In today's data-driven world, both HR analytics and people analytics play an integral part in shaping strategic business decisions. This blog explores both fields, highlighting their focus, tools, techniques and how each provides unique insights into workforce management and overall business performance.
What is people analytics?
People analytics involves the collection, analysis and transformation of HR, as well as organisational data (such as sales, marketing and finance data) into insights that enhance the business’ operations.
People analytics teams play an important role in gathering, analysing and interpreting this data, with the ultimate aim of generating insights that can inform business processes, often at a strategic level.
The metrics they look at can include things like sales performance, market share and employee satisfaction.
What is HR analytics?
Similarly to people analytics, HR analytics involves the collection, analysis and transformation of data into informative insights. This data involves things like employee demographics, compensation, performance reviews and turnover rates, and typically gains insight into performance, productivity and engagement.
Compared to people analytics, HR analytics focuses specifically on HR related data, whereas data from other areas of the business are combined in the people analytics approach.
Read on for more of the differences between people analytics and HR analytics in business.
Tools and techniques used in HR analytics and people analytics
As you’ll see, there is a certain amount of overlap in the two practices, but both offer a slightly different approach and therefore obtain different information and insights for businesses. From the techniques and tools used for analysis, to the scope of analysis, here are the key differences between HR analysis and people analytics:
Focus
HR analytics: As mentioned earlier, HR analytics mainly uses internal HR data like employee demographics, turnover rates etc., to improve overall efficiencies and workforce planning.
People analytics: Going one step further, people analytics teams combine this kind of HR data with broader organisational data too, including collaboration patterns, social network analysis and productivity metrics. This deeper analysis helps to predict trends, improve leadership effectiveness, culture and employee sentiment.
Techniques for analysis
HR analytics: Often uses the likes of Excel, SQL and data visualisation tools such as Tableau for analysis. Using these, HR analytics teams are able to monitor HR performance with retrospective data analysis.
People analytics: People analytics teams use more advanced techniques like statistical modelling and more recently, artificial intelligence to predict future trends and behaviours for workforces, for example.
Tools, software and platforms
HR analytics: The HR management systems (HRMS) most often used by HR analytics teams include SAP SuccessFactors which is powered by AI, or ADP, focusing on HR-specific data. These tools hold data related to employee records, making them most suitable for obtaining HR data.
People analytics: Elevated from the basic HR analytics tools, people analytics teams often use cross-functional platforms like organisational network analysis (ONA) and sentiment analysis software. These tools allow the teams to analyse how employees across different divisions engage with each other, engage with the business and their sentiment, and are able to predict how these dynamics impact the business.
How an MSc in People Analytics can help you on your career journey
If the sound of making a tangible difference to companies and employees sounds like something you’d be interested in, an MSc in People Analytics could be for you.
The Hull Online MSc in People Analytics can help you achieve your career goals if you prefer to take the broader view that people analytics offers. Our course combines different specialisms that will help you see how variables from different areas of an organisation are interrelated.
Throughout your two-year, part-time course, you'll learn to develop and apply a variety of psychological and statistical tools, including specialist software and psychometric instruments, within the workplace. You'll be trained in quantitative and qualitative research methods so that you can make more strategic and data-informed decisions:
