BIG DATA AND HR: WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF THIS RELATIONSHIP?

High Technology advancements have generated an enormous amount of information, with which we live daily. This data can be used to improve the productivity of companies in various sectors. This is also seen with the incorporation of Big Data with HR, since analyzing corporate numbers and employee profiles can lead to higher profit margins and greater results. In this post, we explain a little better the relationship between the two and how Big Data can help your organization consistently.

THE MEANING OF BIG DATA

Big Data can be defined as the largest amount of data– both structured and unstructured–that is generated and collected over the Internet. Although it is viewed as a difficult subject to understand, it is a reality that can be observed in our daily lives and is frequently used to optimize various processes of corporate experience. On the Internet, we provide a lot of information: personal customs, preferences, opinions, places we frequent, age, marital status, etc. But the big challenge is to understand what that information means and, especially, how to use it in a productive way. Companies can use this date to their advantage by keeping track of their employees’ productivity ratios. This data can be instrumental to produce the best possible use of human capital, paving the way for achieving goals.

DATA TO BE ANALYZED WITH BIG DATA

Because the volume of information can be overwhelming, it is far more productive to delineate what data will be useful to the organization and therefore should be analyzed. Of course, this can vary depending on the industry, the workforce’s size and, especially, the company’s interest. However, it is possible to obtain a consistent analysis of the data by taking into consideration the following aspects:

• demographic data
• level of employee turnover
• sales data and average purchases (when it comes to retail)
• yield and productivity indexes
• number of more constant customer complaints
• incidence of errors
• academic history

BIG DATA AND PEOPLE ANALYTICS

A good example of using Big Data can be found in its overlap with People Analytics. This tool collects information about employees to assist in organizing teams and forming strategies to increase productivity and yield exceptional results. In addition, People Analytics can be used to improve recruitment and selection processes, which is instrumental in helping the company make better hiring decisions and lower employee turnover rates. This is just one example of how Big Data can be leveraged within the corporate environment in order to improve its processes.

ADVANTAGES OF USING BIG DATA IN HR

IDENTIFICATION OF TALENTS

Big Data can be utilized to partake a better analysis of professionals available in the current job market and single out those who would best meet the demands of the company, resulting in better active recruitment. The company can scan applicants’ resumes and select the ones that offer the desired skills, instead of publicizing the job and selecting only from the pool of those current applicants. This opens up a much wider range of options and makes it simpler to find ideal candidates.

HIRING MORE ALIGNED TO THE COMPANY

With the collection and mining of data, the company is able to make decisions based on concrete information, which leads to more streamlines achievement of objectives. One of the great advantages can be found in understanding what the ideal employee profile is by not only taking into account the positions’ technical demands, but also the individuals’ cultural fit. With this, hiring is more consistent with corporate needs and professional expectations, leading to higher retention rates.

MORE COMPLETE ACCOMPANIMENTS

Before, the analysis of company results was limited to one department. With Big Data, it is possible to relate information from various sectors and understand the impact of decisions in a much broader sense, also helping understand how the different facets of the organization are interrelated. In this way, it is possible to make more conscious decisions, knowing the impact they will have on the overall company and also on smaller, individual groups.

TROUBLESHOOTING

With Big Data, errors in HR practices are identified with more agility, allowing for a quicker fix than before. Thanks to the speed of change in today’s world, this is an extremely important resource, which ultimately ends up lowering overall operating costs.

HIGHER RETENTION

The decrease of turnover rates in a company is not only caused by the stronger hiring practices. With Big Data, the company can also understand the behavior of its employees, their professional expectations, ambitions and frustrations. With this information, it is possible to create a more favorable organizational climate, foster an atmosphere that meets the specific needs of employees, and offers benefits that truly have a correlation with the employee’s professional lives. These attitudes increase satisfaction and enable much higher retention rates, directly impacting the upward development of the organization.

BEST TRAININGS

The effectiveness of training initiatives is often questioned because they do not yield concrete results. To address these demands, it is imperative that training initiatives also be accompanied by careful planning, solidifying what goals should be achieved and the skills that should be developed to do so. Only with this information can you understand the correct content to be taught and how that professional return should be measured. Big Data can be successfully applied for this purpose, indicating not only current productivity, but also the skills of the employees and the specific points that can be improved upon. In addition, these tools should be used to collect information after training, helping to calculate the training’s effectiveness and retention rate.

By knowing the relationship between Big Data and HR, and what its advantages are, you will certainly have more perspective in order to propose this practice within the company and stimulate a change the data collection approach. The integration between Big Data and HR can not only generate much more efficient people management, but also reduce company costs and pave the way for consistent and profitable growth.

To get deeper into the subject, be sure to check out the post we’ve prepared on Big Data and People Analytics and better understand the connection between these two concepts!