organisation. The advent of People Analytics converged the job with the company growth, along with providing it with a tool for a scientific approach towards employee growth, retention, and satisfaction.

The writer is COO and Co-founder, Jigsaw Academy.