To offer real insight HR teams must progress towards 'predictive' analytics

Press Releases

16 Nov 2016

Developing HR’s analytics capability to offer predictive insights is an important challenge with which HR teams need to engage, according to a new paper by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES).

In ‘The path towards predictive analytics’, author Peter Reilly, Principal Associate at IES, emphasises the distinction between predictive analytics and other management information that does not offer the same forecasting capability. Whilst acknowledging the value of straightforward data reporting, he describes how HR can use predictive analytics to solve important business problems.

Reilly’s paper gives examples of the difference that predictive analytics can make by linking areas such as people-related issues and sales targets; organisational culture and performance; and locations and the best workforce/business conditions. Although some organisations may not have the capacity or the data to make these links initially, the paper suggests that improving the quality and comprehensiveness of the data can begin the necessary path towards predictive analytics.

The paper also offers a roadmap towards building this HR analytics competence, including developing the HR team’s capability to offer new data and improve technical competence; giving managers tools to obtain their own data; and prioritising strategic business issues over the urgent but less important.

• Read the report

ENDS

Notes to editor

The paper is free to download from the IES website: http://www.employment-studies.co.uk/resource/path-towards-predictive-analytics

The Institute for Employment Studies

The Institute for Employment Studies is the UK’s leading independent centre for research and evidence-based consultancy in employment, labour market and human resource policy and practice. It is apolitical and not-for-profit, its activities being funded through research and consultancy commissions, and from its corporate membership programme. The Institute aims to improve employment policy in the UK and internationally by carrying out authoritative research of practical relevance to policy makers and those responsible for implementing policy programmes and initiatives.

IES tweets from @EmploymtStudies

About the author

Peter Reilly is a Principal Associate at the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) in the UK. His research focuses on the HR function and he also writes, speaks and consults on a range of workforce planning, reward and performance management issues. He has co-authored three books on HR with Tony Williams of the Royal Bank of Scotland and has co-led projects for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development that have produced three reports – ‘Managing and Developing HR Careers: Emerging Trends and Issues,’ ‘The changing HR function: the key questions’ and ‘The Changing HR Function: Transforming HR?’.