Alexandre Diard With technology being developed, processed, and analyzed in all different outlets of business, it can be hard to compile data efficiently and accurately. Multitudes of structures being operated within silos can be deemed difficult for companies as the data is not centralized, not universal for all those who are utilizing it. This can cause erroneous use of the information and confusion amidst the overwhelming systems in HR.
It is important that companies can foster collaboration and clear communication throughout their workflows. Fragmentation and division among these organizations could ultimately reflect negatively on customer and employee perception. To combat this, companies are turning towards Single Source of Truth Systems for unification of their HR business data.
Single Source of Truth, or SSOT, is the concept of aggregating data from many information caches into a single location. SSOT is simply a single point of reference where employees can trust to find ubiquitous data in a canonical form.
That single point of reference acts as the end all be all, the source of truth, where all HR data can be found.
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HR Data Sources
HR data can come from a multitude of different places, and often becomes cumbersome and overwhelming. Companies can intercept this data from HRIS, travel and expense management systems, demographic data, government databases, performance management systems, learning management systems, and compensation and benefits just to name a few.
A prevalent figure leading in HR research cites that:
Large organizations have seven or more different systems managing HR data. Bringing this data together for meaningful analysis has become mission-critical, driving tremendous demand for integration tools to help rationalize, integrate and analyze people-related data.
Josh Bersin
Cluttered and bestrewed information can fabricate mistakes among employers and their clients. To prevent an issue from occurring in the first place, unify the data emerging from these differing sources.
Why You Need a Single Source of Truth for HR Analytics
In this day and age, modernization, seamless collaboration and networking, and immediate access to relevant information is crucial to a business’s success. At current, most HR companies are not exploring their highest levels of success, because the ample outlets of HR data spread across their systems are not congruent with one another and fail to produce the most accurate and explicit data. Areas of HR that are intertwined and need fluidity include HR reporting, onboarding processes, employee training, and PaaS components such as business intelligence services and database management systems.
We are seeing gaps and mistakes when a component of HR updates or changes something and that change is not registered among the other HR platforms. In simpler terms, these systems are a team, when one player falls short, or fails to communicate any changes going on within their specialization, this can negatively affect the rest of the group. It is the job of the central team unit, the coach, to allocate the slack of this player to other, capable team members. This communication and constant understanding of where the teams’ capabilities lie, allows for efficiency and progression.
Unfortunately, large amounts of businesses are not acting as a team, but instead pieces of a puzzle that don’t quite fit together. In fact, according to a survey by KPMG and Forrester, 60 percent of organizations say they are not very confident in their data and analytic insights. That elevated number is daunting as so many aspects of the business team are dependent on that data to come to important conclusions. They need a unifying technique that mitigates all their data onto a single platform, so that if documents or protocols are updated, the change is registered everywhere, and further action can be taken.
To maximize whole scale efficiency, visualize a business’s performance, and focus on analyzing data not just finding it, companies are utilizing SSOT to manage their systems.
Additionally, companies find benefits through this prescriptive analysis such as:
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Increased communication among the staff and workforce
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Decreased opportunity of duplicate information within datasets
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Useful and relevant information to supply to decision makers
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Increased productivity as less time is spent deciphering new data versus old
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Improved business intelligence and data discovery
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Decreased human error
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The ability to discover additional relationships and trends
3 Steps for Creating a Single Source of Truth
To create a company’s SSOT, there needs to be a sort of connective tissue within the business suite that connects all services from the front end to the back end of a business. A system in which all pieces can be integrated together while highlighting the data that is the most congruent, factual, and efficient, ultimately leading to the highest quality business decisions.
To begin, a company must dissect its employee lifecycle and designate different HR data sources to where and when the employee lies on that timeline. Then, the company will integrate all that data onto a unified platform, allowing for modernization and immediate growth. Lastly, workflows will need to be installed to check the progression of the system and discover the benefits of that Single Source of Truth.
1. Identify all your HR data sources across the employee lifecycle
The employee life cycle is crucial to a business. If the stages are executed smoothly and an employee deems their experience positive, that often goes hand in hand with their productivity and the success of the business.
Within this lifecycle, there are five stages that connect with different HR data sources, that all need to be harmonious with one another. These stages include:
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Recruitment
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Onboarding
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Development
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Retention
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Separation
The Recruitment stage is responsible for gaining new talent and hiring a new pool of employees. PeopleSpheres acquires these prospects through ads, an attractive website, simple applicant tracking systems, comfortable working conditions, and demonstrations of what the company does for its workers and customers. On the back end, HR data centers that operate these components need to stay up to date and track the potential new hire’s journey throughout the process.
The Onboarding stage determines where the recruit is placed throughout the company. HR aspects like sourcing and interviewing, talent management, applicant records, cost per hire, and training come into play at this time. Again, keeping this data congruent through these stages is necessary to avoid financial or ethical mistakes.
The Development stage is the period in which an employee grows with the company when they see personal and company growth. Whether that be through training, experiences, or action plans. To see this development, companies analyze the data obtained through feedback and surveys, self-service modules, and HR reporting metrics. These can all be found on PeopleSpheres customizable HR dashboard.
The Retention stage revolves around keeping those employees who are now fully integrated into the company. It is crucial to focus on retaining the most valuable talent, looking for those who are producing outstanding work, and rewarding success. Creating a positive culture, ensuring proper employee satisfaction and employee engagement, and guaranteeing that their information, records, payroll, and services are protected and constantly up to date.
The Separation or Exit stage of an employee’s life cycle is normal. It is how the company handles the separation that can deem the loss either a positive occurrence, or a negative one. Employees will feel the need to depart from a company for many different reasons, what is important is learning why it happened, and how it can be prevented in the future. Through employee exit surveys or exit interviews, companies can decipher what methods they are using need to change or be revoked, what the employee liked or disliked about the company, and other management decisions that lead to the turnover.
2. Integrate HR data to an aggregated data system
The lifecycle of an employee can be cumbersome and saturated with predictive, analytical, and real-time data useful to the growth of any company. The transformation that will make certain the success of a business, is aggregating all the HR metrics that couple these lifecycles and storing them in one HR dashboard.
A centralized unit for these systems increases visualization and practicality for customers and employees alike. This HR platform will comprise HR systems such as onboarding, notification centers, feedback and surveys, digital assistance and, employee profiles. Having a single platform creates a system of record, and integrated data for better HR reporting.
3. Set up workflows to ensure your HR data is up-to-date
To ensure that the integrated, universal HR data is up to date, utilize workflows across the different silos of HR software. These workflows can also transmit the updated data among your HR metrics and tools, that automatically complete jobs, and pull information from various sections of HR to help generate conclusions.
At PeopleSpheres, we believe that there are a multitude of benefits that arise from integrating workflows. Including a shift away from manual processes, heightened employee productivity, efficiency among work rates and deadlines, and a better allocation of time towards development and growth.
Get Started with HR Analytics
HR management teams have a lot on their plates. Humans are constantly updating, innovating, adding, and growing within our workforces, and data is multiplying by the minute. So why shouldn’t the organization systems put in place be modernizing with us?
By utilizing SSOT, data can be combed through, sorted, updated, and integrated automatically, eliminated mistakes, manual labor, and costs. Companies can trust SSOT to give their workers the quickest, most reliable data, that increases transparency, increases work quality, and to make their lives easier. Manually integration is out, and SSOT is in, start building yours today.
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