Navigating the changing HR analytics market: trends and insights-based reporting

In Q4 2023, we rounded off an exciting year by sitting down over breakfast with our HR analytics network at the senior manager and head of level, to talk shop about the changing landscape of HR analytics. The turnout was fantastic, with a diverse range of backgrounds and industries, and we confidently found common ground in that the market is moving full steam ahead and taking significant strides in AI, predictive analytics and the pivotal shift towards insights-based reporting.  

HR analytics is transforming the way organisations manage, motivate, inspire and transform their workforce, therefore there is a greater demand for HR analytics professionals to upskill, or risk getting left behind. We have an extremely positive outlook on the market, where HR data managers and their teams are getting a seat at the table and having a real impact on direct business decisions.  

In this article, Anton Blades delves into the burgeoning HR analytics market, giving a snapshot of current trends.  

The culture of HR analytics from top to bottom

The know-how for data entry and HR analytics’ upkeep within the proverbial ’shop floor‘ is a key factor for a strong HR data and insights product. Ensuring the managers, supervisors and business unit heads within your organisation are accountable for ensuring their team’s data is correct on a bi-monthly basis is essential. Making sure you have the right kind of high-quality data being updated on the system across the board is the first step on the journey towards having your finger on the pulse of the business for HR metrics. Once a good culture of data is in place, you then have a reliable source of data that you can trust. Feeding stakeholders with measurable, actionable insights about the workforce is reliant on getting the first step right; it’s essentially a case of good data in, good data out.  

Predictive analytics for external talent vs internal talent 

Having a forward-looking HR analytics function is in high demand from C-suite and senior stakeholders. It takes a strong HR data team who already have the house in order before you take on the beast of predictive modelling within the HR world. The best predictive analytics, where you can attempt to plan for the future and have farsightedness over your workforce, is mostly successful when crafted by a team that already has the house straight, and a team who are in a steady state for all of the HR KPIs and metrics, before moving onto the nice to haves. 

Insights vs data reports

There is an ever-increasing appetite for more storytelling in the profession of HR analytics. HR analytics departments have matured into creating narratives around the HR data, moving away from creating a few bog-standard reports on starters and leavers (attrition), headcount, time to hire and budgets. This maturing of the HR analytics workforce has led to HR analytics professionals becoming more visible within a business. Having the skillset to create reports is one thing, but a great skill set is the ability to look at the bigger picture, stitch together trends and create meaningful insights for your stakeholders. 

AI in HR analytics

Artificial intelligence in the HR analytics, data and insights space is showing strong signs of heavy adoption by the tier-1 and 2 SaaS/HRIS vendors. The top names in HRIS are all starting to talk about new products to utilise AI. These are all things mentioned at large scale conferences and systems events, but everything seems to be in the very early stages. Some ATS products have started to use AI to automate and tighten up CV screening and AI chat bots are being used to offer a more seamless process for setting up interviews or requesting a holiday from your line manager, but there is work to be done on more impactful implementations of Open AI technology.

Conclusion

As organisations navigate the complexities of the modern workforce, the demand from the C-suite level to make informed, evidence-based decisions has grown stronger, and with this, the weight of HR’s input falls on the shoulders of the HR analytics and insights teams. The HR analytics market, coupled with these trends and a shift towards insights-based reporting, is poised to redefine how businesses understand, manage, and optimise their HR teams and the wider workforce. The journey towards a data-driven future in HR analytics is not just a technological evolution but a cultural transformation that empowers organisations to make informed decisions for sustained success.