Workforce Analytics — What is it?

The phrase “workforce analytics” can be confusing. At its core, however, it is simple: using data to better understand and improve how people work. Let’s break it down:

1. Using data. Everyone has data. It may be in an excel spreadsheet or a complex database, but the data exists. The questions are: is it the right data? And, is it accurate data? The “right” data is human resources (HR) data that includes information gathered from a job application on through to training, performance, and exits. The HR data also need to be able to connect an employee to the work they do and outcomes for children and families captured in a child welfare data system. This data must be accurate and reliable. One way to ensure it is reliable, is to go to the source. That is, the people collecting or inputting the data points you are examining. If data is missing, use focus groups or surveys to get more information.
2. To better understand. Everyone knows the old adage about finding facts to support any position. This is known as confirmation bias. To avoid confirmation bias, bring together a team of people with different experiences (e.g., recent hires and tenured professionals, case carrying workers and administrators, people with lived experience with child protective services, data analysts, human resources professionals) and examine the available data. Incorporate strategies such as “the 5 Whys” and use the team to discuss the pain points in your workforce (i.e., recruitment, selection, training) to get to root causes.
3. Improve how people work. Once you have confidence in your data and understand what it is telling you about your workforce, you can identify strategies to address those root causes. The key then is to test those strategies and continue to look at the data to monitor changes over time. Data visualization tools, such as data dashboards, can help teams monitor the workforce changes that are expected to improve as a result of the strategy being implemented.

Many agencies are doing workforce analytics, even if it is not called by that name. For example, if your agency isn’t getting as many applicants as they used to, you may look at what the data tells you (e.g., number of days between posting and application, number of applicants in one year compared to the past year, where the job opening was posted and how many people saw it) and then gather people to discuss and dig into the available information to decide on strategies to increase the number of people applying for a job. A few months later you may circle back to see if the changes you made in the process improved the size of the applicant pool. In this scenario your agency is engaged in workforce analytics.  

For more information, see this resource by our predecessor the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development.