Why APAC is struggling to adopt HR analytics?

MUCH like most operations in any enterprise, the functions of human resources (HR) has become increasingly data-centric, whereby companies are now looking to HR in seeking valuable insights to boost overall productivity.

HR analytics which enterprises deploy to track certain employee metrics, such as absenteeism, turnovers, burnout, performances, among others, in recent times has enabled companies to gauge the impact of staff policies on business.

By using data and insights derived from it, companies are at a better position to make a more informed decision in regards to business policies and staff responsibility, which will give them a competitive advantage over others.

Furthermore, data analytics is evolving beyond seeking insights to act upon but to solve overall business operations, which is why the technology is utilized in every decision-making process of companies.

For instance, companies such as Google, AOL, and Facebook deploy data analytics to attain insight into every employee interview.

APAC adoption of HR analytics

Meanwhile, one survey by Deloitte in 2017 revealed that 71 percent of businesses highly prioritize people analytics within their enterprise but the progress towards adopting the tech somewhat sluggish.

However, KPMG in its study this year found that initiatives to implement analytics into HR is a low priority among HR executives and their organizations, although more than 80 percent of the respondents concurred with the fact that HR could add more value to their company via analytics.

And, there were minimal changes in the number of companies that linked HR data to business outcomes and implemented predictive analytics, despite the estimate by McKinsey Global Institute which says that organization that uses HR analytics tools in average could see an increase of 275 basis point in profits by 2025.

However, not all is doom and gloom as there was a 77 percent growth in HR analytics professionals in India according to a report by LinkedIn, whereby 14 percent of total HR positions in India is analytics based.

These jobs profiles include; Data scientist, talent analytics director, and diversity analytics specialists.

Nonetheless, when it comes to the emerging high-interest focus of leveraging data to predict outcomes, there are on three percent of companies are utilizing it.

In a nutshell, the deployment of HR analytics is more prevalent in certain countries such as India, Singapore, and Hong Kong, while countries like Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, and China are lagging in adoption of the tech.

But, HR analytics is not just a sophisticated departmental tool that companies could do without.

In the digital age, the human workforce will become the key differentiator in companies, and accordingly, there should be an increased alignment of the workforce strategies with the organizations’ business strategies.

And thus, companies in the APAC region should not delay the adoption of the technology any further, or risk falling behind and losing their competitive edge over their global counterparts.

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