Need Help Workforce Planning? Look to People Analytics

Workforce planning can be overwhelming, so I like to think of it as a puzzle – every piece has to fit perfectly in order for the bigger picture to come together. Of course, this analogy may cause even more panic if you hate puzzles (guilty as charged).

But that’s exactly what workforce planning does: It ensures that the right people are in the right place at the right time, doing the right things. Make sense?

And in order for your workforce planning strategy to be successful, you must use people analytics. In fact, JT Haskell, Director of Recruiting at Zapier, says it best: “Every aspect that [you] look at from a people analytics perspective comes down to a data-driven decision.”

But oftentimes, leaders don’t maximize the potential of their people analytics, leaving all of that rich, data-based decision-making on the hypothetical table. If you’re ready to strengthen your workforce planning strategy and make the best decisions for your organization, check out the following four ways to use people data to your advantage.

Democratizing Data Allows Leaders at All Levels to Make Informed Decisions

With people analytics, you collect and analyze granular insights on individual employees, teams, departments, and your organization, including:

• Financial health, projected growth, and budget allocation
• Company culture feedback, eNPS results, and employee experience ratings
• Performance ratings and engagement levels
• Workforce demographics and DEI opportunities
• Headcount requests, team restructures, and succession plans

Sounds great, right? But all too often, we don’t talk about what needs to happen so employees can make decisions regarding the topics above. In short, companies need to democratize their people data.

Interested in learning more about democratizing your people data? Read the Josh Bersin report here.

Read the report here

To do so (and, in effect, boost your employee experience at every level), you’ll need to examine your tech stack. The Josh Bersin Company encourages leaders to follow the SOAR framework: Your technology should be Simple and Visual, Open and Transparent, Action-Oriented, and Real-Time. These attributes lead to increased collaboration, transparency, and efficiency – talk about a no-brainer decision. In short, if your people analytics technology aligns to company and employee needs, your entire organization can reap the benefits.

Looking to create a more transparent workplace? Give your people an up-to-date view of your org chart and employee profiles.

Viewing HR Data in a Single Platform Aligns Stakeholders

Workforce planning is a complicated process. The sheer number of stakeholders involved can be daunting: between leadership approving headcount, hiring managers strategizing with recruiters, recruiters coordinating interviews with applicants, and finance allocating budget, workforce planning involves many moving parts.

And inevitably, without the right technology, silos, confusion, and gaps in the process will also occur. Overwhelmed yet?

Luckily, with a people operations platform that aggregates data from multiple sources, all stakeholders can collaborate within a single system – so the right people have access to up-to-date information at all times.

This alignment benefits the entire organization. For example, Even Financial used to engage in workforce planning in silos, with hiring managers working off disparate spreadsheets. Their teams’ levels of separation stalled plans and created bottlenecks, which ultimately hindered organizational success. Sound familiar?

Now, using people analytics, leaders at Even Financial complete tasks more effectively and collaboratively. Alyssa Nowicky, People Analytics Manager, explains: “Having people analytics located in a centralized location where everything is standardized makes sure everyone is planning along the same process and can see how decisions impact the business. It ensures we’re making the proper workforce decisions down the road.”

When leaders have access to the same HR data – and in the same sandbox – collaboration and approvals are streamlined and efficient.

Using Qualitative Data Encourages People-First Decisions

It’s clear you should use people analytics and HR data reports to make workforce planning decisions. But there’s another type of data that’s equally important: qualitative data. However, that practice can be tricky if you’re not routinely meeting with your people, collecting feedback, and analyzing your data.

It’s therefore important to request written feedback as well as numerical ratings. In short, employees’ explanations of their feedback (such as why they gave your company a certain eNPS score) provides context and helps you make more people-first decisions.

Of course, there’s some things that can’t be captured in a report or short-answer questionnaire. This is where your social awareness also helps you make people-first decisions for your workforce.

For example, Evilee Ebb, Business Development and Partnerships at ChopChop Family, gathers information by observing verbal and non-verbal cues. She shares, “I had someone join my team in a technical capacity, as his resume and achievements showed he was a great fit for that position. It became clear early on that he was going through the motions when it came to tech, but he’d light up whenever he engaged with salespeople and customers. Because of those observations and further conversations, he shifted into a role that brought him more joy. Needless to say, this decision fundamentally changed the trajectory of his career.”

It’s this extra step – taking the time to understand and support her people – that helps her make people-first decisions.

When managers meet with direct reports regularly, they can collect more accurate and timely qualitative and quantitative data.

Understanding the Present Helps You Accurately Forecast the Future

When you understand the now of your company, you’re better able to plan for the future. In other words, when you implement a successful workforce planning strategy, your headcount planning strategy becomes more proactive, data-informed, and accurate.

Unsure of the difference between workforce planning and headcount planning?

Find out here

Here at ChartHop, we use past headcount plans and current people analytics to inform scenarios and forecast how changes may impact our hiring roadmap, operational KPIs, budget, and more.

Similarly, Zapier uses data to inform just about every part of their hiring strategy. At the executive level, Zapier’s leaders can see what roles are unfilled or might be opening up. From there, they can drill down into individual teams to account for headcount planning intricacies, like contingency plans, upskilling opportunities, and potential vacancies.

Haskell says access to this data is beneficial for talent acquisition partners. Specifically, retroactive information empowers their recruiters to forecast effectively using past interview rates, onboarding completion rates, new hire performance data, and more. “It gives us predictable outcomes for the business, so that everyone can start delivering on what they’re working on,” explains Haskell.

Even when those completely unforeseeable circumstances do come up — which they occasionally do — Haskell says access to this data gives Zapier the agility to stay resilient. “It’s fair to have grace for yourself and understand that you can only plan so much,” he says. “You can always leave a buffer so if things pop-up along the way, you can look at your total bandwidth and plan accordingly.”

Like at Zapier, these insights help propel workforce planning at Even Financial. “With data, we can start to map out exactly what resources we’ll need for each of the business decisions and start planning ahead, “ says Nowicky. “Proactive planning leads to much more informed conversations about hiring beyond, ‘I just need someone on my team.’ Now there’s a reason for that spend that’s known across the organization.”

It’s important for your talent acquisition team and hiring managers to have the right data when headcount planning. Make sure you choose a people operations platform that integrates with your ATS.

Use People Analytics to Support Your Workforce Planning Efforts

If you’re ready to create a solid workforce planning strategy – all while looking like a rockstar – examine your people analytics. With data in hand, you can make informed decisions regarding all aspects of your organization, including compensation planning, DEIB efforts, and employee engagement. Of course, you’ll not only want to look at the metrics, but also the qualitative data, or the stories behind those numbers. Understanding your people through and through is one way you’ll not only achieve being a people-first leader, but also succeed in strategic workforce planning.

Now that you can attack workforce planning with confidence, why not do the same with headcount planning? Check out our guide to get the best tips as you plan for the year ahead.