Transform Workplace Culture Through HR Data

Numerous factors contribute to how a company’s culture is shaped, from benefits to the hiring and onboarding process and employee engagement. But how do you capture all of this?

With the rapid advancement of technology and its increasing prevalence, organizations are utilizing HR data to improve the overall employee experience and create a strong company culture.

Having access to accurate data can help HR professionals truly get to know their employees and understand their needs and values. This, in turn, helps organizations to create and nurture a positive and authentic workplace culture.

Overview of HR data

HR data is organizational information and metrics that are collected and analyzed by HR professionals. It includes various types of data related to employee performance, engagement, demographics, skills, compensation and other relevant workplace aspects. HR data is pulled from multiple sources, such as employee records, surveys, performance evaluations, attendance tracking systems, payroll and other HR software platforms.

HR data examples include:

• Recruitment and hiring (e.g., candidate source, time to fill)
• Employee demographics (e.g., age, gender, race and educational background)
• Performance data (e.g., performance evaluations and key performance indicators)
• Employee engagement (e.g., employee satisfaction, feedback, and surveys)
• Absenteeism and turnover (e.g., absences and voluntary or involuntary turnover rates)
• Compensation and benefits (e.g., salaries, bonuses and benefits packages)
• Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (e.g., diversity representation, diversity training and employee resource group participation)
• Employee feedback (e.g., employee complaints and resolution time)
• Learning and development (e.g., training, certifications, skills assessments and professional development programs)
• Succession planning (e.g., advancement potential, readiness for promotion and talent pipeline)

Employee feedback, whether formal or informal, counts as HR data. For example, utilizing surveys or focus groups can gather insights on specific topics or initiatives. This gauges the reception and success of workplace efforts put forth by the HR department. Department and team meetings can also help produce useful information.

The importance of HR data

Understanding your employees’ needs and wants in the workplace can have a positive influence on the overall company culture. There are different ways to capture this information from your employees. 

Consider the following options:

Hiring and onboarding

This first step is critical for how the employee-employer relationship begins. The hiring process is where you see an employees’ personality and qualifications. From this first initial interaction, HR professionals can gauge how the potential employee will fit within the current company culture.

Throughout the onboarding process, collecting HR data reveals if new hires are efficiently and successfully integrating into the company. Analyzing this data allows for improvements to the onboarding process and retain employees for a longer term.

Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB)

Having a DEIB effort in place is important. However, when an organization’s statements do not match day-to-day interactions, employees can become discouraged. When employees feel accepted, respected and valued, they are more likely to be happier and remain with an organization for a longer tenure.

For example, surveys or other types of data collection could help demonstrate the impact and effectiveness of DEIB efforts and uncover areas that need to be addressed.

Paid time off (PTO)

Examining vacation and sick time can help shed light on how—or if—employees are using their benefits to recharge. PTO allows employees to have a healthy work-life balance, which decreases burnout and improves productivity and satisfaction.

Learning and development

HR data can help track training, certifications and career pathing while highlighting opportunities for advancement. Employees look for these opportunities to advance their careers and know their organization supports them.

Employee engagement

Employee engagement measures the health and effectiveness of a company’s culture. Employees who feel comfortable in the workplace are more likely to be engaged in their jobs, teams and the company. This can be shown through participating in company outings, being proactive in meetings and overall interaction with other employees.

Employee turnover

Turnover results from dissatisfaction with their job or an organization. HR professionals can conduct stay and exit interviews to gauge employee engagement while uncovering what steps should be taken to improve employee experience. Managers and leadership can also conduct quarterly or yearly one-on-one reviews to receive timely feedback from employees.

Cultivating a strong company culture is important to shield against employee turnover and give a competitive edge in recruiting top candidates. Leveraging HR data allows HR professionals to bridge the gap between leadership and employees’ actual experience, providing balance between aspiration and reality.

By harnessing valuable insights from HR data, employers can create a great company culture that attracts the best workers, improves employee performance and increases retention. For more workplace resources, contact one of our trusted advisors.