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There is a dawning awareness that data and information, as a commodity in and of itself, has little value to an organization unless it is transformed into meaningful intelligence. The sheer volume of Big Data that organizations can and do amass is overwhelming. What is needed is the type of alchemy that transforms data and information into analytics and intelligence vis-à-vis an evidence-based approach. In the context of human capital management, HR intelligence, as derived from HR research and analytics practices, is a fast emerging mandate for organizations seeking strategic competitive advantage.
Advancing HR Analytics
The topic of HR intelligence or what is more popularly and perhaps narrowly referred to as human capital, talent, people, and/or HR analytics is one of the hottest trends in the context of HR strategy and decision making. Several notable thoughtleaders have called for the HR profession to adopt an evidence-based management, decision science, HR intelligence, and predictive analytics approach to understanding and managing human capital in order to improve individual and organizational performance (Pfeffer & Sutton, 2006; Boudreau & Ramstad, 2007; Falletta, 2008; Fitz-enz, 2010 respectively). With the exception of a handful of high-profile case studies (e.g., Google, IBM, and Morgan Stanley), little is known about the extent to which Fortune 1000 and select global companies are performing broader HR research and analytics practices beyond simple descriptive metrics and scorecards, and more importantly how such activities are being used to facilitate HR strategy, decision making, and execution.
This article summarizes the results of The HR Analytics Project conducted by the Organizational Intelligence Institute and Drexel University. The HR Analytics Project is the largest study to date on the topic of HR research and analytics in terms of the number of participating companies representing the Fortune 1000 and select global firms.
The purpose of the study was to gain insight into the extent to which these high performing companies (i.e., high performing firms in terms of annual gross revenue) are conducting a wider range of HR research and analytics practices in the context of human resource strategy and decision making. Several key areas related to HR research and analytics were explored, including:
1. The types of HR research and analytics practices being performed in high performing companies
2. Organization...