New research highlights that UK organisations are more likely to gather and utilise people data compared to many other European countries which are falling behind.
Data by SD Worx, a HR and payroll specialist, shows that organisations in the UK are ahead of the curve when it comes to using people data and measuring business efficiency.
Just over a quarter of businesses within Europe (26 per cent) reported they have little or no insight into their HR and personnel costs.
In addition, almost three in ten (29 per cent) are unable to monitor how well their people are performing, yet over a third (35 per cent) of companies feel pressure to reduce HR and personnel costs.
This was particularly prevalent in France (44 per cent) and Austria (41 per cent) – with almost half of professionals stating they do not have access to HR and personnel cost data.
Conversely, four-fifths of UK organisations (80 per cent) stated that they do have access to this data, allowing them to make informed decisions.
Similarly, many organisations within Europe stressed that they were struggling with evaluating staff performance, with France and Austria again featuring as the countries that found this most difficult to carry out.
However, again, over three-quarters of UK firms questioned (77 per cent) said they have a good or a very good overview of their business efficiency.
Colette Philp, UK HR Country Lead at SD Worx, stated that the UK was leading the way in this arena:
The UK is setting an example for many businesses in Europe when it comes to having good insights into wage bills, HR costs, and business efficiency.
Accurate monitoring of data is the foundation that businesses must have to get the most out of their people management and HR analytics. Improved access to data allows companies to gain better insights into their people and to fine-tune their policies if needed, so that the company can work in an improved way in the interests of both the employees and the employer.
A separate survey also found that people analytics are central to aiding key issues that HR struggle with including diversity and inclusion, employee networks and measuring employee sentiment.
*SD Worx had a survey carried out by market research company Ipsos. The survey asked 1,382 employers in 8 countries including the UK questions about the effects of the pandemic on their company.
Monica Sharma is an English Literature graduate from the University of Warwick. As Editor for HRreview, her particular interests in HR include issues concerning diversity, employment law and wellbeing in the workplace. Alongside this, she has written for student publications in both England and Canada. Monica has also presented her academic work concerning the relationship between legal systems, sexual harassment and racism at a university conference at the University of Western Ontario, Canada.