As you are building a business, you need to look at data to understand where you are and where you are going. Data is one of the best things you have as a business, but many companies aren't using data to their advantage. Data can completely change the way that HR departments work and grow, so diving into analytics in 2020 is crucial.

Why are analytics important in HR?

Business is run by data. If HR leaders want to be seen as an asset to other executive business leaders, data can help them stand out. Data (whether numbers or specific feedback) can change anyone’s mind. Numbers and facts don’t lie.

When you can state exactly why you need to focus on employee turnover, you have a better chance of executives investing in employee turnover. Furthermore, if you can show how you’ve improved turnover or engagement over time, you have a better chance of being taken seriously by other executives.

If you want to invest in analytics, right now is the best time to do so. There are several tools out there to gather statistics and analyze the effectiveness of your HR programs. If you've been dragging your feet on analytics, let's discuss some trends you can track in HR.

2020 HR analytics you should track

There are many statistics your business might decide to follow as you grow. These HR analytics are a great starting point that will help you prove your worth to other executives and help you make better hiring decisions.

Recruiting analytics

First and foremost, you want to track recruiting analytics. There are many statistics you might want to track when it comes to hiring. Since a big part of HR is how well your recruit employees, these stats are essential.

• Time to fill positions: Specifically, you want to look at the breakdown by department and skill level. Are there specific departments that fill positions quickly? Why do they fill up easier than others?
• Time to hire: You may also want to think about time to hire. According to HR Technologist, this is the "number of days between approaching a candidate and the candidate's acceptance of the job offer." You should know this number as it will help you plan your hiring strategies, so positions are filled quicker.
• Cost per hire: How much does it cost to hire an employee? Knowing this will help you figure out how to save money and hire more effectively.

Employee turnover analytics

If you just tracked recruiting, it would only be one part of the equation. You also need to monitor the retention (or lack of retention) your company has. Once you understand turnover, you can make strategic adjustments to your company to improve retention, which lowers recruiting costs.

Employee engagement analytics

Next, you want to improve employee engagement. Having employees who are engaged is essential. Employee engagement can be challenging to analyze without involving your employees. You can use tools like pulse surveys, exit interviews, and focus groups to measure employee engagement. Measuring employee engagement helps you understand the number of employees you have working at their full capacity. Once you know the level of engagement you have, you can decide how to increase participation so that more of your employees love what they do every day.

Learning and development analytics

As you know, companies across the world need a large-scale upskilling and retraining revolution in the next few years. Our employees are having a challenging time keeping up with the skills we need to succeed at work. The first step to training employees for the future is to understand what skills and roles you'll need filled in the future.

You should also test the effectiveness of the learning and development programs you currently have. How much do these programs cost? Do employees feel like these programs are helping them improve? Do your employees know that these learning and development programs exist?

Employee revenue analytics

Last but not least, you need to measure employee revenue analytics. Employees work for a business. If your company has stakeholders or people to answer for, you need to be profitable. Overall, your employees need to make the company money or help sustain it. If your revenue per employee number is low, this may be cause for concern. How will you be profitable if you have too many employees and not enough income?

What do you do with data once you have it?

Once you start collecting data, you need to act on it. It's easy to collect data without action, especially because it's easy to feel inundated with too much data today. Instead of moving on every piece of data, figure out what your business objectives are first.

Chances are a ton of this data is being collected in the background, so it's not like it's going anywhere. Focus on improving your business and analyzing the data that matters most first. As you make improvements to your HR department and business, keep checking in with the analytics. Improvements are only one part of the equation. Make sure that the analytics you collect support the changes you've made. If they don't, you have to ask yourself what's not matching up.

Conclusion

Analytics are more critical than ever in 2020. Data helps us expand our business and helps improve the standing of HR in the c-suite. If you are not spending time analyzing numbers and making adjustments, you are creating unnecessary stress for yourself and other company leaders.