How HR Analytics Can Help HR Lead Change
I just read a very informative article by Human Resources IQ
contributor Brad Powers, a consultant and researcher in process innovation,
addressing why HR does not often lead change to improve their organization’s
processes. At the end of the article, he cites two causes responsible for the
difficulty of HR leading change: 1) HR is often viewed by the CEO and executive
team as a supporting role instead of a partner, who can offer the organization advice
and counsel, 2) HR hires HR experience, who are accustomed to being viewed in a
support role and will be less credible and comfortable engaging in operational
advice.
I agree with both of these causes, but would propose a third
cause: a lack of reporting on employee-related issues leaves HR
with little evidence to support recommendations for process changes. In a
previous blog post, HR Metrics & Thinking Like the CEO, Dovetail’s CEO
Stephen Lynn points out that HR departments are still struggling with what to measure
and how it impacts the organization. Once HR organizations figure this out,
they need an efficient way to report those metrics and make recommendations
based on them.
So how do you begin tracking HR metrics?
I would recommend first having a conversation with your CEO
or executive team to determine what metrics they would like to see from the HR
department. Then, take a look at your HR department’s processes to determine if
you have the information available to report on those metrics.
Most prospects we speak with are primarily using email and
face-to-face meetings for handling employee grievances, questions and requests
and cite the inability to track and report on employee-related issues as one of
their main reasons for looking to purchase an HR Case Management platform. For
example, in a conversation I had recently with Dovetail customer DAI, Jeanne
Haught, Director of HR Systems and Operations, said, “The main driver behind
purchasing Dovetail Support Suite for HR was the reporting functionality. We
needed a solution that would provide us with the analytics necessary to report
on HR-specific data so we could then use that data to improve our overall
processes.”
HR organizations like DAI can use these analytics to help lead change within their company. Making
a change is much more difficult and often more costly than remaining status quo. Using metrics to back up your recommendations for change can help you get the
budget and resources necessary to make them and show how they impact the
overall organization.
