Data Analytics And Its Role In Human Resources

Introduction – What is HR Data Analytics?

Organizations are sitting on a goldmine of data. This data can be used to improve a variety of business functions, including human resources (HR). HR data analytics is the process of using data to improve HR decision-making.

Through HR analytics, organizations can identify trends in employee behavior, performance, and retention. Additionally, HR analytics can be used to predict future needs and trends. By using data to improve decision-making, organizations can create a more strategic and efficient HR function.

So, in this guide, we’ll be discussing HR Analytics, including the field’s history, current developments, and what it can mean for your business.

What are the Benefits of HR Data Analytics?

There are many benefits that come with utilizing workforce analytics. Perhaps the most important benefit is that it can help organizations save money. For example, by using data to identify trends in employee behavior, organizations can prevent or resolve issues before they become costly problems. Additionally, data can be used to develop more targeted and effective training programs. This can lead to improved employee performance and reduced turnover.

Additionally, workforce analytics can help organizations improve their customer service. By understanding employee behavior, organizations can develop strategies for improving the customer experience. Additionally, data can be used to identify potential areas of improvement in the customer experience.

Finally, workforce analytics can help organizations make better decisions about their workforce. HR metrics can be used to identify which employees are most likely to succeed in certain roles. Additionally, data can be used to understand how different types of employees contribute to the organization. This information can help hr professionals to make decisions about hiring, promotions, and transfers.

What are the Challenges of HR Data Analytics?

Despite the many benefits of HR analytics, there are also some challenges that come with utilizing this technique. One of the biggest challenges is collecting the data. In order to utilize data effectively, organizations need to have complete and accurate data sets. This can be difficult to achieve, especially if data is spread across different departments or locations. Additionally, data sets can be incomplete if employees do not correctly input their information.

Another challenge that comes with HR metrics is analyzing the data. Even if organizations have complete and accurate data sets, they still need to be able to understand what the data means. This can be a challenge for organizations that do not have experience with data analytics. Additionally, analyzing data can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. Employing a data science team in your organization is a hugely effective investment, and even engaging a data science consultant or firm can reap huge advantages for your organization.

Finally, one of the biggest challenges that come with HR data analytics is making decisions based on the data. It can be difficult for organizations to trust data when making decisions about people. Additionally, data can be misinterpreted, which can lead to poor decision-making.

Utilizing HR Data Analytics In Your Organization

Despite the challenges that come with talent analytics and HR management, the benefits of this technique far outweigh the challenges. By utilizing data, organizations can improve their HR functions in a variety of ways. Additionally, data can help organizations save money and improve their customer service. When used correctly, HR data analytics is a powerful tool that can help organizations make better decisions about their workforce

According to Gartner, HR analytics (also known as people analytics) is…

“…The collection and application of talent data to improve critical talent and business outcomes. HR analytics leaders enable HR leaders to develop data-driven insights to inform talent decisions, improve workforce processes and promote positive employee experience.”

As a business owner, HR analytics is vital to being able to direct and optimize your business operations. Without employees, a business does not exist. Only by understanding your workforce can you understand how to best utilize your talent effectively, improving productivity.

A Brief History of HR Data Analysis

David Green, author of Excellence In People Analytics, breaks the history of HR analytics into 5 ages:

The Age of Discovery

This age started in 1911, when Frederick Taylor’s The Principles of Scientific Management became a foundational document in management practice. Taylor introduced the idea of optimizing business processes by measuring all aspects of employee activity. During this era measuring personnel impacts on production in a mass indsutralization scenario was the focus of research in this field. Human Resources was largely an administrative function at this time.

The Age of Realization

This era in HR data analytics starts in 2008. With the advent of the Internet and the ability of large organizations to gather large amounts of data quickly, an interest developed in developing top to bottom data analysis of all aspects of organizations. This is where “big data” first debuts, and the ability to correlate large data sets enabled organizations to understand their labor usage patterns for the first time. It also enabled companies to understand factors such as work-life balance and workplace satisfaction and to correlate these factors to profit sales, and productivity metrics.

The Age of Innovation

This period runs from 2015 to 2020. In this era, organizations devise models to fully understand the data realized during the age of realization. This is where we first see HR data analytics arise as a field separate from HR administration functions and how people analytics can add monetary value to the business mission of the organization. A great example of this is Google’s ‘Project Oxygen’, an internal effort at Google where HR policies were analyzed for the direct dollar value they would add to the bottom line. In this era, a proliferation of models and frameworks for people analytics are tested and refined.

The Age of Value

This era ranges from 2020 to 2025. In this current age of people analytics, the field steps up into its leading position. In the advent of the 2020s, HR data analytics is called upon analyze the bottom-line effects of COVID 19 infection, remote work, and employee well-being.

The Age of Excellence

This is the future of people analytics. A recent Accenture study estimates that there is a value of $3.1 BN to be realized by investing in people analytics practice and technology, due to enhancing the quality of life for employees and enabling work to take place in a more rational and effective manner for everyone. Employee happiness adds to the bottom line.

Why HR data analytics is important for your organization

In order to keep a business afloat, it is essential to have HR data analytics. The reason being is that this type of analytics allows businesses to see where they need to allocate their resources in order to be successful. Not only does it help with analyzing the workforce, but HR data analytics can also help save on company costs.

How HR data analytics are used today

HR data analytics are used for a variety of reasons. The most common uses are:

To help identify and assess workforce risks

An example of workforce risks is labor expenditure on low-margin products, as well as operations that challenge worker morale. This information can help retool business processes so that low-margin processes can be made more profitable by increasing labor efficiency. An example of this can be retooling how a sales team functions, switching from older sales models to modern sales approaches, such as account-based marketing.

To help make better decisions about where to allocate resources

This isn’t just always about trying to cut labor costs. HR data can reveal trends as to what initiatives and teams are showing promise and need investment. It can also show where weaknesses exist in an organization’s talent pool and where hiring should be enhanced, as a measure versus a return on investment basis.

To help improve communication and collaboration between employees

Employee collaboration can help de-silo labor functions and create opportunities to reduce costs, create new products, and flatten the management structure. This also helps employees become more engaged and feel invested in their work.

To help create a more effective and efficient workforce

This is one of the primary drivers for the use of HR data analytics. Like everything in business, increasing ROI on labor expenditures and human resources expenses means greater bottom-line profit.

To help reduce company costs

A corollary to the preceding point, expense reduction helps everyone in the organization for obvious reasons. Specifically, the ability to pinpoint cost savings in an organization can help preserve jobs. By gaining a better picture of how people behave in an organization, employee value can be enhanced and the organization as a whole becomes more competitive and profitable.

How HR Data Analytics Works

Gathering Your HR Data

The first step to using HR data analytics is gathering all of your HR data. This data can come from a variety of sources, including:

-Time and attendance records

This should include labor hours spent on freelancers and consultants and anyone who works with your companies in other capacities, such as volunteers. Anyone who contributes labor to your organization should be counted and their behavior measured.

-Employee performance reviews

An obviously vital metric. Employee performance reviews can be a direct snapshot of the company’s culture. HR data is not just simply numerical data that can appear on a graph, but also the written reports that are submitted in reviews. Keywords that appear often in reviews can be tracked and subject to data analysis.

-Hiring and termination records

Another vital metric. Close attention will need to be paid to exit interviews and reporting created so as to identify why employees are moving on. Understanding why employees quit or need to be terminated can point to a money-wasting weakness in the organization. It costs money when employees aren’t retained, and why they do are must be terminated is a vital data point.

-Employee surveys

Hearing directly from your own employees is yet another critical way of gaining insights into how your company runs. Contrary to some views, employees generally want to succeed and develop within the organization. Employee insights can reveal new opportunities for product development, client service, or opportunities to eliminate unnecessary expenses. A business that seriously listens to employees has a powerful tool at its disposal.

All of this data should be present in your HR data analytics platform. Working with tools like Tableau, this data should be handed over to your data science team or consultant for analysis. From here, once you identify trends, you can start making plans. We talk more about who should be on your HR data analysis team, below.

Who In Your Organization Should Provide HR data analytics?

Ideally, the HR data analytics team should be composed of individuals with a mix of skills, including:

-Data analysts

Data scientists are essential in tracking long-term trends in your HR data and seeing developments and patterns that might otherwise not be visible.

-HR professionals

These professionals deal with your workforce every day and have an intimate understanding of the culture of the organization. Their insights will be absolutely necessary for analyzing your people trends.

-Business analysts

Business analysts are necessary to match your business’s processes with your current HR trends. For example, a business analyst can see that an upsurge in requests to work from home may correspond with opportunities to reduce real estate exposure in your organization, realizing cost savings from facility overhead while increasing employee satisfaction with work-at-home arrangements.

-Information technology specialists

Your IT staff is essential in implementing your IT stack, including various HR systems, and in gathering HR data. They will also be vital in helping you enact policies that you create based on your people analytics data, working with the business analysis team to modify the IT stack so that better HR data gathering and functionality is enabled.

But what if I don’t have an in-house people analytics team?

If your organization does not have the resources to create a dedicated HR data analytics team, you can still use HR data analytics to improve your business. You can do this by working with an external consultant or by using self-service HR data analytics tools. Quentelle has a wide suite of tools and expertise to help get you started.

What trends in your HR data can show you

There are a number of different trends that your HR data can show you. Some of the most common trends include:

-Changes in employee turnover rates

Turnover, training, and onboarding are huge headaches for many organizations, and an important HR metric is retention. Whether or not turnover is accelerating or decelerating, and how it compares with competitor organizations, is an important metric.

-Changes in the types of employees being hired

If your organization makes use of work opportunity tax credits, this is a vitally important number. Hiring employees from various WOTC categories can have a huge impact on a company’s taxes, and the benefits of WOTC deductions are not to be overlooked.

-Changes in employee productivity levels

Matching employee productivity levels with revenue metrics can help increase profits while adjusting internal procedures so as to reduce employee stress, and increase the quality of goods and services delivered to customers.

-Changes in the way employees are using company resources

This can be largely innocuous. Business strategists can make great use of this data to change procedures so that there’s less waste and make more efficient use of time. This can make employee life easier, as this can eliminate busy work and enable employees to focus on quality and customer satisfaction.

What benefits can HR data analytics provide?

Visibility is vital in management. A great HR workforce analytics platform can provide you with visibility and insights that can help you increase your bottom line. Below we discuss benefits that can help you in the day-to-day running of your organization.

There are a number of benefits that HR analytics metrics can provide, including:

-Improved decision making

Workforce analytics can be the bird in the coal mine, and help you avoid costly mistakes or find new opportunities for your company to grow and profit by identifying various trends.

-Improved workforce planning

This not only includes traditional labor allocation but also tracking the long-term development of members of your organization. This includes training, worker support via ERP programs, employee tuition and training programs, and other incentives to challenge the growing problem of increasing labor costs due to workforce competition. If your organization can offer more to talent while keeping control of costs, your organization will benefit in the long term.

-Improved resource allocation

This includes assigning employees to projects and maintaining staffing levels, and working to make employees’ jobs easier in challenging positions, while also making sure that areas and projects get the talent support they need. HR metrics are vital for project planning and budget projections.

-Improved cost savings

Finding opportunities to lower costs while maintaining employee work satisfaction and organizational profitability is the road to business success.

-Improved compliance with regulations

The entire space of WOTC work credit and unemployment insurance claims is a case for data analytics platforms. Investment in maintaining HR compliance reduces compliance risk and lowers costs.

The future of HR data analytics

The future of workforce analytics is very bright. With the continued advancement of technology, HR analytics will enable company leadership to make better decisions and tie workplace satisfaction to bottom-line profitability. This is great for company executives, investors, employees, and business partners.

HR analytics enables organizations to:

To help make better hiring decisions
To help improve employee retention rates
To help create more effective training programs
To help analyze the impact of changes in HR policies on the workforce

This data can be used with data from other aspects of the organization to capture opportunities, spot problems, and respond in an agile way to the challenges of the marketplace.

These are some current trends that business leaders should be aware of in the coming years:

The use of machine learning to automate HR analytics

This is a huge development that will change the way businesses operate. Machine learning can help identify talent, assess employee engagement, and predict turnover. This technology is still in its early stages, but it has great potential to revolutionize how businesses manage their human resources. Machine learning and data analytics for hr are essential sides of the same practice.

A machine learning strategy needs to be devised for HR data and management of employees throughout their journey through your organization, from initial recruitment to separation or retirement. Much of this data gets lost in traditional models of HR management, but a robust machine learning-based strategy can capture vital data that can help your organization save money and time. Machine learning strategies can help integrate your HR data with other data in your organization and help you capitalize on not only HR trends but other developments in both your organization and in the greater marketplace. Data is integrated and interrelated.

Development of predictive analytics for use in HR data

This is another area where machine learning can be used to great effect. Predictive analytics can help identify which employees are at risk of leaving the company, as well as which employees are most likely to be successful in their roles. This information can be used to improve retention rates and save on recruiting costs. This is also a great aid in budget planning and in crafting medium to long-term strategies for upcoming projects. For example, if a particularly large scale IT initiative may need hundreds of new workers, then the use of predictive HR data can help to reduce labor and onboarding costs

The use of social media data in HR analytics

Social media data can be used to assess an employee’s engagement with their work, as well as their satisfaction with their employer. This information can be used to improve the workplace and make it more attractive to potential employees. This goes for both internal and external social media analytics. Internal data is derived from tools such as slack and the conversations that occur across project management platforms, while external social media information is determined from conversations the company may have via platforms such as Facebook and Twitter with prospective candidates. Both can be subject to extensive keyword and text analysis and tied into the larger analytics schema used by data scientists within the organization.

Language Analytics in HR data

The use of chatbots and language analytics is already happening – the same vendors that offer the website chatbots we are familiar with also offer packages that are used with pre-existing HR service delivery. This aspect of language analytics can reveal trends and concerns among your talent base besides the obvious, and give your company’s leadership a heads up in regards to trends among employees.

Human capital management – Bringing It All Together

The ultimate goal of HR data analytics is to improve human capital management.

This can be done in a number of ways, including:

Assessing the impact of changes in HR policies on the workforce

This is vital since many HR initiatives can represent huge investments in time, money, and other resources. Being able to measure the impacts of programs is vital to saving time and money on HR program investments.

Improving the effectiveness of training programs

Talent development is a vital part of talent retention. Using HR data analytics to measure the impact of internal and vendor-driven training programs is essential to long-term corporate talent development strategy. A firm can only deliver what its labor force is capable of.

Reducing turnover and improving retention rates

As discussed before, onboarding is a huge cost impact. Longer retention means lower labor costs, better service and delivery of products to customers and a better corporate culture.

Improving the quality of hires

The impact of hire quality can’t be overstated. Predictive analytics can be used to to seek out both green and red lights for candidates and make the hiring process faster and easier for both sides. Instead of gut feelings, hiring managers can work in tandem with HR to identify outstanding candidates that match the profiles of prior successful talent.

These are just some of the benefits that comprehensive HR data analytics can bring to a firm. In the long run, a strong HR data analytics segment in your firm’s technology stack will save your company time and money.

Your HR Data Analytics Platform

HR data analytics platform integration with your current technology stack

In order to get the most out of your HR data analytics, it is important to integrate it with your current technology stack. This will allow you to take advantage of all the features and benefits that your HR data analytics platform has to offer.

Some of the most common ways to integrate your HR data analytics platform include:

-Using an API

APIs are application programming interfaces and are a way for applications to talk to each other. Most leading HR data analytics platforms have API options that let these platforms talk to other systems in the business stack, such as finance

-Using a webhook

A type of API that is event-driven. For example, your HR system can send notifications for onboarding and preparation for a new employee to finance and operational systems to establish user accounts when the right kind of webhook is activated within your HR platform.

-Installing a plugin

Many sales and advertising platforms have cross-function abilities that are represented by plugins. Plugins are modules that can expand functionality within your HR technology stack. For example, your HR platform provider may have plugins that talk directly to your finance system when you onboard a WOTC qualifying employee.

No matter how you choose to integrate your HR data analytics platform, doing so will allow you to get the most out of your investment and improve your business.

What Features Are Right For Your Organization

There are a number of different features that you should look for when choosing an HR data analytics platform. Some of the most important features include:

-Data visualization

These modules are essential to produce reports that are fit for presentation to senior leadership or various partners that can parse HR trends in a visual manner, making the data easier to understand.

-Reporting

Working hand in hand with data visualization, reporting functionality, and the ability to build custom reports is essential to understanding HR data trends.

-Dashboards

Custom dashboards are an essential feature for ad hoc reporting and day-to-day functions of all areas that work with HR data.

-Workflow management

An issue of integration with project management and related systems, use of webhooks, and other API calls can open up projects that help workers do their job better. For example, if the HR system sends information to the HR data analytics platform. the HR data platform can in turn trigger processes for onboarding, offboarding, setting up of accounts for things like health insurance or travel expenses, and so on. The HR data analytics platform can be a great aid in workplace automation, which can drive down costs.

-API integration

Your platform should be compatible via API integrations with HR, finance, project management, and other systems. HR touches all aspects of a business, and an HR data management platform shouldn’t be restricted to just talking to other human resources platforms.

-Data security

HR data analytics is just as vulnerable to bad actors and fraud as any other system or platform in a business. An HR data analytics platform should be able to integrate easily into the cybersecurity strategy of the firm. Systems that contain employment data are prime targets for criminals and so should have robust security.

-Predictive analytics

The ability to determine which employees fail or succeed and why they do so can save your organization money by reducing turnover costs, labor expenses, and benefits expenditures. Helping set up employees for success means greater success for your organization

-Talent management

Talent management is an ongoing process in organizations. Your company wants to get as much value from its talent as possible. The ability to place employees where they can be the most productive increases overall talent ROI.

Get Your HR Data Analytics Questions Answered

An HR data analytics platform can help you capture tax credits, verify employment trends, and help you plan for the future. These are just a few of the ways that a HR data analytics platform can help your business.

This is a big conversation. Quentelle has been helping companies with HR technology for years. Would you like to learn more? Contact us and we’ll be happy to help you learn how you can leverage the power of HR data analytics for your organization.

Woman looking at visual candidates on her projected screen

What to Look For in Your Human Resources Business Solution

Human Resources continues to be one of the most essential departments in the business world. Without it, your employees wouldn’t have access to the proper tools they need to stay successful.

This is why your HR department needs smart business solutions to keep the workforce thriving. With the right technologies, your HR can help prevent turnover and create more engagement among employees.

However, if you feel like your HR team has slipped behind technologically, take a look at some key things to look for as major solutions.

Verification of Employment Solution

One essential task HR takes on is verification of employment. This also usually involves income requests, requiring considerable organization based on the complex data involved. You need top-tier tech solutions to organize it all, plus keep all that sensitive information safe.

Many companies outsource this task to third-party companies. Not all companies do a good job, especially if not more focused on comprehensive HR technology.

Your best solution is going through VeriSafeJobs, offered through Quentelle, and bringing more superior reporting capability to your operations. The use of VeriSafeJobs lets you enjoy advanced metrics, so all employment verifications are thorough. A smart and simple user experience also helps with learning curves.

It’s also worth noting that VeriSafeJobs has unmatched client support, so your HR team gets questions answered fast. Privacy is taken seriously with FCRA compliance.

Simplify Unemployment Claims

Your HR group already knows the complexity of dealing with unemployment claims through your employees. The process was once very protracted, leading to possibly exhausted HR workers keeping up the pace. Most of this resulted from adhering to filing deadlines, creating issues when sending claims by regular mail.

Now you can simplify it by using ValeU NSN, a partnering company with Quentelle. This works by digitizing the entire unemployment claims process. Your company should be able to send these claims electronically, so you never miss deadlines.

The result of this is getting a week’s head-start on claims, so they’re filed sooner. Response times are ultimately faster as a result.

ValeU NSN is made for Fortune 100 companies, though any-sized company finds benefits using this solution. Implementation should also be simplified when you work with the right consultant.

Reduce Unemployment Tax Complications

Your HR department probably wouldn’t argue that dealing with unemployment taxes is one of the most complex tasks they’ve ever done. A considerable burden here is the overly complicated tax rules in each state, usually creating inaccurate data.

Our partnership with ValeU Group provides more accurate figures, so you never have to worry about tax penalties again. The benefit here is Vale U Group has more extensive knowledge of state tax rates, hence having a real unemployment tax expert in your corner.

Expect them to hunt vigorously for errors and provide the most accurate reports. These are real state tax experts who work as outsourced advisors.

Working with them, you’re guaranteed accurate unemployment tax information. Plus, you gain a dependable consultancy team on all other tax matters.

Simplify Your WOTC Program

Taking advantage of tax credits is no doubt a vital part of your business. A WOTC program is beneficial not only for you but to those you hire who have barriers to employment.

Otherwise known as Point-of-Hire tax credits, getting WOTC set up can take a lot of time for your HR team. Much of this is the pre-screening process, not including waiting to sign the 8850 form.

Our partnership with Walton gives you access to quality tax credit experts who can save you more than if letting HR handle it. Walton simplifies the process by sending digital questionnaires your employees fill out. Based on their answers, Walton finds ways to bring double the savings possibly.

Now you can speed up the eligibility pre-screening, plus get help with other tax credits you overlooked. Read about how our partnership with Walton saved a national grocery chain double the amount from what they initially thought.

Improve Your HR Analytics

Your HR staff likely already use analytics of some sort, but how detailed are they? Not all analytic programs are great at providing the granular information HR employees need to help other company employees. When HR doesn’t see the whole picture of what’s going on, it only frustrates those they’re trying to help.

Our HR analytics engine keeps your HR workers in the know. It all starts with tapping into big data and organizing it in the most efficient ways. You can expect to bring more optimal employee performance using a better approach to big data.

Improving this further focuses on utilizing artificial intelligence to compile all the large amounts of data coming in. AI has truly advanced tenfold from just a few years ago. Now it can help organize metrics in a truly more intelligent way. Best of all, AI scopes out business trends you probably can’t see without more help.

Rounding this out is our metrics platform is fully integrated into the HR solutions suite. This enables your HR team to access all data from one source rather than from disparate data silos. Accessing information all in one place makes for more productive HR workers rather than add to their stress.

Bring a Digital Transformation to Your HR Department

Based on the above tools, you can see that a digital transformation must keep up with business challenges in today’s times. HR duties are far more complex today than a decade ago.

Finding the right technology is the biggest hurdle. Another challenge is finding tools that integrate, so HR workers don’t have to search from multiple sources to answer critical questions.

We take technology seriously at Quentelle, where our sophisticated big data program is now renowned worldwide. Through that, we’ve incorporated AI and other emerging technologies to help advance companies to new plateaus.

Customizing is also at the center of our mission since every company’s HR department is different.

Hand working with a Cloud Computing diagram

Faster, Safer and More Efficient: The Important Benefits of Cloud-Based Business Technology Platforms

More and more businesses are switching to cloud-based software partners to better manage their HR, payroll, taxes, and other critical aspects of their corporate infrastructure. In fact, the market size for cloud-based technology platforms and universal data integration is growing at unprecedented rates, with the industry set to more than double by the year 2025.

The key factors driving this rapid transformation are the numerous benefits — for both the business and the employees — that come with implementing a cloud-based platform. Whether you’re a CHRO or CFO, understanding these critical advantages can help you to determine better when, not if, your company should make the transition.

Human Resources Management Systems For the Modern Business: What Is Cloud-Based Technology for Operations Management and Human Resources?

Over the last few decades, best practices for managing day-to-day business operations — from human resource issues like employee screening to payroll tasks like employment verification requests — have evolved considerably.

Gone are the rooms filled with boxes, the filing cabinets stuffed with employee files, and the stacks of forms that need to be filled out manually.

Yet, many companies are still using fragmented software ecosystems: One platform for unemployment tax planning. Another service for managing employee screenings. A separate tool for cybersecurity (approximately 80% of businesses have suffered a cybersecurity incident in the past 12 months, warns Security Magazine). And so on and so forth.

Cloud-based technology platforms combine all these aspects of your business into one system, creating a more holistic approach to data integration. When you transition your business operations and software to a single unified cloud-based approach, you and your staff have a single point of reference for all your essential business management tasks.

And because it lives in the cloud (i.e., a secure, protected off-site server instead of a local, physical hard drive in your office), keeping different files and data updated and secure across teams, departments and locations are effortless.

This can create several specific benefits for your organization, no matter your industry or niche.

The 5 Benefits of Cloud-Based Technology Platforms for Today’s Modern Corporations

1. Improved Efficiency

When your data is combined on the cloud, your team no longer has to shuffle through reams of paperwork, chase down the latest version of an employee file, or ask different departments what the status is on a tax document.

Instead, everything is accessible on-demand to those who need it:

Data is updated instantaneously.
Files and information are accessible anywhere and at any time.
Paperwork, such as tax documents or payroll records, can go entirely paperless for improved employee productivity.

If another employee needs to see a file or a different department is auditing something, those involved can rest assured that what they’re seeing is current and up-to-date.

This enhanced efficiency can lead to:

Improved employee morale
A reduction in costly errors
Enhanced productivity so your team can focus on more important work.
Cost savings across the board

2. Plug-and-Play Scalability

With a unified approach to data integration, apps and services can integrate directly into your cloud-based platform to meet your business’ growing needs. You can finally say goodbye to dreaded IT questions about software installations, updating a version of a specific tool, different departments using incompatible systems, etc.

Take employment verifications as one example. As your business expands, your team will steadily become inundated with more paperwork regarding employment verification.

In one Quentelle case study, a payroll director at one Fortune 500 said their staff was spending a “vast amount of time dealing with verifications each year.” With a cloud-based platform, this company was able to integrate quickly with a cloud-based employment verification provider. Within a year, the case study client saved thousands of hours of employee time.

3. Faster Innovation

Continuous software licensing and technology upgrades can be costly, yet ignoring updates can leave your business open to security threats or locked out of innovative new features.

A unified, cloud-based platform ensures upgrades and deployment of said updates can be instantaneously and conveniently rolled out across the board, helping your business better adapt to a continually changing environment.

4. Increased Security

According to Security Magazine, nearly four out of 10 C-level executives said that cybersecurity problems negatively impacted their company’s ability to attract new customers.

Local servers and drives need constant patches, updates, and maintenance to protect your team’s data and customers’ information. But it’s not just about malicious viruses or unscrupulous hackers. Security threats can even come down to human error:

A shared computer where an employee forgets to log out of something
Someone is accidentally deleting important data.
A power outage that wipes out your computers

Cloud-based computing with the proper cybersecurity best practices and protocols offer:

Constant data backups 24/7/365 security monitoring and network management support
Disaster recovery and backup
Audits and assessments to identify potential risks to your business
And more

5. Smart and Savvy HR Insights

The wisest business decisions are built off of smart, strategic business data. Yet, in traditional non-cloud environments, data lives on so many different systems that it can be challenging to decipher the right approach to a problem or situation.

The best cloud-based platforms for HR and payroll professionals offer predictive analytics using artificial intelligence. Because all the data is unified in one system, the AI can provide powerful insights to drive the boardroom’s decision-making processes. For instance, Quentelle’s cloud-based platform has built-in AI that compiles and analyzes your data to help you to spot trends and patterns to improve operational effectiveness.

Is Your Business Ready to Access These Benefits?

At Quentelle, technology and innovation are our team’s passion. Our cloud-based platform offers you a secure and convenient approach to unified data integration. Our proven solutions powered by advanced technology include:

Unemployment management claims
Tax planning
Point-of-hire tax credits
HR analytics
Cybersecurity
Employment verification
And more!

We’ve worked with everyone from small businesses to global conglomerates to transition their teams to cloud-based platforms. And we would love to work with you. To learn more about the benefits that cloud-based technology platforms can bring to your company, schedule a demo today!

Human Resource Analytics Displayed on a computer screen above mans head

Human Resources Analytics: Important Metrics to Monitor

Understanding your HR data is important, especially if you have a larger number of employees. As employees come and go, it’s easy to lose track of why employees might leave and thus what you can do to reduce turnover. It can also be easy to lose track of other key metrics, such as job details.

So, what kind of HR metrics should you be monitoring, and how do you overcome the obstacles to proper analysis?

Obstacles to HR Analysis

The largest obstacle to proper analysis of HR data is that the data itself is often piecemeal and stored and maintained in multiple places. In many cases only partial data is stored. For example, separation reasons, which can be important for monitoring turnover, might just be filed in old employee files and forgotten unless the person applies to be rehired.

Other obstacles include a lack of understanding of the right questions that need to be asked, lack of a strategic plan, and lack of a “business case” to put the effort into this kind of monitoring.

What Metrics Should You be Monitoring?

Commonly, when people start using metrics for HR, they focus on employee performance. While this is useful for individual employees and for determining who should be promoted (or in extreme cases, terminated), employee performance is far from the only key indicator and might even be less important than others.

Here are some other metrics that you should consider:

Retention.

How long do your employees stay in their positions? Is there a falling off after a certain length of time? Do you find employees are more inclined to quit at certain times of year (this could indicate a workload imbalance a bit before that time that is causing people to shop their resumes?
Turnover.

How many positions do you need to fill in any given year? Where are they? Is turnover higher in certain departments?
Separation reasons.

This ties into both, but by keeping broad categories of separation reason in your main database you can get an understanding of why you are losing employees. Is it that you aren’t giving enough opportunities for advancement beyond a certain point? Are people leaving because their commute sucks and, if so, is there anything you can do to reduce the pain, such as putting in bike sheds?
Job statistics.

Exactly what are people being paid in different positions is a key metric as it allows you to make sure you are compensating fairly. Keeping good statistics on every position in your company allows you to ensure that you are not disadvantaging certain employees, that you are competing well with other companies for talent, etc.
Headcounts.

How many people do you have in each position, and how has it changed over time? This helps you spot over- and understaffing. (Turnover can also indicate this, as people are likely to leave if they are overworked, but also if they are bored). Headcounts are also essential for compliance.

Let’s talk a bit more about how these are important.

Turnover

Your general goal as an employer should be to keep turnover down. Training and onboarding new employees is costly in both time and money. New employees are also more likely to make expensive mistakes or upset your customers.

Keeping turnover down is thus vitally important to your business. This means keeping track of when and why employees leave your company. For example, if you have a really busy month and discover that staff tend to be more likely to leave right after it, this might indicate that people are exhausted and overwhelmed. You might save money in the long run by hiring temporary employees to take on some of the load.

If you have high turnover in a specific department, this could indicate everything from a bad supervisor to working conditions that are proving to be a problem. It can also indicate that salaries are not up to industry standard. This allows you to investigate, talk to employees, and see what you can improve.

Keeping track of separation reasons can also help reduce turnover and identify issues. In some cases, a separation is due to nothing you did (perhaps the employee is moving closer to their elderly parents). But in others there is an identifiable reason, such as conflict with a supervisor or coworker, an issue with the office, or pay.

Retention

The other side of turnover is retention. Knowing how long employees typically spend in a given position can help you plan both to improve retention and to predict hiring needs.

Knowing why people leave is important, but so is knowing why they stay. Data on why an employee chooses to remain can be collected during performance reviews. This can help with hiring (by helping you choose people who fit the company culture) and with spotting those likely to be long haulers. It can also help you extend policies that are helping retention.

Some employees are always going to be a bad fit, and while the ideal is to spot them before you hire them, this does not always work. Good retention metrics can really help, though.

Job Statistics

While turnover and retention are the most important metrics to track, you also need to look at other job statistics. First of all, you need to make sure that your hiring policies don’t look like you are favoring certain demographics. You also need to make sure that the salaries you offer are appropriate and competitive (which also means tracking metrics such as the local cost of living).

Keeping detailed records of each job helps you identify traits useful in hiring, improves your training programs, and allows you to improve in areas that help you attract and retain the talent you need.

Headcounts

If you have a lot of employees, headcounts become essential. This metric tracks the number of full and part time employees you have, as well as exempt vs. non-exempt and demographics.

As with job statistics, headcounts can tell you if you are hiring an appropriately diverse workforce. They also help make sure that you don’t misclassify an employee and get into trouble under Federal labor laws.

Keeping track of all of these HR metrics is a challenge, and many companies fall short. Quentelle’s award winning platform delivers HR solutions that can help you track and analyze these vital HR metrics, among many other things. Contact us to find out more and book a demo.