Saw a very interesting article from HR Executive on Google’s algorithms for identifying employees “at risk of departure”. The piece outlines how the technology firm has built a model featuring a wide array of HR and non-HR data that, when combined, enables Google to more accurately pinpoint which groups of employees are most likely to quit.
While several concerns were raised (from issues of data quality to getting HR staff comfortable with using workforce metrics) I think that Google’s work is a massive step in the right direction for workforce analytics.
Rather than getting caught up in questions of whether Finance or HR has the correct headcount figure, or publishing hundreds of non-strategic workforce reports, Google appears to be searching for answers to the kind of critical human capital question that most firms have.
And while number-crunching without context or insight can result in information overload, the precision of talent management decisions (and subsequent financial investments) can only be improved with the addition of objective, analytical data.
Tags: Data Analysis, employee retention, HR skills, Human Capital, Workforce Analytics