HR trends to watch: Getting more strategic with data

Leading organizations are becoming more strategic with data and increasingly connecting HR initiatives to business outcomes. In fact, 84% of business leaders and HR executives surveyed in Deloitte’s 2018 Global Human Capital Trends study cited people analytics as important or very important and 70% claim to be currently working on major projects to analyze and integrate data into their decision-making.

With significant advancements in HCM technology, organizations have the tools they need to gain greater access to key insights across their workforce so they can understand organization-wide trends and patterns.

Here are three ways you can leverage workforce data as part of your larger HCM strategy.

1. Use employee engagement data to build a high-performing workforce

For decades, studies have shown that people-first companies drive significantly higher performance than those not focused on employees and culture. And while this notion is commonly understood, few organizations are doing anything about it. In fact, only 34% of U.S. employees report being engaged at work.

Conducting annual employee engagement surveys is just a small part of building a people-centered, engaged workforce. The workforce of tomorrow has specific needs and demands; what works for one department or team, may not work for the other. To increase engagement, companies must build data-driven people strategies by continuously measuring and collecting feedback from their employees.

Organizations that are leveraging innovative employee engagement tools can determine problem areas in certain locations, departments, or demographics, and identify and respond to new opportunities to motivate and engage their workforce.

Learn how the latest Dayforce release gives you deeper insights so you can build strategic people strategies.

2. Empower managers to make informed compensation decisions

Despite record low unemployment, salary increase budgets for U.S. employers next year are projected to only grow by 0.1%. With heightening employee expectations, small, incremental raises every year is no longer an effective retention strategy. Companies that successfully hold onto their top talent in competitive job markets strategically use salary benchmarking data layered with other employee data such as time in position and performance to decide on a fair and competitive merit increase.

Further, research shows that in order to retain employees, it’s more effective for employers to compensate top talent at market value and discuss how pay was determined than to pay them more than market value without discussing how compensation was decided. In short, fair and competitive pay plays a crucial role in retaining top talent, but the other imperative is having transparent conversations about how pay is determined.

Related: How to make better compensation decisions with salary benchmarking data

3. Use a single system to gain visibility across the organization

Forward-thinking organizations are using a single system to gain deeper HCM intelligence, giving them greater insight into what’s happening organization-wide. Advanced workforce planning is a powerful tool companies can use to meet business objectives by tracking key performance indicators across all operating locations over a period of time. For instance, if employee overtime is trending upward, companies can drill down on factors that may be behind it, such as overstaffing and insufficient rest times. Innovative HCM solutions can help managers understand these workforce trends over time so they can better align their workforce to budgeted targets, and take the appropriate actions to meet organizational objectives.

Learn how the latest Dayforce release gives you deeper insights so you can become more strategic with data.