Why Data Management is Essential for Workforce Analytics

For businesses interested in analytics (which should be every business), dashboards have become the norm. There is no easier way, for many, to recognize patterns within the data that they have collected. Data visualization is important for your business, but good dashboards require good data. If your data is messy, incomplete, or out of date, your dashboard will mean little.

Harvard Business Review has called dashboards "sexy," and we agree. The hype surrounding dashboards must be accompanied by good numbers. It's important that your business collects accurate, integrated, and complete data so that your dashboards tell a true and meaningful story. As you review your data sets and data sources, you may want to review a short checklist of characteristics that apply to good data.

The Three Requirements of Data for Workforce Analytics

Businesses need to continually assess the ways in which they're collecting and using data. Here are three basic elements to keep in mind to ensure that your data is complete and accurate:

• Data must be connected. All of the data sets from inside and outside the enterprise need to be brought together. Are you using data from clients and customers? Are you using data related to employees, sales, ROI, and other areas of your company? What are the connection points of these different data arenas? Turn to others in your field—how are they connecting their data sets. If you don't know, find someone who does. Partial data means a partial dashboard. Furthermore, the different technologies you are using must be integrated. Disconnected technology can disconnect your data picture.
• Data must be curated. What data sets are you collecting? Are you using consistent terminology that you understand? Data must be put into a normalized format that you can analyze easily. Fields like job titles can be inconsistent and must be streamlined. Does the technology you're using have the ability to standardize data? Is your data specialists aware of these potential inconsistencies, and do they know how to fix them? How will you know what to include and what to leave out?
• Data must be current. Too many businesses lose out on crucial analytics because they are not using all of the available and up-to-date data sets. It's important that you have mechanisms in place that collect all of the relevant data that is available to you and feed this data into your dashboard mechanism on a timely basis. There may be "hidden" data that you are missing out on. The last thing you want to do is rely on data that is no longer current.

Successful companies use data analytics to inform any business move. The days of guesswork are over; we have access to more data than ever before. However, it's easy to think that you have a complete picture when most of the iceberg is still below the surface. Though reviewing sources and integration of data sets can seem time-consuming, it's an essential investment in the health and future of your company.

Focusing on Analytics

As you pivot your focus to ensure that you are collecting and using data appropriately, you may find that it's too time-consuming or expensive to do it alone. Talent Data as a Service ensures your data is connected, curated, and current so that you can focus on the analytics that will help your company grow. We focus on your data from beginning to end so that you know where your data is coming from, how it is presented, and what the analytics might mean for your future. Contact us today. SwoopTalent has a track record of helping companies tame the talent data so you can focus on the analytics themselves!