How to Use HR Data to Move Your Business Forward

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Have you tried a hundred different strategies and you simply can’t get it right? You know your business has the potential to dominate the market but your bottom line doesn’t prove it.

 

Have you considered looking at your HR department for the problem?

 

Business leaders allow faulty perspectives regarding HR to limit their business decision making and performance, such as:

  • HR can function separately from other departments
  • Old HR systems will always work
  • Other departments carry more importance than HR

 

Do you want to see how a different method could transform your company?

Why Do You Need a Different Strategy?

 

Here’s the wake up call: Your HR data could be more important than your sales figures, your business plan or your financial reporting. Chances are that HR is your largest expense each year. So why do many of us belittle this department?

 

Secondly it’s vital to see that you’ve moved out of the industrial era and the modern world requires different strategies. This applies to your HR too. Decades ago hierarchal systems worked to guarantee growth. You simply needed large amounts of product to make more money.

 

But I hope you’ve realized today’s technology and consumer driven environment require far more to maintain success. You’re contending with client opinions and a need for interaction that demands quality customer care & dynamic teams to help your business stay on par with competitors.

 

All these features relate to people. Your people. You can’t do it alone anymore. Your workforce must turn into partners that chase your vision and benefit your business.

 

How do you get this right? One powerful tool sadly neglected by many is using HR data.

 

Yes, your solution is already in your business. You just need to activate a more dynamic process.

 

Your New Keys to Success

 

These are the areas you need to invest in to become more proactive and relevant.

 

Let Tech Transform Your HR System

 

Any piece of your business that functions more effectively will have a ripple effect. So let’s get your HR department more technologically driven.

 

When you move from using manual processes you’ll save workers time. Firstly it will free up your HR team’s time so they can spend more of it on other important tasks. Secondly it will place less pressure on your other employees so they too can function better.

 

Imagine how much time you’re saving by using HR software everyone can access. One example is changing from manually written time sheets to automatic clocking such as the ones provided by Advance Systems Inc.

 

Don’t use a paper focused process requiring forms to be filled in, sent, signed and then used for data capturing. Pushing a few buttons could do the same, minimize frustration and improve accuracy.

 

So your first step should be auditing your HR processes. Use this data to determine what tech you need and how to train your team to reach optimal efficiency. This includes getting data right, receiving it on time (because it’s a less tedious process) and having more quantifiable information to work with.

 

Here’s the bonus: Now you’ll have more valuable data available to make some of the decisions we discuss below.

 

What Type of Employee Do You Need?

 

Your HR department can’t simply focus on managing your current workforce. It’s supposed to be a proactive unit that searches for ways to improve your team.

 

Improving your team means:

 

  • Hiring employees that can handle the requirements of your current activities
  • Training your current work force to meet these upcoming expectations

 

But how will you know which gaps to fill if you don’t have a proper understanding of your HR department?

 

Your starting point is sourcing information from employees’ files about:

 

  • Skills
  • Natural abilities
  • Personality traits
  • Performance history

 

Now that you know what your starting point is, create a more dynamic workforce through training.

 

What Applicant Do You Want to Attract?

 

The aspect discussed above immediately gives you clarity about what to do in upcoming interviews as well. Armed with data about what your company needs in future you can look for traits that meet these requirements.

 

Now an interview is not a quick decision to just keep the company functioning. It becomes a long term decision to ensure you’ll maintain productivity and growth even if technology and your focus adjust over time.

 

One more way of finding the right future employees is being the employer they want to connect with. But do you offer lucrative packages that are relevant to the type of worker you want?

 

  • Do your medical aid and retirement options resonate with your preferred employee age group?
  • Do you allow—and initiate—community involvement?

 

These could be deal breaking features and if your competitors’ packages are more relevant, you’ll lose good workers to them.

 

Let KPIs Guide You in Planning for the Future

 

That’s simply the starting point of how HR data empowers you to plan for the future. How do you measure success in the HR department? Do you spend all your time on looking at sales figures instead of asking questions about aspects such as employee turnover rate?

 

If you don’t reach a certain HR KPI it means there’s a problem. It could be any number of things such as leadership quality, employee empowerment or your salary packages. But you won’t know it’s time to investigate if you don’t look at the data.

 

Need some motivation to go these lengths? Have you calculated how much money you lose each time someone leaves the company?

 

What Does Your Company Culture Need?

 

Of course one solution to the problem above will be to improve your workers’ environment. But how do you know what works?

 

Here you can explore your HR data once again:

  • Which teams are most successful?
  • Who gives the best feedback during evaluations?

 

Now you analyze how these successful groups function and implement those features in other teams. This could relate to:

  • Work atmosphere
  • Leadership quality
  • Incentive programs

 

[Conclusion]

 

Do you see your perfect resource already exists? All it needs is activation. One of the greatest tragedies in life is unused potential. And any business is filled with this, even the HR department. Now you know how to harness a little more of it and pursue the growth you’ve been hoping for the whole time.