A Quick Guide to Defining Value in HR Data

In today's data-driven business environment, the ability to harness and interpret HR analytics and data has become a critical asset for organizations striving to enhance their workforce management and strategic planning. By understanding and leveraging the true value of their HR data, businesses can not only streamline their operations but also gain a competitive edge in attracting, retaining, and developing top talent. Read on to learn more! 

What is HR Data and Analytics?

HR data and analytics refer to the ways that human resource departments record, measure, and evaluate the real information involved in their organization’s operation in order to improve best practices. In short, these are the numbers that help company leadership make decisions about how to help employees succeed, how to improve employee retention, where they may be making mistakes in the hiring process, and so on.  

Generally, HR departments utilize software and other tactics that capture employee data and metrics over time, which are then converted into raw numbers and useful analytics that can help them compare different aspects of their business performance. 

How Can HR Departments Get Value from Their Data?

The idea of “HR metrics” may seem a bit abstract on first blush – what kind of data points are involved in a people-oriented department like human resources? And what kind of numbers can actually help improve the company’s performance? Let’s dive further into these metrics below. 

Voluntary and Involuntary Turnover Rates

One important metric for HR departments to track is their voluntary and involuntary employee turnover rates. These are stats that measure the rate at which employees voluntarily leave (as in quitting or leaving the company themselves) and the rate at which employees involuntarily leave (as in being fired or laid off). These numbers can give HR departments some major insight into the company’s performance.

Voluntary turnover rates indicate how well the company retains employees, which can point to other aspects of the organization’s performance, like company culture, employee satisfaction, and so on. Involuntary turnover rates indicate how well the company can select the right people in the hiring process, or how they might clarify expectations to help a new employee succeed.  

Revenue Per Employee

Revenue per employee can be an incredibly useful metric for measuring a business’s overall effectiveness at generating revenue. This metric is calculated by dividing revenue by the number of employees - the resulting number can provide insight into whether your company can “justify” the number of people on your team and whether you can afford to bring in more talent.  

Offer Acceptance Rate

Offer acceptance rate is a key metric to measure how your HR functions, as it can help the team figure out where they’re failing and where they’re succeeding at getting prospective employees to join the team. Low offer acceptance rates can indicate that your hiring team is running into issues – maybe something about their process reaches disinterested candidates, maybe they’re making repeated missteps somewhere between initial applications and sending out offers, or maybe other companies are putting out particularly competitive offers to talent.

Similarly, high acceptance rates let you know that your HR leaders are either doing an excellent job selling your company to prospective employees, they’re adept at reaching interested applicants, or both! 

"Time to Fill"

Another hiring metric HR teams like to use is the “time to fill,” which is a measure of the time it takes your company to fill an open position. This talent management stat can help you see whether your hiring team is good at finding, recruiting, and hiring employees in a timely manner. While offer acceptance rates give hiring teams an idea about how well their hiring team is doing in the latter half of the hiring process, time to fill gives you a snapshot of the entire hiring timeline.  

Retention Rate

Retention rates measure the number of employees who choose to stay employed within a given time frame. Like turnover rates, this metric can be great for diagnosing potential problems in your company’s culture, employee engagement, management structure, or simply in the candidates you choose for the company. High retention is always a good sign that you’re doing something right and that your employees are generally satisfied.  

HR Professionals Should Always Seek Improvement

Any HR professional should always be looking to improve their own understanding of their company and their "people analytics”. They are responsible for keeping the team afloat and keeping management up-to-date with real reports on team members’ performances! HR departments that are disinterested in growth or improvement can even stagnate the rest of the company, keeping employees and managers from collaborating as effectively as they can to solve problems within the company! 

Boosting Performance and Adapting to Employee Needs

Certain HR activities can do a great deal to help boost employee performance and business outcomes alike. HR teams are uniquely positioned to notice issues within the company and help management find helpful solutions that can take the team from lost and confused to high-performing! Similarly, HR departments are better able to notice potential issues even before they become problematic by watching for patterns and trends.  

Workforce analytics, recorded by data software that is intuitive and easy to use, can help HR professionals do just that. Rather than simply relying on gut feelings about what might or might not work for your team, you can refer to the numbers that show you where the problems lie, what’s been done in the past that has or hasn’t worked, and what you can do about it moving forward! 

What Makes Horizon a Great HR Partner for Businesses?

Horizon is proud to be an excellent partner for businesses all over the U.S., regardless of the industry niche they work in! Our team can help with a number of professional needs, including HR processes, payroll, and more. Reach out today for more information! 

Professional Solutions for HR Processes, Compliance, and More

For over two decades, Horizon has brought excellent solutions for HR processes to companies across the country. We deeply understand the integral functions that HR departments offer to businesses, and we have adapted our professional solutions to be the best support your HR team can have as they try to boost employee performance and keep your business functioning in tip-top shape.  

Trusted by Companies of All Kinds for Over Two Decades

As stated above, our payroll and HR services have been trusted by companies from a number of different industries for many years -  check out a list of industries and clients who can attest to our dedication and professionalism! 

Services for Payroll, Onboarding, Time Tracking, and More

We offer a number of services for HR teams, including easy payroll solutions that take the tedious work out of paying employees, simple onboarding solutions that make the post-hiring process a breeze, time tracking software that is intuitive, even for businesses with more complicated clock-in procedures, and much, much more. Whatever your HR need is, chances are we have something that may be able to assist you and your team! 

Contact Us Today for More Information

Interested in working with us? Contact us today for more information about the professional solutions we offer and the services that might work best for your company’s needs.