Is data driving your business strategy? Perhaps it should be. Nearly 20 years ago, British mathematician and entrepreneur Clive Humby coined the phrase, “Data is the new oil.” Later, Michael Palmer, founder of Palmer Media, expanded on this, saying that data is “valuable, but if unrefined, it cannot really be used.”

Human capital management (HCM) professionals use people data to gain insight, make informed decisions about managing and optimizing their workforce, and solve and anticipate emerging challenges and opportunities. More than 70 percent of companies say people analytics is a strategic priority. People looking to expand their roles and make a strategic impact may benefit from exploring career paths related to people data.


What exactly is people data?

People data is all the information a company collects about its employees. This includes utilizing data from annual employee surveys and other dashboards to find correlations with other data points. People data includes information such as:

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Employee engagement
  • Productivity/overall performance statistics
  • Job role
  • Salary
  • Tenure and turnover data
  • Key performance metrics
  • Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives by department and overall

Farzeen Foda, founder and principal of PeopleStrategy.ca and instructor at York University’s Certificate in People Analytics program, shared her insights with HCM Dialogue on the importance of people data. Foda says, “It helps to envision a glass door when thinking about what people data can teach you. Every organization has a glass door. Some may have a foggy door, but people analytics gives you a clean and clear picture of what happens within an organization.” People data can illuminate risk factors before they have an impact. She adds, “The most important driver of performance is people. By understanding the people in your organization, you have the opportunity to better develop them and unleash business performance.”

Avoiding pitfalls

A common challenge for those beginning to foray into people analytics is not knowing where to start or beginning a series of data collection and analysis with a preconceived solution in mind. We need to link what we find back to the key objectives of the business and its strategy. Foda emphasizes that “understanding the difference between ‘fun facts’ data and what is usable is critical.” For example, collecting data that tracks male to female ratio in the organization may be interesting, but unless it is applied to a DEI hiring initiative, leadership training program or strategic initiative, it is just a ‘fun fact’. This helps decision makers avoid tangents with analysis that won’t provide any value. It also allows people to be critical when seeking new information to ensure that it adds value to the business strategy.

Digital data collection ensures consistency, and solid data collection governance methods make it easier for HCM professionals to ensure that they are analyzing clean and consistent information before providing insight. Data collection governance can include which role is responsible for owning or maintaining the data, who on staff can access this data and how the company ensures that the data remains secure. The longer these systems are in place, the better the insights.

It is also essential to eliminate outdated legacy collection systems and siloed data to ensure consistent data across each department and the organization as a whole.

Making an impact with people data

Foda sees impactful ways that HCM professionals have used people data. “Analysis could reveal a link between participation in learning and development and employee engagement rates to impact talent retention positively.” Foda has also seen clients use recognition-based data to showcase which teams work together (and how they work together) to design and structure teams better and plan cross-training initiatives.

People data can provide additional information to employers about staff behaviour and motivation to make informed decisions that add value for everyone involved. In the long term, a proactive approach will reduce hiring costs and ensure a more stable workforce by anticipating future needed skill sets. Other benefits include:

  • Customizing leadership to fill gaps
  • Providing impactful learning and training initiatives
  • Increasing overall retention by better understanding workplace performance

Future career options in people data

Foda is excited about the evolution of people data and the future career opportunities it presents for those who have an aptitude for scientific inquiry and enjoy working with data. People looking to pivot and expand their influence in an organization’s strategy can benefit from education on people data and analytics and apply payroll data best practices to help support people data gathering and management.

In the past, human capital management professionals and those working in adjacent fields such as human resources have been bucketed as working in “soft areas.” Today, thanks to technology, we can apply data to talent-related decisions and overall business performance by building the skills to know what to do with the data we collect.





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