Workforce data refers to information used to identify efficiencies, potential, and possible gaps in an organization’s workforce. It’s useful when recruiting because human resource (HR) practitioners then focus on hiring staff to fill in the gaps.
Workforce data can also help solve the following common HR dilemmas.
1. Compliance
Compliance is one of the areas that could have given HR untold nightmares if it hadn’t been for workforce data. Imagine dealing with payroll issues and staff records on top of the mile-long compliance laws and regulations, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) by the US Department of Labor and the many other statutes by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).
Apart from ensuring that all the labor laws are followed, HR also has to ensure proper filing, recording and documenting of all labor issues at the workplace. If they had to do all this manually, there would be chaos in most offices.
2. Recruiting the Best Candidate
Recruiting new members of staff is no easy task. It involves a lot of planning, including evaluating the qualifications and skills required for the position, creating a job description, advertising the post, reviewing CVs, and handling the selection of the lead candidates, perhaps through interviews.
Without workforce data, this process would be unnecessarily taxing, and the company would risk getting the wrong candidate for the required post. At times it could be difficult to identify areas that are lacking talent.
3. Retention of Employees
Retaining employees may seem minor, but it’s actually an essential part of saving time, money, and culture. When a business loses an employee, it could cost them resources because they have to go through the process of getting a replacement. It would also be costly to train and ensure that the gap left is filled, perhaps over time.
Workforce data could, nonetheless, help with employee retention through performance evaluation and assessment. When accurate data and records are kept, HR can find better ways of retaining employees.
4. Diversity in The Workplace
If your company were to hire the same sort of people all the time, you could end up with a workforce that lacks diversity. Apart from the lack of creativity and boredom, there could be legal ramifications when there’s no diversity in your workplace. A male-dominated environment, for example, could be labeled sexist, while a team that has no people of color could be called racist.
When the HR department uses workforce data in their recruitment process, they could easily solve the diversity issue. Workforce data will give them the necessary information they need regarding gender or racial balance.
5. Dealing with Software Issues
Human resource management software can sometimes be glitchy, which is frustrating for both employers and employees. If the software is lacking, in one way or another, employees tend to avoid them. Potential employees and candidates for job openings also tend to abandon the application process if there’re software issues with the platform.
Having workforce data can help overcome software issues as it creates some usable backup for HR practitioners to use for various procedures.
6. Staff Training
Training is a very important part of any organization. But for it to be effective, it has to be well thought out and planned. HR practitioners have to identify areas in which the members of staff would benefit from training. Without proper assessment and record-keeping, it would not be easy to know the specifics of areas that require training.
With workforce data, employers can develop useful training programs that could benefit both their organizations and the employees. When employees are trained in relevant areas, they tend to be motivated.
7. Remuneration
As discussed earlier, the HR department has many areas that could give them headaches, and remuneration is one of them. These two are not only potential legal headaches, but they’re also potentially fertile grounds for conflict between staff and employers. Therefore, the HR department has to take the issue of compensation seriously.
There should be clear records to show who’s owed what, and there should also be a proper paper trail and tracking of payments with workforce data and analytics.
8. Stockpile Resumes
With the levels of unemployment being said to be getting higher, chances are an organization will receive resumes all the time if they’re doing well. But if resumes are not properly filed and cataloged, it would be difficult to know what’s what, and they’d be of no use when an opening arises in the organization.
With workforce data, however, stockpiles of resumes would be classified and sorted so that the right candidates are selected when it’s recruitment time. This would also save HR from the hassle of advertising posts unless they’re compelled to do so by law.
9. Handling Difficult Employees
Difficult employees can be an unpleasant dilemma for the HR department. Although there are many ways of dealing with them, evaluations assessments have to be done before coming up with the best methods of dealing with them.
To do the evaluations hassle-free, workforce data could do the trick. If the difficult employee has a post that can be easily replaced, they can be let go. On the other hand, if the employee is great at their job and not easily replaceable, then other decisions will have to be made. Whatever the case, workforce data could be used to assess and decide.
10. Productivity Drops
Sometimes there may be weak links in the workforce, which could result in a decline in the production rate. Because this may not be obvious, the HR team may find it hard to pinpoint the individual or people causing the lack of the desired productivity.
With workforce data, however, it can be easy to assess the performance of all the members of staff and to come up with recommendations that could help get the organization back on track.
The Bottom Line
Workforce data refers to information used to identify efficiencies, potential, and possible gaps in an organization’s workforce. It can be used to solve many HR problems, and it has many advantages, including:
- Monitoring of employee engagement
- Early spotting of red flags
- Addressing knowledge gaps
- Identifying the way forward
- Improving recruitment processes
If you haven’t tried maximizing workforce data for your organization, now is the time.
