Historically, businesses have focused on collecting large amounts of data and information to inform their reports. They rely on the teams closest to the data to analyze and produce an action plan that will create lasting value for the organization. However, in the last 30 to 40 years business intelligence platforms have used, they haven’t made their mark. In fact, Gartner reports that 87% of organizations have low BI indexes and that 60% of BI implementation initiatives fail. So, why are businesses with BI platforms performing so poorly?  

How to Activate Your People Analytics

The increase in the rate and amount of data collected has been helpful to companies, as they now have more information to analyze. However, the abundance of information has become too much to handle and can lead to cognitive overload.  Instead of consolidating data into dashboards, business intelligence should center on pulling the important insights and then laying out a plan of action. That is why Clarkston focuses on Insights to Action platforms.  

The idea behind Insights to Action platforms is that the software will collect the data, find the insights, and then determine what the next action should be. Decision-makers in the business can then focus on the recommended actions and determine whether they are reasonable and feasible for the company. 

Recently, Clarkston has introduced a new Insight to Action platform for evaluating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within an organization. Utilizing people analytics, this Insights to Action platform helps companies determine which DE+I goals they should focus on to move the needle and promote a healthier company culture. 

Importance of People Analytics in DE+I 

The 2020 racial justice wake-up call has shifted companies’ outlooks across the globe to focus on their DE+I initiatives. According to Gartner research, the number of HR leaders identifying DE+I efforts as a top priority was 1.8 times higher in 2020 than in 2019. As DE+I awareness continues to grow and companies start pushing efforts to improve their DE+I efforts, they will need to rely on people analytics.  

People analytics is a method of analytics that helps companies make informed decisions about their employees and workforce. Research by Bersin found that 78 percent of big companies have termed people analytics as urgent or vital. However, only 7 percent of the organizations have rated it strong for HR data analytics capabilities. 

This is where a strong Insights to Action platform can help. The Insights to Action DE+I platform allows companies to dive deep into their data and easily find insights into what the company needs to focus on. There are many different metrics in people analytics that will be helpful for finding the next actions your company needs to take.  

• Diversity of employees & your applicant pool: It’s important to consider how diversity differs between the employees in your organization and the candidates in your applicant pool. This can help identify where the company is lacking in diversity. If you find employees are non-diverse while your applicants are very diverse, there may be bias in the recruitment process. A strong recruitment process will mean that employee diversity is reflective of applicant pool diversity.  
• Diversity across experience and levels: To further breakdown the diversity across all employees within an organization, you may want to separate people by organizational level and experience. If you find that diversity decreases as you go through the ranks, there may be problems with retention. This may indicate that certain groups may need better support within the organization. 
• Job Satisfaction: Job satisfaction can be measured in many ways, and while job satisfaction is not directly correlated with inclusion, measuring satisfaction in specific areas can help you understand if employees feel welcomed at their job. These insights should be further investigated, however. People may say they are satisfied, but have limited interactions with others in the company, which is a sign they may not be included. An organizational network analysis may be helpful here. 
• Job Retention: Job retention or employee turnover can suggest whether employees are happy or fulfilled by their jobs. It can also indicate that lack of inclusion is pushing some employees to leave. Going deeper and examining which employees are leaving can help you identify groups that are facing inclusivity issues. Issues can include job satisfaction, lack of senior diversity, and disparities in promotion opportunities. 

Acting on Your People Analytics in DE+I 

Once you have used these metrics and identified pain points in your organization’s diversity, it’s time to build a strategy. It is important to properly understand the insights shown in the data, so you can act on the results you’ve found in a strategic and effective way. Here are a few actions companies can take to address DE+I issues within their organization.  

• Reduce unconscious bias: If your data shows that there may be bias in the recruiting process, your HR department can implement strategies for reducing bias. These strategies can range from how the department receives resumes to how applicants are evaluated. Data insights can let you determine how to change the hiring funnel and reframe the diversity agenda within your organization. 
• Improve corporate training: After hiring, candidates must go through professional training workshops. They will also require support in learning company procedures and their specific responsibilities. After training, employees continue to develop their professional skills through ongoing learning programs. Sometimes these programs are not beneficial to certain employee groups. After conducting an analysis of diversity in higher organizational levels and job satisfaction, you may want to modify your courses or offer specialized courses to better support minority groups. 
• Design equitable compensation structure: Using analytics to find disparities on employee salaries, performance, and bonuses can help you identify patterns of bias within your organization. If you find certain groups are not receiving the same opportunities for professional and financial improvement, you may want to consider redesigning your compensation and promotion structure, so it becomes more equitable.  
• Optimize employee engagement: Engagement drives employee productivity. Keeping employees engaged and included in company events as well as work can reduce turnover rates. If you find that certain types of employees have low retention rates, you can work with your HR department to implement better engagement strategies. 

These are only a few suggestions of how people analytics can help you take better actions for you DE+I initiatives. If you are interested in learning more about activating your people analytics with Clarkston’s DE+I Insights to Action platform, you can contact our DE+I consulting team. We can help organization no matter where they are in their DE+I strategy to reach your end goal: creating a sustainable, diverse, and inclusive workplace for your employees.