HR Analytics is catching on, but it’s still a growing area with many companies yet to embrace the opportunities it can offer. Last year I was part of a data science bootcamp and spent some time training myself to e.g. learn python and statistics. I know that HR information is subject to confidentiality, privacy and data protection laws and ethics is something that should always be on your mind. So it's not easy to collect and work with HR data. Still I am at the beginning and need to learn a lot more but I am so curious to take a deeper dive into the HR Analytics world. That's why I spent some time reading articles and tried to find out more about diversity and inclusion and how HR analytics can be part of it.
Diverse teams with engaged talents are more innovative, understand customer needs better, and drive financial results. On the one hand, a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion is important for companies looking to build workplaces that are representative of the world in which we live. On the other hand, investments in diversity, equity and inclusion have a relationship to business performance and increased profits.
Organizations need a comprehensive approach that looks at diversity, equity and inclusion across the organization (and society) as a whole. HR may lead the effort, but this is an organization-wide undertaking. Data and analytics should play a key role in this endeavor, providing the ability to identify where there are gaps, prioritize areas for action, and enable ongoing measurement of progress.
- Diversity When we are talking about a diversity of talents (internal diversity), we are talking about the representation of different groups of population in the workforce of an organization.
- Equity Equity involves looking at programs, initiatives and individual cases where opportunities may or may not be consistent and fair. This can be characterized by inequities or gaps in pay, promotions, opportunities for development, opportunities to lead, and more.
- Inclusion First of all, it is a feeling. It is subjective and less tangible than diversity. The best talents that don’t feel included will not contribute and won’t’ stay in the organization for a long time.
Diversity and Inclusion is not a one-time initiative. In the best case, it becomes a part of the company’s culture. So the following indicators should be updated and analyzed periodically. This data is sometimes found in your core systems, like your HRIS or your learning management system, furthermore it’s found in surveys or qualitative data. To kick off diversity and inclusion in your company, set goals in order to identify what the organization wants out of a D&I program.
- 1. Define which diversity dimensions you will monitor, depending on your business goals E.g.if you are seeking to improve retention through the implementation of a flexible work policy you should extend your diversity metrics to track employment status and tenure.
- 2. Review data policies Maybe you need the individual consent to capture sensitive information. So you should consider the legal and ethical requirements regarding the storing of sensitive information.
- 3. Establish baseline measures It is impossible to track progress unless you have a baseline measure. Maybe you can check business or industry benchmarks or set up your own company baseline measure.
- 4. Assign responsibility and establish accountability Ultimate accountability for diversity and inclusion should be at the level of the CEO and the Board of Directors.
- 5. Track and analyse results It's a good idead to set up a formal plan for measuring your progress — what metrics will be calculated, by whom, and how often?
- 6. Build a Dashboard
Visualize your KPIs and create a Human resources KPI template. It includes all the key metrics and presents them visually so that your analysis becomes much simpler. - 7. Report results and outline new initiatives Results of diversity efforts should be transparent internally - of course, not all metrics need to be disclosed.
- 8. Review metrics regularly Employers should regularly review diversity and inclusion metrics, changing them as needed as the diversity and inclusion program matures and as business goals change.
In the follwoing i noted some metrics for your diversity & inclusion analytics which can help you to e.g. identify risk areas, prioritise initiatives, set targets and other program goals. Once you identify the intended outcome, attach a metric to it. For outcomes around feelings, perspectives, or other non-numerical items, use ranked method metrics where you offer a statement that speaks to the outcome, such as “I believe this company is inclusive” and ask respondents to rank their feelings about the statement on a scale of one to five.
Useful for identifying groups that are underrepresented in the organisation
- Nationalities / Ethnicity
- Gender
- Age
- Educational attainment
- Languages spoken / English proficiency
- Seniority (tenure / professional expertise)
- Disability and health status
- Family status
- Carer and parental status
- Employment status (full time, part-time, flexible working)
Useful for identifying bias in compensation and reward schemes.
- Avg Salary per Gender (Gender Gap)
- Compare financial and non-financial rewards earned
Ranked method metrics are single statements where respondents answer on a scale of 1 to 5, one being a “strongly disagree” and 5 being a “strongly agree”. This helps to quantify feeling across the organization.
- I can disagree with my co-workers productively, regardless of seniority
- I know all opportunities in the company are open to anyone who is qualified
- Number of D&I Initiatives Implemented = The number of D&I initiatives implemented measures organizational commitment to establishing and maintaining a culture of diversity and inclusion
- Number of D&I Trainings & Participants = The number of D&I trainings offered and measuring the participamnts can give you insights of your culture of diversity and inclusion
- % of bathrooms that are gender affirming or gender neutral
- % of entrances and exits that are accessible
Useful for identifying barriers to entry for different groups, pipeline issues, and narrow or biased recruitment efforts or for identifying bias in assessment and selection.
- Diversity in Recruiting / Talent Pool Looking closer on your recruitment activities you can e.g. measure the gender / education / languages / nationalities etc. in your recruitment process / or talent pool.
- Number of global hires = Or you can check the number of how many talents were hired globally
Company-wide metrics help show the impact of diversity and inclusion projects on the business. They should be looked at in isolation but also correlated to the data you have available through ranked method statements and demographic information.
- Overall sales growth correlated to increases in diversity or changes in ranked metrics
- Brand sentiment (done through social listening and correlated to any public conversation the company has about diversity and inclusion)
It’s about creating an environment where people feel valued, leveraged and welcome. In an inclusive organization all people are respected and appreciated for their unique contributions.Information about inclusiveness tends to be driven by experience data and surveys which can be purely qualitative in nature but can also exist in a hybrid where qualitative and quantitative data are combined.
Inclusion is a feeling of:
- Being part of the team
- Being heard
- Being respected and valued
- Having equal political power
It can be measured according to the anonymous employee surveys
I would love to work on a HR related data set and analyze the above mentioned metrics. Some time ago I already worked on a HR related Dataset and there are some of the mentioned topics in it. You can check it our here .
I also need to mention, tha I just started and still working on this topic - so this article is constantly changing and I do not assume any responsibility for the completeness.