Analytics Technologies Drive Transformation in Workforce Management

Big Data and predictive analytics are allowing companies to improve their workforce recruitment and management by selecting the right people with the right skills for the right jobs, and by predicting things like workers’ job performance and satisfaction. Yet they also hold the potential for higher-level benefits, such as achieving better alignment of the workforce with company objectives. Human resources professionals hope that analytics can help them participate more fully in the success of their companies by giving them metrics quality that is on a par with that enjoyed by finance and sales departments.

Aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin, headquartered in Bethesda, Md., has built a performance-management system that links employee performance reviews with company strategic objectives. Managers use the system in connection with Lockheed Martin’s pay-for-performance incentive program to identify employees who have potential for advancement or who could benefit from additional training.

Midland, Mich.-based Dow Chemical Co. has collected employee data for a number of years and uses it to predict workforce needs at its many locations. Even breaking down projections by age groups, job categories, business units, and other segments, Dow Chemical uses data to prepare for job growth in key areas and to predict future needs brought about by employee retirements.

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Large companies such as Lockheed Martin and Dow Chemical have been developing these kinds of internal capabilities for quite some time. However, vendors of talent management software are increasingly integrating HR analytics into their suites, making them more available off-the-shelf for small and medium-sized enterprises. What’s more, cloud solutions are making analytics more affordable and easier to use.

Larger business solutions providers have entered the talent-management space through acquisitions -- such as the purchase ofSuccessFactors by German firm SAP; Taleo by Redwood City, Calif.-based Oracle; and Kenexaby IBM, headquartered in Armonk, N.Y. However, a number of smaller visionary companies are operating in this space, as well, includingLumesse of Bedfordshire, U.K.; HalogenSoftware of Ottawa; and SumTotal Systems of Gainesville, Fla.

Ash Grove Cement Company, a midsize company in Overland Park, Kan., uses the analytics component in Lumesse’s cloud-based solution to help drive its performancemanagement efforts. The company uses analytics to align company goals with individual employees’ performance goals. Senior management is able to monitor progress through dashboards, graphic views, and quick reports.

Tim O'Shea, solutions consultant at Lumesse, told ThomasNet News that the interest in analytics is driven in part “by the desire on the part of HR folks to be more involved with data and to have better tools.” For years, he said, HR has wanted to “have a seat at the table” and be involved in “the big decisions.”

This article was originally published on ThomasNet News Industry Market Trends  and is reprinted in its entirety with permission from Thomas Industrial Network.  For more stories like this please visit Industry Market Trends.