"Statistical analysis doesn’t start with numbers - it starts by looking for the macro forces that affect the way you manage talent today and how you will manage it tomorrow", writes columnist Jac Fitz-Enz.
From Jac in a recent column: "For years managers believed their experience was better than that of a bunch of number crunchers. Today, most managers accept that their estimations are seldom as accurate as a statistical analysis.
Analysis does not start with numbers. It starts with thinking and asking questions. It starts at the strategic level looking for the macro forces that affect the way you manage talent today, and more importantly, how you will manage it tomorrow. It is about constructing and understanding the context within which you now operate and will operate for the near future.
Case in point, a prospective client wanted to evaluate the ROI of HR services. As we talked, it was clear the company had not spent much, if any, time consciously aiming its services specifically at the corporate KPIs. Most say they do, but few companies can show direct connections.
Given that gap, what difference would it make which numbers we come up with? I had to take executives back to the beginning and ask questions such as:
• What are the major initiatives of your company now and into the near future?
• What outside forces impact your company?
• What is happening inside your company that is helping or hindering accomplishment of objectives?
Once we got clear on those types of strategic issues, the rest of the analysis went quickly."
Jac hits the solution square on when he discusses the trick to being strategic is to forget you work in HR (or any silo function) and to believe you are a top executive of the company.
Step number two is to embed HCM metrics with work metrics into KPI Dashboards so that every employee has their own custom KPI dashboard that connects their daily activities to team performance and corporate objectives. This is what we at Ephor call a “Perform Business.”
KPI Dashboards are powerful tools for ensuring the front-lines know how to take action based on metrics and information.
Look back at the images above.
Do you want your employees to manage from reports or from KPI Dashboards?
