Types of HR Analytics

Human Resource Analytics or HR analytics involves collecting, analyzing, interpreting,
and reporting HR data. It enables your company to assess the impact of different HR
KPIs on the functioning of the entire business
and make data-based decisions. In other words,
we can say that HR analytics is all about
managing the employee data. HR analytics is
highly beneficial for an organization as it helps
to cut down the extra costs incurred by
companies due to poor workforce planning. Not
having adequate numbers of employees, having
more than the required employees or not
having the right talent can be detrimental to
the growth of a company and requires HR
analytics that can add on to the comprehensive
growth of the company.
In this article, we will be discussing the types of
HR analytics and impact of each one of them on
an organization. For a more detailed overview
of different types of HR analytics, you can
consider taking an HR analytics certification.
There are primarily four types of HR analytics that are described below:
• Descriptive analytics:
This type of analytics explains what has happened in the past and what is happening
presently. A perfect example of this can be when a company tries recruiting certain
types of employees for a position, they can always use descriptive analytics to find out
how many people were earlier recruited for the same job positions, how many of them
left and how many professionals the company is able to retain. By analyzing the
available data, the company will gain an idea of how many individuals it needs to hire
and how many are likely to stay.
• Diagnostic analytics:
Next comes the diagnostic analytics which mentions the reasons behind events
brought forward by diagnostic analytics. For instance, if the HR department wants to
know why a particular category of employees are leaving their jobs, then they can use
diagnostic analysis to find out the probable reasons behind it. Such as, the reason can
be related to less job satisfaction or higher pay by the next company. So by analyzing
the probable reasons, the HR department can take appropriate steps to address such
issues and retain employees as long as possible.
• Predictive analytics:
As the name suggests, predictive analytics sheds light on what can happen in the future
based on past events. To understand what can happen in the future, a variety of
statistical models and forecasts are used. The analysts consider the patterns found
through descriptive analysis and make it a basis for predictive analytics. For example,
with the help of predictive analytics, companies can figure out who can be a good fit
for a certain position in the company by analyzing their skills and past experience.
• Prescriptive Analytics:
After getting insights about what likely is to happen in the future, we need to know
what we can do with that information. Here comes the role of prescriptive analytics.
With the help of prescriptive analytics, analysts share the recommendations using the
data gathered through the other types of HR analytics. It saves companies from taking
illogical decisions and promotes more data-based decisions. For instance, a company
can use prescriptive analytics for determining the type and level of training needed to
be provided to a specific group of employees or new joinees that can lead to better
performance.