In order to perform well in the market, the most successful companies don't only report human resources analytics. Rather, those high-performing organizations use that data for strategic, long-term planning, says Cliff Stevenson, senior human capital researcher at the Institute for Corporate Policy.
Among the metrics most used for strategic planning by high-performing organizations are performance ratings, turnover rate and time to fill positions, Stevenson says. Low-performing organizations, however, tend to focus on metrics that are not related to strategic planning, such as training completed, which simply takes stock of what happened in the past without tying it to the future.
"The high-performing organizations are looking at the time to fill positions and turnover rate, so they can use that information for future decisions," Stevenson says. "For instance, if they know that historically turnover rate is tied to performance ratings, then they can look at improving the levels of performance to try to give people a chance to succeed in their jobs and retain those employees."
Recommended For You
When calculating these metrics, high-performing organizations also rely on automated processes unlike low-performing organizations that tend to use manual measurements, Stevenson says. Specifically, high-performing organizations are using these automated processes to ensure the HR data follows a consistent pattern adhering to company-wide standards. One department might define a full-time employee as someone working 35 hours while another department only recognizes full-time employment as working 40 hours per week, but an automated process keeps everything level. With automated processes, there's also no chance of a personal bias distorting the data.
"People sometimes have their own reasons for manipulating data," Stevenson says. "They may have performance bonuses tied to specific metrics, such as the number of people in their department or profitability per employee, so they may want to change how they define an employee. There's a lot of human error that can be brought in, and that's why it's more effective to automate the process."
Moving forward, high-performing organizations are looking to turn to predictive modeling, but it is still in its infancy stage, Stevenson says. Predictive modeling is used to forecast how demographics will shift in order to reflect those changes within an organization's work force, but there are so many variables among the population that it's difficult to get an accurate reading. As predictive modeling improves, HR and marketing are expected to work together to ensure there are minimal leadership and skills gaps as the work force evolves.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
