People analytics offers the promise of transforming how companies make decisions about their workforce. By gathering insights from employee data, organizations can make more informed choices that not only impact their bottom line but also contribute to employee satisfaction and retention. However, despite its undeniable potential, many companies remain hesitant or face barriers in implementing people analytics. Let’s discover some people analytics implementation challenges and solutions!

Why the Hesitation?

The answer is simple yet complex: the inherent challenges of dealing with data. From our interactions with prospects, we’ve discerned a pattern. Many companies either haven’t embarked on the people analytics journey or, if they have, they found it hard to deal with solutions like Visier, and OneModel, due to the high cost and complexity.

Here are some common barriers:

1. Limited Internal Resources: Not every company has a dedicated team of data scientists and HR analysts, making it challenging to start any analytics initiative.

2. Data Challenges: Multiple HR data sources, unstructured and messy data, and issues with sourcing systems can make the translation of data into actionable insights an arduous task.

3. The Technology Dilemma: A classic “Catch 22” situation exists. To secure a budget for new technology, the results it promises need to be shown. But to demonstrate these results, the technology needs to be in place.

The High Cost of Settling for “Good Enough”

There’s a misconception that basic HR reporting and analytics or DIY analytics solutions are sufficient. This mindset not only limits the scope of what’s achievable but can also be costly in the long run:

• Lack of Depth: Transactional reports might provide surface-level data, but they miss out on connecting patterns, forecasting trends, and delivering actionable insights.

• The Myth of Clean Data: Many delay analytics, waiting for perfectly clean data. However, the objective shouldn’t be pristine data but actionable insights. With pre-built analytics, not only can the data be cleaned, but its value can also be determined.

• The DIY Trap: While building an in-house solution might seem enticing, it comes with challenges. Even if a data warehouse is established, extracting meaningful information remains a challenge, often leaving teams overwhelmed with data extraction rather than interpretation.

Potential Solutions

So, how can companies overcome these barriers and truly harness the power of people analytics?

1. Leverage Expertise: Instead of stretching thin internal resources, lean on specialized solutions like Agile HR Analytics, designed with the complexities of HR data in mind.

2. Pre-Built Analytics: Rather than waiting for clean data, use analytics to identify valuable data and clean it. Pre-built analytics tools offer a dual advantage: making data usable and highlighting what’s essential.

3. Continuous Support: The journey doesn’t end with implementation. You need continuous support ensures that the data remains updated, relevant, and aligned with business goals.

In Conclusion

You’re not alone in your people analytics journey. People Analytics implementation challenges and solutions, especially those associated with data, can be daunting. But with the right partner and approach, these obstacles can be transformed into steppingstones, leading to insights that can revolutionize your HR strategy.

If any of these challenges resonate, remember: the goal isn’t just to have data, but to unlock its potential. Let’s overcome the complexities together and pave the way for informed, strategic HR decisions.