HR Analytics and HR Experience
There is understandable interest in using data to assess the effectiveness of HR policies. Numerous platforms combine and analyze various operational HR data, providing valuable insights and enabling policy adjustments. However, often missing from these data is the perception of employees themselves, significantly limiting the visibility of reality. Systematically collecting these perceptions and combining them with operational data provides much more opportunities to evaluate and adjust policies and the functioning of the organization.
HR Experience Framework
For various HR processes and policy areas, the employee experience provides concrete guidance for improving HR functions and processes. A logical and pragmatic framework for mapping the entire experience is the HR "experience framework" outlined below:
HR area | HR processes |
|---|---|
Operational HR management: |
|
Employee development: |
|
Strategic HR policy |
|
By measuring the employee experience on all these processes and areas, a complete picture of the employee experience emerges, allowing the HR organization to determine the impact of policies on employee performance. Some of these processes can be tracked based on concrete "transactions." For example, evaluating the handling of requests or inquiries at the HR service desk or assessing the outcomes of a training program (Learning and development). For the remaining processes, periodic surveys can be conducted. By regularly surveying a portion of the employees, a continuous view of the experience is obtained, and the effects of changes can be determined.
The framework provides an effective basis for mapping the overall HR Experience. The categorization is pragmatic, as perceptions are often linked to specific applications and processes, providing concrete input for improvements. More general aspects can be analyzed in conjunction with the organizational structure (division, country, job group) to gain deeper insights.
Implementing the Framework for a Specific Organization
To implement the framework, an organization defines the generic HR applications and processes and selects specific "experience methods" for each process. An experience method consists of a set of questions combined with the metrics and insights generated from the results. During the implementation phase, the available employee and transaction data are defined as source data for sending surveys.
Different surveys will be used to gather data on various processes and areas. In a reporting environment, all results are combined to create a complete picture. When the same source data is used for different surveys, consistent data analysis can be performed based on organizational characteristics. This allows for identifying differences between countries, divisions, or job types.
Worth the Effort
Setting up an HR experience framework and implementing it requires time and energy. However, when carefully planned and executed, the organization gains a continuous flow of data that reflects the actual employee experience, enabling evaluation and adjustment of policies. This is valuable information that cannot be obtained from operational systems.