What Is the Most Important Thing to Keep in Mind When Approaching Human Capital Analytics?
Today’s HR professionals are focusing primarily on historical data and cost reporting rather than analyzing and reporting on metrics that have the ability to drive strategic decision making (Weiss & Finn, 2005). The exact reason for this is unclear, but a lack of executive support for the full implementation of HR analytics in the workplace might be one of the problems. “Senior managers still rely on ‘gut feelings’ when making decisions” because they don’t have the talent and data they need to make the move to analytics, according to survey results released by Accenture in early 2010 (SHRM, 2010). Furthermore, other survey results show that the number one thing HR professionals believe should be analyzed and reported is leadership team capability (Weiss & Finn, 2005), yet this is a very uncommon practice. This is obviously a touchy subject, because measuring and reporting the negative performance of one’s superior could lead to political problems for the individual or individuals charged with the responsibilities of reporting and/or measuring. Common sense dictates that it is not politically savvy to “bite the hand that feeds you.”