HR analytics, or People Analytics, means using data about people to gain insight that helps improve organisational performance and find solutions to problems.
The information can be human resources (HR) data or come from external sources or other company departments.
Today, big data is a hot topic.
Many organisations hold a great deal of current and historical information about their people, such as pay, length of service, attendance, qualifications, training and performance.
And rather than just storing, mining and reporting data, some businesses are using powerful algorithms to scrutinise this data and identify trends or anomalies that could influence HR and business strategy.
Analytics systems can draw on external information such as benchmarking data, or internal operational and financial information, to create even more actionable, detailed and useful HR management information.
Legally, employers need to comply with data protection rules (such as GDPR) when they hold and process data about employees.