New research from SD Worx, Europe’s leading HR and payroll service provider, finds that 61 percent of UK companies are using HR and people analytics to gain insights into areas such as staff shortages, absenteeism or employee turnover. 

Across Europe as a whole, people analytics are experiencing a sharp incline in popularity. Austria (66%), Sweden (66%) and Germany (65%) currently lead the way in their analysis of data to tackle business priorities and make data-led people decisions.

But despite the widespread appetite to transform HR decision-making, many have yet to begin seizing the benefits, with four out of 10 UK companies reporting no analytics capabilities. 

However, an increasing proportion of businesses point to growing appetite to make HR and people analytics a higher priority with 21 percent saying they would like to deliver analytics solutions in the next 12 months, a sharp 15 percent increase on last year.  

 

Does HR help decision-making?

Over half (52%) of European companies say they use HR and people analytics when making both strategic and operational decisions.

For Spanish companies, this percentage rises to a huge 82 percent, followed by Italian (70%) and British (59%) companies.

The survey also confirms that it is mainly HR managers and management who use HR and people analytics. But it is not just them who benefit from HR and people analytics, as more than half (52%) of companies already using it said that such reports are useful for employees and managers, too. 

This applies both to decisions at team level, such as talent availability and to individual issues, such as a staff member’s efficient use of time.

Here, too, the size of the company appears to be a decisive factor, as employees and managers of larger companies primarily use HR and people analytics (63%). 

This drops to 59 percent for medium-sized companies, and 48 percent for companies with less than 250 employees.

 

Colette Philp, UK HR Country Lead at SD Worx, comments: 

“Globally, we’re seeing enormous momentum behind HR and analytics tools, bringing tangible improvements to the ways companies support their workforce and understand what’s happening within their organisations. It’s well established that analytics bring hard facts and robust advice to business strategy, yet many are still missing out on their value. In the UK, the fact that four in 10 aren’t using people and HR analytics indicates that they’re missing out on actionable insights, especially amid a time of huge transition as businesses grapple to improve productivity and support employees in a hybrid world.

“However, despite a need for more proactive uptake, the research brings much room for optimism as it confirms an openness to realising the full potential of HR and people analytics across organisations. With companies wishing to reap the benefits – from improved decision-making, to efficiencies across HR processes – there is a rising imperative to roll out new capabilities that respond to business goals and deliver impact amid the challenges. 

“However, companies are all too aware that success doesn’t just happen overnight and the ladder to long term impact is a steep one. Getting a foot on that ladder by assessing goals and key priorities should be the first step towards harnessing the value of these now indispensable tools.”

 

Amelia Brand

Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.