This week on 28^th and 29^th of March, I attended HR Analytics stream of the 5^th HRCoreLab Conference and realized that most of the delegates were really enthusiastic about HR Analytics. Besides being enthusiastic, they were also confused about what really HR Analytics is and where to start. Having witnessed this confusion, I decided to reblog my HR Analytics posts in English.

“In many businesses, CIOs and their teams are the ones wrestling with big data to solve classic HR problems, such as how to find the best candidates and which practices increase productivity. If HR is to set the agenda on people management, it must either staff up to handle those analyses itself or partner with people in the company who can do the work. Otherwise, the answers to fundamental HR questions will come from elsewhere in the business, and HR might as well pack it in. “

Professor Peter Capelli of Wharton Business School, strongly emphasizes the importance of HR Analytics with his above-mentioned words which appeared in the July-August 2015 issue of Harvard Business Review.

When we closely examine the HR Analytics, that can be briefly defined as creating value with HR data, through the findings of recent studies, it would be easier to understand why it is the new holy grail of HRM.

Let’s start with the HR Competencies study led by Dave Ulrich. As you all know Dave Ulrich and RBL team announce the competencies that we, HR professionals, should have with a 30,000-participant survey every five years. One of the competencies defined for the first time in the 7^th round of the study is Analytics Designer and Interpreter.

The second study is Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends of 2016. 77% of CEO’s involved in the study rate People Analytics as a key priority which holds the 7^th place in top 10 trends. Although 77% of the CEO’s rate People Analytics as a key priority, only 32% of them feel that their HR teams are ready or somewhat ready for analytics. This 45% gap indicates a significant development area for HR professionals. Considering this development area, it is not a surprise that Analytics Designer and Interpreter showed up as a new competency for us.

Finally, according to “Use of Workforce Analytics for Competitive Advantage” report of SHRM, the most critical problem awaiting us is the scarcity of talents with analytic capabilities.  Additionally, LinkedIn reports that Statistical Analysis and Data Mining are among the top skills employers are looking for in the candidates.

All of these findings show us that in order to be strategic partners who create value for businesses, we have to learn playing with numbers and supporting our decisions with statistically tested and proven results.