Why Collecting and Measuring People Data is Vital for Success

Hiring Data

What is Hiring Data?

Hiring is a complex process which requires posting job ads, reviewing resumes, screening and interviewing candidates, providing assessments, rejecting job seekers, and making offers. When properly tracked and accumulated, each of these touch points generates data. 

With the information accrued from the hiring process, HR can determine such factors as:

• Source of the hire
• Total cost
• Length of the hiring process
• Acceptance rates
• Quality measurements
• Candidate assessment scores
• New hire turnover rates 

Rather than blindly guessing these numbers, the department can and should be able to pinpoint exact data using HR software, analytics platforms, and candidate surveys. As you might imagine, these numbers speak volumes. 

Why Collect and Measure Hiring Data?

The hiring process is both painfully expensive and time-consuming. Would your organization love to cut down on the time and financial investments of attracting top-quality candidates?

With data in tow, you can determine where your hiring process stands in relation to the industry average. You’ll be able to assess whether the speed, price, new hire fit, and even the quality of your hiring process is on point or in need of improvement with a quick glance at the facts of your hiring data. 

Performance Data

What is Performance Data?

Performance data consists of clear, objective measurements of a person’s performance based on set parameters. This form of data consists of numbers such as competency scores, development needs, and goal achievements.

Performance data shows who is performing up to task, who needs additional help or training, and who may be ready for a promotion. HR can dive into more depth as well, determining where a person is most and least competent simply by looking at the numbers.

Why Collect and Measure Performance Data?

To establish fair practices in areas like giving bonuses and promotions, you must use data. Data allows you to side-step inherent biases and view the objective truth regarding your people’s performance. 

It may all sound a bit cold, but this level of objectivity allows companies to find the best role for their people and assist those who need help. In fact, you’ll be able to make choices that better fit your people by assessing their weak points as well as their greatest talents, aptitudes, and skills. 

From a wider perspective, employers may use such data to see where their overall performance is lacking. With this knowledge, they can then choose to fill in the gaps by providing additional training measures or beefing up hiring for those competencies. 

With performance data, you can easily view the areas where performance is strong. Armed with this knowledge, you can take the time to assess why hiring and training is working so well in key sectors and perhaps transfer that knowledge to areas or departments which are less developed. 

Anonymous Feedback Data

What is Anonymous Feedback Data?

The workplace experience matters deeply in 2019. Smart employers are investing in the gathering of anonymous feedback data on this topic via employee surveys. 

Feedback data is any data which is gathered from people about their time at the office or in the field for their employer. At Olumo, for example, we provide short weekly employee surveys of 1-2 questions each via text message. As an employer, you may choose from over 400 questions regarding 10 workplace experience topics. 

Workplace experience is such a vast area that we can’t list every possible form of anonymous feedback data here, but we can give you a taste. Let’s say you’re testing out a progressive new paternity leave policy that allows new parents three months’ time off with a guarantee that their role will be there when they return to work. 

If you’d like anonymous feedback data on how your people feel the new program is going, you’d simply select your questions on our platform, schedule their delivery date, and wait for the data to come in.

Why Collect and Measure Anonymous Feedback Data?

There are few things more precious to a healthy organization than honest feedback. 

This highly valuable data allows you impressive insight into the workplace experience via simple employee surveys. With it, you can determine why people are happy or unhappy, and thus take action. If you choose to ignore such data, you’re doing so at their own peril. If your workplace experience is poor and you’re unaware of it, you may find your company’s productivity draining and your people leaving in droves. By using employee surveys to gain data, you position yourself ahead of the pack. 

Oxford Reference defines recency bias as “a common distorting effect within systems of performance appraisal,” referring to assessments based “not on work undertaken across the full performance management cycle, but only on recent events or activities that can be readily recalled.” 

It’s difficult to contemplate organizational success on such a large scale. Things fall through the cracks. The positives of a successful initiative a couple months ago might be forgotten in the face of a team setback. 

Regular requests for unfiltered feedback, however, can counteract that recency bias, aligning every item of feedback into a greater whole. Maybe one bad score was the result of a bad day, or perhaps it indicates a troubling trend. In either case, having more data gives a framework for the feedback. That way, one off day doesn’t govern the feedback a company receives. 

Start Measuring People Data Today

Data won’t just be important in the future – it’s essential today. With the insight your company can gain into hiring and productivity, you can significantly improve internal practices. 

At Olumo, we offer user-friendly tools that provide an easy way for people to offer anonymous feedback on your organization. With our employee surveys and assessments, you can request honest feedback specific to your concerns.

Want to know if your people feel that communication is clear? Ask them via Olumo! Are you unsure how well your organization feels compensated? We can measure your company’s satisfaction.  Test out Olumo for free today and discover the plethora of data you can gather via our simple platform alone. Yet, remember that data has no value if you don’t use it. Take action from the insights you gather and watch your company grow and thrive.