I’ve come across a few recent posts on LinkedIn where people are asking “does HR have a fear of workforce analytics?” or “why is HR fearful of workforce planning?”. This question is important, but I’ve heard it asked for years now, if not a decade. A recent study shows that over 90% of CEOs want their HR department to leverage talent data into actionable analytics. So why isn’t it happening?
The standard canned answers I hear are that HR doesn’t want to do analytics, or they don’t understand the value in it. I call BS on this one. This may have been true a decade ago, but it’s largely a misconception now. The majority of HR leaders that I speak to understand the value of workforce analytics and workforce planning, and they absolutely have the appetite and desire for it. The issue isn’t fear or lack of understanding. The biggest roadblock I’ve seen is the “if we can’t do everything, we can’t do anything” mindset.