Humans have always wanted to know the future, especially when it comes to financial matters. While the fortunetellers of the past looked for patterns in the natural world, they often came up short, but then again they didn’t have access to big data. Until very recently, human resource departments did not use big data for analyzing potential hires, but rather the content of the applicant’s resume and how the interviewer felt. While the interview process has worked in the past, it does not objectively reflect the skills of the applicant, nor does it accurately determine whether the employee will fit in with the company’s culture or if they share similar traits of the top employees. Talent analytics is the practical application of big data for the purposes of human resources, taking into account data of past, current and potential employees to produce insight.
Truly Know the Applicant
Not everything is as straightforward as it appears, especially in hiring situations. An applicant may have gone to the right schools, possess stellar prior experience and a proven record, but they might not be a good fit for the company culture. In order to prevent problems down the road, HR departments can leverage talent analytics when conducting validity studies on potential hires, rather than just relying on the partial picture provided by a résumé and a behavioral interview. Each applicant can now be compared to data on proven successful employees, from their answers on interview questions or pre-employment assessments, background checks, résumés or even their social networks. Talent analytics even makes it possible to increase collaboration among co-workers through feedback and performance surveys. Through the prudent study of what constitutes a good employee in a particular company, the data can reveal which applicants will be successful.
Find the Perfect Fit for Today, Not Yesterday
The end-goal of talent analytics is to provide an informed, objective view of potential applicants to HR before an employee is actually hired. This is crucial in a rapidly changing economy, making it advantageous to find applicants who fit the needs of today rather than the requirements of last year. In the past, personnel needs reflected the situation of the previous month or quarter. Instead, the utilization of talent analytics can allow a company to discover applicants who make sense for the business needs of the day. For instance, if there was a need for more programmers, the HR department would compare applicants to current developers at the company to see who would fit best based on skill levels, answers to assessments and other qualifications. Additionally, talent analytics provides management with data on the efficacy of new HR tools or practices on business performance, making it clear whether a new tactic is just a buzzword or the real deal.
The Future by the Numbers
While it’s hard to predict the outcome of an election or what days next month will be rainy, it is possible to predict issues in recruiting and retention before they manifest. Actionable predictive analytics can be used to help HR extrapolate past and present personnel trends into the future. HR can then provide management with recommended actions to deal with the situation, as well as the predicted cost of each action. When management has access to both recommended actions and the costs of implementing the suggested action, they can make more informed decisions.
The actions suggested by predictive analytics aren’t random. Predictive analytics can scour the contents of employee emails, social networks, productivity data, calendars, management reviews and more for morsels of useful information. This information can be analyzed, sequenced and arranged to find patterns that might set off a red flag for management. For example, if there is a pattern of dissatisfaction among employees, actionable predictive analytics can find the cause, suggest appropriate steps to improve the situation and provide the costs of doing so.
The difference between talent analytics and the interview process is that the former is objective, while the latter is based on the subjective view of the interviewer. The same goes for adaptive predictive analytics, which takes everything into account, not just the priorities of HR. By leveraging big data in hiring and personnel management, what was once a “gut feel” can now be verified without a crystal ball.
Anil Kaul is the CEO of Absolutdata.
