Employee Data Management has long been an HR priority as it impacts major organizational activities such as growth forecasting, recruitment planning, horizontal promotions, and workforce expense planning, among others. But how can the HR team strategize so many crucial strategies without creating a single source of truth for employee information? Moreover, the challenge around workforce management becomes harder as the number of employees rises. This is because often granular employee data is needed and locating information becomes akin to finding a needle in a haystack.
In this blog, we will explore how cluttered employee data can be a challenge in workforce management and how HRTech solutions can help companies smoothen the roadblock.
Challenges in Managing Employee Data
Employee Data comprises several types of information such as organisational parameters like company, business unit, department, location, grade, etc. and demographic information like gender, age, blood group, etc. Given the diversity of information, making organization-wide decisions without tackling data inaccuracies is easier said than done.
Take, for example, a new project that needs to be staffed urgently and needs resources with specific expertise from different teams. At the same time, it could be that other projects have deadlines closing in. In such a case solving the staffing problem could be difficult without detailed employee data, which entails the projects they are involved in and the status of each project. However, classifying data effectively with minute details, especially if they have to be fed into the HR system manually, can be not just laborious but also error-prone. In addition, such daunting tasks can take away the HR team’s focus from core HR strategy.
Here are some key challenges that HR teams face in the absence of a robust Employee Data Management System:
- The Human-level Impact: Unless the HR team can assess the efficiency of a team, it could be difficult to understand that the team is overworked. Similarly, if the data is not segregated properly, gauging inclusivity-oriented issues, such as the gender pay gap could go unnoticed. Further, poor data classification can be a hindrance in determining employee satisfaction levels along with the ways to address the issues, reasons for attrition, etc.
- Talent Acquisition: Talent acquisition is central to effectively running a company. This is why collecting quantitative data on the talent pipeline is non-negotiable. Without a strong hold on employee data understanding time-to-hire rates and job-filling success metrics, among other parameters can be difficult. Consequently, activities like planning recruitment drives, determining the ROI of job advertising, and predicting workforce expenditures become complex. Another disadvantage of having employee data in disarray is that HR teams might have to manually track if the talent they hired fits the bill or not.
- Talent Management: HR departments are often tasked with getting talent snapshots which enable them to assess if the productivity is justified as per the workforce. Similarly, talent snapshots are necessary for analysing skill gaps and for implementing buffers against situations where key employees become inactive or absent. However, without the data insights that an employee management system offers, these tasks can become hard to achieve. Another aspect of Talent Management that would suffer without proper data classification is the identification of future leaders. Therefore, companies might not be able to promptly select candidates and mentor them for senior management training programs.
Benefits of Decluttering Employee Data
The following are some of the major benefits of streamlining employee data:
Improved Decision-Making: When HRs and managers can see clear data on individuals and productivity, they can distribute work better. In the same manner, workforce expansion as well as rewards and benefits can be effectively planned with consolidated data in place.
Enhanced Productivity: An organized employee data set can be easily analysed to recognize workforce gaps. This could in turn help employees manage their workload and focus in enhancing the quality of work.
Better Employee Engagement: Given a strong understanding of the projects, employees are involved in, the company could ensure that the professionals enjoy a better work-life balance. In other words, streamlined employee data leads to better employee engagement.
On a different note, employee data also includes survey results on employee experience. By making the best of this data, worker satisfaction can be driven via various engagement strategies.
Compliance and Risk Mitigation: Employee data management is an essential part of compliance and risk mitigation efforts in an organization. This is because maintaining accurate records is necessary when performing internal audits and regulatory compliance.
Now that we understand the merits of employee data management, let’s find out how we can make the best of employee data.
Strategies and Best Practices for Decluttering Employee Data
Curious about how to organize employee data? Here are some tips:
- Centralized Data Management Systems: Centralized systems are essential for companies to create a single source of truth. These tools improve the accessibility of the data along with minimizing the chances of storing erroneous data as the data entry process is automated.
- Regular Data Audits and Cleanup: Conducting data audits periodically ensures outdated or inconsistent information is eliminated from the database. Moreover, regular cleanups help companies comply with evolving privacy regulations.
- Streamlining HR Processes: Streamlined workflows break data silos, facilitating better access to data, thus enhancing overall organizational efficiency.
- Investing in Technology Solutions: Adopting advanced technology solutions automates data handling, from onboarding to offboarding. This not only reduces manual errors but also enhances data security, promoting a streamlined and organized approach to employee data management.
Looking for an employee data management solution? Among the host of HR Tech solution providers in the market, EmployWise is amongst the best. Let’s discover how this platform can help you manage your employee data in a hassle-free manner.
EmployWise: A Solution for Efficient Workforce Management
EmployWise’s Workforce Management solution helps companies simplify challenges around large volumes of employee data via a centralized data system. The solution supports dynamic organograms that display updated employee data. The Talent Finder feature of the solution has 15+ fields, thus you can find granular data on your employees and plan different activities efficiently. We also help you store alumni data in case they rejoin. Finally, using the updated data, we also help you auto-generate templatized letters, saving you time from mundane correspondence work.
Want to drive efficiency by effectively leveraging employee data? Get EmployWise solutions, today – connect with us!
