When many entry-level employees begin at a company, they lack the exact skill set required to complete the tasks that are expected of them. There’s nothing wrong with that, mind. Many employers are happy to offer training to employees at this level, however, in order to get the most value from employees, they should tap into their individual skill set, rather than simply grow them within a mould.
Recruitment sets the scene for training. If employers lack the resources to offer training programs tailored to each individual employee, they will find that the use of people analytics will help. By identifying individuals that would fit your company’s method of training, employers can ensure their hiring process is effective.
I started my business from a core problem, when I was in workplaces there was a huge gap between where my skills lied and what was expected of me. Not only did this reduce the quality of the work I could do, but it also affected the businesses I worked for as they were unable to leverage my core skillset to affect the most business value.
This happens for many thousands of graduates and experienced people within the workplace. The problem stems from a modern employers lack of time spent in the collection and curation of the true nature of their people.
As an employer myself I have experienced the problem from both sides of the table. It is incredibly difficult to know the potential of the people in your employ. Often times the lack of understanding leads to conflict, disengagement, lost productivity and more.
The Challenge of Creating a Solution
People Analytics is a challenging market. It is an emerging and growing trend that has developed as a result of the above problem. The aim of People Analytics is to use data to understand the potential of people within the workforce. The recent report from HBR (https://hbr.org/2017/02/companies-are-bad-at-identifying-high-potential-...) dives deep into how businesses are bad at identifying their high potential workforce. Often nurturing people who would not benefit from the type of progression offered over others who would be more likely to succeed. In doing so an organisation hinders both their own growth and that of their employees. It is the problem I personally experienced and it needs to be dramatically reduced.
A huge challenge in solving this problem will be “how much data should a business collect on its people?” As an employee I wouldn’t want too much personal data in the employer's domain as it can lead to misuse and misinterpretation, it would hinder me and my life aims.
How I propose solving it
Using a sideways (rather than top-down) approach a business has an opportunity to affect change through influencing the integration of new technology into the business. I believe People Analytics for Employees would enable people within the company who want to succeed to know transparently what they need to do. Providing much stronger opportunities for employees to create success for their organisation while also decreasing the risk of disengagement and attrition within the key people. By measuring the impact of this approach we could really effect transformational change as people within businesses looking to grow who are currently suppressed would have both the freedom to thrive and the knowledge on how they would receive recognition as they grow.
