A survey by SD Worx found that although 3 in 4 organizations claim to have a high analytics maturity level, 44% of organizations believe they lack the expertise required to deliver staff reports and insights. This demonstrates a mismatch between where businesses believe they are and where they are in reality.

In this article, we’ll explore the HR analytics maturity model, how to conduct an HR analytics maturity assessment to determine your current maturity level, and how to increase HR analytics maturity in your organization based on the business’s unique needs and goals.

Contents
HR analytics maturity model explained
Why HR analytics maturity matters
HR analytics maturity assessment
How to increase HR analytics maturity in your organization

HR analytics maturity model explained

The HR analytics Maturity model defined by Bersin/Deloitte consists of 4 stages: 

1. Operational reporting
2. Advanced reporting
3. Advanced analytics
4. Predictive analytics.

Let’s explore the four levels in more detail. 

Level 1: Operational reporting

At level 1, the HR department works with ‘traditional’ operational reporting, using available data to understand what happened in the past—and potentially why—and what this means for the business. The HR team reports traditional metrics such as headcount, attrition, labor cost, and training cost, usually generated using a Human Resources Information System (HRIS). 

Level 2: Advanced reporting

HR departments at level 2 are capable of operational and advanced reporting of HR metrics. This proactive reporting provides frequent, multiple perspectives and is sufficiently advanced to influence strategic decision-making. HR reporting is descriptive and focused on efficiency. Most organizations at level 2 deliver HR metrics to managers and executives in organized dashboards.

Level 3: Advanced analytics

At level 3 of the data and analytics maturity model, the organization has surpassed operational and proactive reporting and has succeeded in introducing more thorough, advanced analytics. Statistical modeling is used to solve business problems and predict the future.

Level 4: Predictive analytics

At level 4 – the highest level of analytics maturity – the HR team plays a major role in the organization’s strategic decision-making. It’s gathering data, using it to predict what could happen in the future, and to plan for it. HR is aware of the impact of people policies, actively uses predictive models, and is capable of playing a fully strategic role within the company. 

Organizations that have reached level 4 in the people analytics maturity model are, therefore, more likely to have a Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) on their Board of Directors or a people analytics center of excellence that directly reports to the CEO.

HR analytics maturity tends to mirror the broader HR function’s maturity, but can lag behind or advance ahead depending on the organization’s focus and investment. For example, early-stage HR functions tend to be in the reporting stage, where metrics like headcount and turnover are tracked, while more advanced HR functions move into predictive analytics.

That said, the two don’t always progress in sync. A company might have a relatively mature HR function with consistent processes, strong leadership support, and strategic alignment, but still rely on spreadsheets for tracking data. In this case, HR is ready to use insights but lacks the tools or skills to move beyond descriptive metrics.

Sometimes, an organization has strong data capabilities (e.g., a central analytics team or investments in BI tools), but the HR function itself isn’t fully developed—processes are inconsistent, or decision-making is still mostly reactive. The analytics may be capable of producing predictive models, but without a solid HR foundation, the data inputs are unreliable, or the insights aren’t used.

In short, the development of one often influences the other, but mismatches do happen. Companies get the most value when HR practices and analytics capabilities evolve together.

Why HR analytics maturity matters

Understanding where your organization sits on the HR analytics maturity curve can have a positive impact on all areas of the business. 

• Enhancing employee experience: A data-driven approach and advanced HR analytics can help you spot engagement trends and predict turnover risks, which enables HR teams to take proactive measures to improve the employee experience and retain top talent. 
• Driving business performance: When workforce strategies align with the business’s long-term goals, it helps ensure the right people are in the right roles at the right time. This facilitates more efficient operations, which saves the organization money and drives revenue. 
• Improving risk management: Through analyzing workforce trends, organizations are able to predict future skill and talent gaps and tackle issues before they escalate. With a mature analytics function, organizations can minimize risk and maintain a strong workforce.
• Fostering a data-driven culture: As organizations progress through the stages of the HR analytics maturity model, data and analytics become a core part of daily operations and decision-making. This drives innovation, gives companies a competitive edge, and cements HR as a strategic business partner that facilitates organizational growth. 

HR analytics maturity assessment

It’s essential to know where you are today to achieve the next stage of maturity. The HR analytics maturity self-assessment (pictured below) can help you identify the current maturity level of your organization.

For each statement, decide whether you strongly disagree, disagree, agree, or strongly agree. 

Each answer gives you the following points:

• Strongly disagree: 0 points
• Disagree: 1 point
• Agree: 2 points
• Strongly agree: 3 points

Once you’ve completed your answers to all the statements, add your points. Your total provides an estimation of your organization’s analytics maturity level.

• 0-5 points: Level 1 – Operational reporting
• 6-11 points: Level 2 – Advanced reporting
• 12-18 points: Level 3 – Advanced analytics
• 19+ points: Level 4 – Predictive analytics.

Go on to read how to progress from your level to the next below.

Extra tips for conducting an HR analytics maturity assessment

• Review current analytics output: Look at the reports and dashboards you’re already producing. Are they mostly descriptive (e.g., headcount, turnover rates), or are you starting to forecast trends and model outcomes? The type and depth of your output say a lot about your current maturity level.
• Gather stakeholder feedback: Talk to HR team members, business leaders, and department managers. Ask how they use HR data, what’s missing, and whether current insights help them make decisions. Their input can reveal blind spots and opportunities.
• Bring in external help: Consultants, analytics trainers, or software vendors can help you benchmark against best practices, uncover gaps, and recommend next steps. This is especially useful if you’re stuck or not sure how to progress to the next stage.

How to increase HR analytics maturity in your organization

Let’s explore how you can progress from one stage of the HR analytics maturity model to the next.

Getting to Level 1: How to establish operational reporting

This is for businesses just starting their analytics journey who want to establish a strong level 1 foundation. The HR department should focus on using historical data to pinpoint the changes that have occurred in the organization. An HRIS can help you keep accurate and consistent employee records and maintain reliable and consistent data. Make sure to standardize fields and naming conventions across systems (e.g., job titles, departments, employment types) so reports are accurate and easy to interpret.

In a small team, you may want to appoint one person in the HR team to be the “data person”, ideally someone with some data literacy who is comfortable with spreadsheets, simple dashboards, or HRIS reporting tools.

Start producing a small set of core reports that give you a clear picture of your workforce. A few useful starting points:

• Headcount report
  • Total headcount by department and seniority level
  • Breakdown by employment type (e.g., full-time, part-time, contract).
• Turnover report
  • Monthly or quarterly exits with reasons by department
  • Voluntary vs. involuntary turnover.
• New hire report
  • Number of hires per month
  • Source of hire, time-to-fill, and new hire attrition (if available).
• Absence report
  • Average days lost per employee, by reason (e.g., sick leave, parental leave)
  • Patterns across teams or time periods.

Even at this early stage, try to automate recurring reports through your HRIS or spreadsheet templates. That way, you’re not starting from scratch every time, and it’s easier to spot trends.

From Level 1 to Level 2: How to move from operational to advanced reporting

To move beyond basic reporting, the HR team needs to shift from simply tracking what happened to exploring why it happened and how that information can support smarter decisions.

To move from level 1 to level 2, the HR department should proactively create relevant reports around business questions. Don’t just list numbers—analyze trends. For example, is turnover higher in specific departments? Are certain roles taking longer to fill?

Start comparing your data to internal goals or external standards to give your numbers context. Knowing that your turnover rate is 18% is helpful, but knowing that your industry average is 12% tells a clearer story. Also, adding layers to your metrics helps provide more information. Break down data by variables like department, tenure, or seniority. This helps spot patterns you’d miss in high-level totals.

Instead of sending static reports, build visual dashboards that managers and executives can review at a glance. Focus on clarity and relevance, and include only the metrics that support decision-making.

At this level, you may have one or more HR analysts and centralized reporting processes. The goal is to move from describing the past to explaining it, helping leaders take more informed action.

From Level 2 to Level 3: How to move from advanced reporting to advanced analytics

The move from level 2 to level 3 primarily involves using statistical analysis for HR data, such as demographics, performance, and hiring data, combined with financial and operational data from different systems. This enables you to uncover patterns, predict outcomes, and support deeper business questions.

At this stage, it’s important to have a centralized HR (analytics) department and at least some level of data integration of the various systems. Organizations typically use a business intelligence (BI) system to compile data from multiple systems or to build a database or a data warehouse of relevant data that can easily be used for analysis. Statistical tools (e.g., R, Python, or analytics features in platforms like Power BI or Tableau) enable deeper insights, like regression models, clustering, or forecasting.

After collating the necessary data, you can start answering questions through statistical analysis. To ensure strategic impact, focus on key business issues and translate all results into actionable solutions. At this level, the focus is on explaining what’s happening—not just observing it—so the team can identify root causes and guide smarter decisions.

For example, rather than simply noting high turnover in one department, you might analyze historical data to find that mid-level engineers with no promotion in 18+ months and a recent manager change are more likely to resign. These findings allow HR to take informed action, like launching targeted development or retention programs, based on real evidence, not assumptions.

HR tip

While it may be tempting to skip a step on the HR analytics maturity model, or move quickly from one stage to the next, there’s a risk you’ll invest a lot of resources in building something that may need to be redone at a later stage. 

From Level 3 to Level 4: How to move from advanced to predictive analytics

The move from level 3 to level 4—the final stage in the HR analytics maturity model—requires a transition to predictive analytics, which enables organizations to forecast future outcomes and model the impact of different decisions. This allows organizations to mitigate risks more effectively and thus engage in strategic workforce planning. Put simply, the goal is to support proactive, forward-looking strategies like workforce planning, succession management, and risk mitigation.

For example, predictive HR analytics can help you:

• Forecast turnover rates over the next 12 months and identify roles or departments most at risk
• Predict internal mobility trends and identify employees who are likely to be ready for promotion
• Anticipate hiring needs based on business growth plans, past attrition patterns, and skill gaps.

To get to this level, you will need additional analytical capabilities in your team, for example, a dedicated data scientist sifting through your people data. As predictive modeling goes beyond simple data analysis, you will begin to use tools that require more programming knowledge. An example of this is R, an open-source system for statistical computation and visualization.

At this stage, HR becomes a true strategic partner by helping the business plan for what’s ahead, not just react to what’s already happened.

Over to you

Understanding the four stages of the HR analytics maturity model and where your organization currently sits can help you better utilize data and analytics to drive performance and success. 

Climbing the levels of the model should not be a general goal but rather a tool to serve your business’s needs. If you’re considering investing in greater analytics maturity in your organization, it’s important to map out your needs, demonstrate the value that greater data maturity could yield, and weigh these against the costs. 

The post HR Analytics Maturity Model: Test & Improve Your Level appeared first on AIHR.

As priorities change, FAST goals help teams stay focused and adapt quickly. By keeping goals specific, visible, and regularly discussed, this approach drives better performance and steady progress.

Contents
What are FAST goals?
Benefits and challenges
HR FAST goals vs. HR SMART goals
Free HR FAST goals template
How to write FAST goals for HR in 5 steps
Best practices for setting HR FAST goals
5 examples of FAST goals

What are FAST goals?

If you’ve worked with SMART goals before, you’ll know they’re great for setting clear, measurable objectives. But in fast-paced, team-based environments, a more flexible approach can make all the difference. That’s where FAST goals come in – a goal-setting method designed for speed, visibility, and collaboration.

FAST stands for:

• Frequent discussions
• Ambitious
• Specific
• Transparent.

This method helps teams stay aligned and responsive as priorities shift—whether you’re setting recruitment goals, managing team performance, or focusing on professional development.

What makes FAST goals different?

• Frequent: FAST goals are reviewed regularly, not just once a year. This means weekly check-ins, monthly planning, or milestone reviews. Regular discussions help teams stay on track, identify challenges early, and make adjustments as needed. This approach works especially well for managing performance goals in fast-changing environments.
• Ambitious: These goals are meant to challenge your team and encourage growth beyond what’s comfortable or expected. They aim to push limits, develop new skills, and drive real progress. In high-performing environments, setting challenging targets helps keep energy, focus, and momentum high. When goals are tough but achievable, they give teams a clear purpose and can inspire innovation and improvement.
• Specific: Goals are clearly defined and unambiguous. Each goal is focused enough that it’s easy to understand what success looks like and how progress will be measured. This helps people prioritize the right actions and stay aligned.
• Transparent: Goals are visible across teams or the entire organization. Sharing them publicly creates accountability and encourages collaboration, as everyone can see how their work connects to broader objectives.

Why use FAST goals in HR?

Goals shouldn’t be static. FAST goals provide a flexible framework that helps teams stay aligned and adaptable. They’re especially useful for cross-functional teams, HR, project-based roles, or any situation where alignment and flexibility are important.

These types of goals also work well with other goal-setting methods. For example, you can set clear details with SMART goals and use the FAST approach to keep those goals visible, ambitious, and adaptable as things change.

Benefits and challenges

Benefits of FAST goals

• Encourages open communication and feedback: FAST goal setting thrives on regular discussions, helping managers and teams identify issues early and improve. In fast-paced areas like performance management or recruitment, this visibility keeps everything on track. 
• Aligns teams with business goals: FAST goals are transparent and shared openly, making it easier for teams to align with business priorities. Everyone knows the key objectives, responsibilities, and how their work fits into the bigger picture—especially useful for cross-functional goals. 
• Boosts accountability through transparency: Visible goals across the organization naturally increase accountability. This builds ownership and collaboration, especially for shared goals or group initiatives. 
• Motivates with ambitious goals: Unlike traditional methods, FAST goals challenge and inspire. They push people to innovate, learn, and create a stronger performance-driven culture.

Challenges of FAST goal setting

• Requires commitment to frequent check-ins: Regular conversations are non-negotiable for FAST goals to work. This requires time and effort from both managers and teams, which can be a challenge in busy or resource-stretched environments.
• May be hard to track progress without the right tools: Because FAST goals can change quickly, tracking them can be tricky without a structured system in place. Whether it’s spreadsheets, dashboards, or performance management software, you’ll need the right tools to monitor and measure outcomes effectively.
• Can create pressure or burnout if not managed well: While ambition is a key strength of the FAST goals methodology, it can backfire if expectations aren’t realistic or if workloads aren’t balanced. This is especially true in teams already under pressure, where stretching too far without support could lead to stress or disengagement.

HR FAST goals vs. HR SMART goals

How to integrate FAST and SMART goals for HR

Goal setting in the workplace isn’t just about setting goals—it’s about aligning people with purpose, increasing engagement, and driving performance. Whether you’ve done it yourself or helped a manager with it, you know how important it is. Both SMART and FAST goals are valuable on their own, but combining them can deliver even better results.

Here’s how and why it works.

Start with SMART for structure

The SMART framework helps you get really clear on what you want to achieve. By setting goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, you create a solid foundation. This is especially useful for performance reviews, recruitment targets, onboarding timelines, or professional development planning.

For example:
“Reduce time-to-hire by 20% by Q3” is a classic SMART goal; it’s focused, measurable, and deadline-driven.

Apply FAST goal setting to make goals dynamic

Once you’ve defined the SMART goal, bring it to life using FAST goals methodology. That means:

• Frequent discussions: Schedule regular check-ins with your HR team or your HR manager to review progress and adjust goals as needed.
• Ambitious: Push your HR team and yourself to go beyond the bare minimum to achieve your goals.
• Specific: Always keep your HR goals clear and actionable to help measure progress and deliver results.
• Transparent: Share it openly with key stakeholders to boost collaboration and accountability.

So, instead of setting a goal and checking in once a year, you’re creating space for regular feedback, iteration, and alignment.

Why this hybrid approach works for HR

Integrating SMART and FAST goals gives HR professionals a flexible and focused way to manage goals across a range of areas – from employee engagement to training and retention. Some of the biggest benefits include:

• Improved performance tracking: HR SMART goals make it easy to measure progress; HR FAST keeps things visible and responsive. Together, they help HR stay on top of what’s working and what needs to change.
• Increased employee engagement: Employees are more motivated when their goals are both clearly defined and regularly discussed. FAST goal setting creates a rhythm of recognition, support, and accountability.
• Relevant, responsive goals: In HR, priorities shift constantly, whether it’s adapting to new tech, compliance updates, or workforce planning needs. A blended approach lets you stay structured without becoming rigid.

A real-world example of HR SMART and HR FAST goals combined

Let’s say you’re leading a project to improve onboarding:

• SMART goal: “Reduce new hire onboarding time by 25% within the next six months.”
• FAST in action: You hold monthly check-ins to assess progress and invite feedback from managers and new hires. Afterward, you adjust your onboarding process based on what you learn and share updates with your wider HR team.

The result? A clear target, but also a process that’s agile, collaborative, and continuously improving.

Free HR FAST goals template

Want to set clearer, more agile goals? Our free FAST goals template helps you structure goals around frequent check-ins, ambitious targets, specific outcomes, and transparent communication. Download it to get started with goal setting that keeps your team aligned and adaptable.

How to write FAST goals for HR in 5 steps

Step 1: Identify key business priorities

Start by understanding your organization’s current goals and challenges. Are you focused on improving retention? Reducing time-to-hire? Enhancing employee experience? Pinpointing what matters most to the business ensures your HR goals are aligned and meaningful.

Step 2: Draft clear, specific goals for individuals and teams

Using the FAST goals methodology, begin by writing goals that are specific and easy to understand. Avoid vague language. Each goal should state exactly what needs to be achieved and by whom. This brings focus and helps teams know what success looks like.

Step 3: Set ambitious targets that stretch performance

FAST goal setting encourages you to aim high. Set goals that push your team or department to go beyond the norm, whether it’s launching a new initiative, improving metrics, or developing new skills. Just make sure the ambition is balanced with realistic support.

Step 4: Make goals visible to everyone in the company

Visibility is a core part of FAST goals. Share your goals across teams and departments to create alignment and accountability. When people can see what others are working toward, it builds trust and encourages collaboration.

Step 5: Schedule regular reviews and feedback

Unlike traditional annual goals, FAST goals are designed to be reviewed frequently. Build regular check-ins into your calendar to assess progress, adjust plans if needed, and celebrate wins. This keeps goals relevant and top of mind.

Best practices for setting HR FAST goals

These tips will help you embed FAST goal setting into your team’s daily rhythm and ensure it supports a strong performance culture.

Use a digital tool or dashboard

Tracking and sharing goals in one central place helps everyone stay aligned. Whether it’s a performance management system, project tracker, or simply a shared dashboard, a visible digital space drives ownership and makes it easier to monitor progress in real time. This also supports transparency, one of the core principles of FAST goals.

Encourage cross-team alignment

HR goals often impact multiple departments, so it’s important to stay connected with other teams. For example, if you’re setting a goal to improve onboarding, align with IT and hiring managers to ensure the process is seamless. Shared visibility and collaboration help everyone stay focused on what matters most.

Train managers to give meaningful feedback

Since FAST goals rely on frequent discussions, managers need to be equipped to provide constructive, motivating feedback. Offering training in areas like coaching, active listening, and performance conversations will help create a culture where regular check-ins lead to real growth, not just updates.

5 examples of FAST goals

Example 1: Atlassian

Type of goals: Team performance and collaboration goals​

Atlassian emphasizes open communication by sharing team goals publicly within the company. Teams utilize the “Goals, Signals, and Measures” play to visualize outcomes, track progress, and adjust strategies as needed. This encourages alignment and ensures everyone understands how their work contributes to broader objectives. ​

Example 2: Google

Type of goals: Innovation, productivity, and growth goals via OKRs​

Google employs Objectives and Key Results (OKRs), aligning closely with FAST principles. OKRs are ambitious, specific, and openly shared across the organization. Regular reviews and a culture of transparency enable teams to adapt quickly and maintain focus on impactful objectives. ​

Example 3: Microsoft

Type of goals: Performance and learning goals in dynamic environments​

Microsoft integrates dynamic goal-setting strategies through platforms like Viva Goals, which supports the creation and tracking of OKRs. This approach emphasizes visibility and ambition, allowing teams to stay aligned with organizational priorities and adapt to changes effectively. ​

Example 4: Adobe

Type of goals: Professional development and innovation goals​

Adobe replaced traditional performance reviews with the “Check-In” system, promoting ongoing, two-way conversations between employees and managers. This approach emphasizes clear expectations, regular feedback, and discussions on growth and development, aligning with FAST goal principles.

Example 5: Spotify

Type of goals: Team OKRs and cross-functional project goals​

Spotify’s model organizes cross-functional teams into “squads,” each functioning like a mini-startup with autonomy over their projects. Squads set shared OKRs that are reviewed regularly and made visible across departments, promoting transparency and collaboration.

To sum up

FAST goals are a goal-setting method built for fast-paced, team-based environments. Unlike SMART goals, which are typically fixed and reviewed occasionally, FAST goals are designed to be reviewed often, shared openly, and adjusted as needed. This makes them more suitable for teams that need to stay aligned and flexible. In HR, combining the structure of SMART goals with the adaptability of FAST goals can improve goal clarity, make tracking easier, and help teams respond to change more effectively.

Companies use elements of the FAST goals methodology to drive growth. Atlassian and Spotify promote open goal-sharing and regular reviews. Google uses OKRs that are ambitious and visible. Microsoft and Adobe focus on ongoing feedback and adaptable goals. These examples show how using FAST goals can help teams stay focused, improve performance, and stay aligned with changing priorities.

The post [Free Template] What Are HR FAST Goals? How To Combine with HR SMART Goals appeared first on AIHR.

To help you gain a better understanding of how to use AI in HR analytics, this article discusses why it matters, how to apply it to your organization’s HR function, and real-life company examples of AI in HR analytics to inspire your own approach.

Contents
AI in HR analytics: HR’s role and impact
AI in HR analytics: Abbreviations to know
Why HR analytics is important in Human Resources
Real-life AI in HR analytics examples
How to use AI in HR analytics: 5 steps
The future of AI in HR analytics

AI in HR analytics: HR’s role and impact

AI is changing HR analytics by improving data collection, processing, and decision-making — this streamlines HR processes, helping HR teams work faster and smarter.

Some key ways in which AI impacts HR analytics include:

Recruitment and hiring

Recruiters save vast amounts of time with AI tools for HR. AI-driven applicant tracking systems (ATS) scan and evaluate résumés and cover letters to assess candidates’ skills and qualifications rapidly and objectively. It also uses chatbots to schedule interviews, update candidates, and compare current data with past trends to predict candidate performance.

Employee experience

AI is changing how employees interact with HR by simplifying access to services. Chatbots assist with onboarding, answer frequently asked questions, and offer instant access to policies and benefits. AI tools can also analyze employee feedback to highlight areas for improvement.

Learning and development

AI in HR analytics can transform an organization’s approach to training and developing employees. It can channel data on employee skills and career aspirations to recommend training initiatives and help create personalized development plans. In addition, AI-enabled learning platforms can adapt training to different skill sets and accommodate various learning styles.

Retention and turnover prediction

Companies using AI in HR can analyze employee turnover rates and data on retention plans for deeper insight into why employees resign. AI models can also analyze workforce trends to predict areas of potential employee attrition. HR teams can then use this information to improve recruitment, onboarding, and retention strategies to attract and retain top talent.

Upskilling and reskilling

AI can help detect skills gaps to inform organizations where employees require upskilling and reskilling to fulfill future roles. It can also identify any employees who are already well-positioned for these roles. With AI-driven personalized training, you can meet the organization’s skills needs and support employees in their career growth.

Abbreviations to know with AI in HR analytics

Before we dive further into the topic, let’s get familiar with some of the most common AI-related terms, acronyms, and abbreviations, as well as what they stand for and what they mean:

• AI (Artificial Intelligence): Computer and machine technology programmed to perform tasks by mimicking human learning, decision-making, and problem-solving.
• Algorithm: A set of clear, step-by-step instructions a computer follows in order to complete a specific task or solve a certain problem.
• Machine Learning (ML): A type of AI that uses algorithms to improve with more data input. It also spots patterns and makes predictions based on what they learn.
• Generative AI (GenAI): AI that uses sophisticated algorithms and ML models to create content (e.g., text, images, audio, and video) based on user input known as prompts.
• Natural Language Processing (NLP): Technology that uses computer science, linguistics, and ML to help computers understand and use human language.
• Chatbot: A program that uses NLP and ML to understand and respond to user queries. It mimics human conversation and communicates through text or voice.

Why HR analytics is important in Human Resources

HR analytics uses data and statistics to analyze and understand workforce trends, helping HR to improve decision-making. For example, tracking relevant metrics helps to evaluate the success of training programs, enhance the hiring process, or address DEIB issues.

Some of its key benefits are:

• Better understanding of employee engagement and retention
• Evidence-based decision-making
• Predicting future needs
• Evaluating HR initiatives
• Improving recruitment, training, and performance
• Efficient resource allocation
• Targeted HR strategies.

Real-life AI in HR analytics examples

Here’s a brief look at a few companies that benefit from successful AI use cases in HR analytics:

IBM

IBM has implemented AI to transform its HR strategies. According to Chief HR Officer Nickle LaMoreaux, the company is applying AI within three broad categories — recommendations, assistants, and agents. This means AI suggests learning paths and budget plans, chatbots answer HR questions, and automated tools help with tasks like managing promotions.

PepsiCo

PepsiCo’s AI talent acquisition tool, Hired Score, scans candidate profiles in the ATS, candidate relationship management system, and HRIS to compile a list of suitable candidates. It then ranks them based on job fit and offers insights to improve hiring decisions. Hiring managers can also access a hub to retrieve other relevant information, such as similar past roles.

Walmart

Walmart’s GenAI-powered desktop and mobile app, My Assistant, answers questions and helps with tasks like drafting documents, freeing up campus employees to focus on core work. It’s also part of Walmart’s Me@Campus app, which allows employees to manage their careers and training, get financial well-being support, book conference rooms, and more.

Unilever

Unilever operates in 190 countries and processes about 1.8 million job applications every year. To better handle this, it implemented an AI-powered online recruitment platform. It also uses AI to assess candidates through games and video interviews and has saved about 70,000 HR hours by automating screening.

How to use AI in HR analytics: 5 steps

Here are five steps to take when applying AI in HR analytics:

Step 1: Ensure data privacy and compliance

Consider ethical factors, such as data privacy, regulatory compliance, and security measures. Obtain consent, collect only necessary data, encrypt sensitive information, and maintain secure data storage. Use generative AI prompts to pinpoint what data is worth collecting.

For example, if you want to reduce employee turnover, a prompt you could use might be: “Besides salary and tenure, what other types of data could be useful in predicting employee turnover?” AI tools can suggest factors and insights to help you build stronger data sets right from the start.

Step 2: Train HR teams on AI usage

Offer comprehensive AI training to help HR teams use AI effectively, ethically, and under legal compliance. Also, provide hands-on training sessions that cover how AI works, what it can and can’t do, how to read data outputs, and when to step in.

It’s important to understand AI’s limitations and the importance of human oversight in applying AI to HR analytics. AI should guide decisions, not make them. For example, recruiters should always review AI-driven recommendations and factor in the context a machine might miss.

Step 3: Use AI to complement, not replace, humans

AI can only reflect the data it’s trained on, and it lacks empathy. So, use AI to save time and deliver faster services but still remain responsible for innovation and decision-making.

For example, an AI tool might suggest a candidate based on historical hiring patterns, but a hiring manager should still assess fit based on team dynamics and potential. Remember that AI can boost productivity, but cannot replace personal judgment.

Step 4: Use AI for continuous improvement

Assess current processes to determine AI’s positive potential. For instance, AI tools can automate tasks, provide metrics analysis, and support data-driven decision-making. Start by identifying bottlenecks — if you’re losing great candidates, use AI to analyze drop-off rates and identify common traits.

Based on the information you obtain, you can adjust your process. Also, track which AI predictions were accurate and which were not. This helps you improve the model over time and get closer to your hiring goals.

Step 5: Monitor and minimize AI bias

AI can’t grasp cultural and societal dynamics and needs training on diverse datasets and ethical guidelines. Conduct periodic checks to monitor data and algorithms for biases so you can mitigate them quickly. Look for patterns — if it favors certain demographics, adjust the algorithm and data inputs.

Finally, create a feedback loop. Allow recruiters to flag questionable AI suggestions so your team can investigate and fix them. This helps you keep the system aligned with organizational culture and values.

HR tip: Minimizing bias and maximizing security

When AI systems are trained on biased historical data, they can perpetuate or amplify biases, posing significant legal risks and negatively impacting workforce diversity. Additionally, the ‘black box’ nature of many AI systems — which have limited understanding or transparency of how decisions or recommendations are made — can lead to compliance and ethical issues.

AIHR’s Psychometrics Assessments Expert, Annelise Pretorius, strongly recommends implementing explainable AI (XAI) systems in HR analytics to ensure transparency and mitigate these risks. The sensitive and personal nature of HR data is also a significant factor to consider when using AI in HR analytics.

“To address concerns related to data protection, privacy, and information security, it’s essential to implement strict data encryption and access controls, as well as conduct regular audits of AI systems. Ethical AI implementation in HR also requires appropriate consent mechanisms that give employees control over their personal data, ensuring meaningful human oversight of algorithmic decisions,” says Annelise.

Generative AI in people analytics

Generative AI can use existing data to revolutionize people analytics with new content, patterns, and insights. Here are some examples of what GenAI can do in this regard:

• Summarize candidate profiles
• Generate reports from simple prompts
• Compile employee feedback
• Draft recruitment emails
• Identify potential leaders by comparing traits
• Model future scenarios based on current data.

The future of AI in HR analytics

Going forward, AI will continue to shape HR with further automation and more advanced support tools. Some upcoming trends in the area of AI in HR analytics include:

Increased HR process automation

AI will handle more administrative tasks with software robots that can interact with digital systems to enter and extract data, submit forms, and move files. More sophisticated chatbots and virtual assistants will also offer employees instant, more personalized support.

AI-driven DEIB initiatives

AI can help eliminate bias in hiring when more advanced systems can recognize and remove biased language from recruitment materials, such as job posts. It can also aid in constructing unbiased dataset frameworks and maintaining algorithmic fairness and transparency. 

Predictive HR analytics

Advanced algorithms and the ability to analyze HR data as it’s produced will allow for more precise HR decision-making and strategies in areas such as workforce and succession planning, sourcing and recruitment, talent acquisition, and talent management.

AI-powered mental health and wellbeing tools

There will likely be more emphasis on personalized employee support, which will lead to systems being able to integrate data from workplace communications, wellness platforms, and even wearable devices to provide customized recommendations for mental health solutions.

Integration with HR platforms

As AI-enabled features continue to develop, you can expect to see further integration with HR software solutions. You may have even more HR platforms to choose from to help streamline processes, support data-driven decision-making, and foster employee engagement.

To sum up

AI is profoundly impacting HR analytics by providing HR professionals with more strategic ways to use data. This data-driven decision-making will empower you to refine and optimize processes, thereby offering a higher level of service to employees and your organization.

Adopting AI in HR analytics requires careful consideration, transparency, and maintaining compliance and ethical standards. HR professionals must embrace AI and learn how to apply it successfully while balancing the irreplaceable elements of human judgment, input, and interaction.

The post How To Use AI in HR Analytics: Your 2025 Go-To Guide appeared first on AIHR.

This article lists common HR data sources you can use as a starting point for your people analytics efforts, and also provides somes suggestions on how to work with data sources in HR.

Contents
Types of HR data sources
HR systems data sources
Other HR data sources
Business data sources
External data sources
7 tips for working with HR data sources
FAQ

Types of HR data sources

HR data sources can be categorized into four main groups:

• HR systems data: Data from the company’s Human Resources Information System (HRIS) includes most of the company’s data about its employees. Common examples of HRIS providers, especially at large companies, include Oracle, SAP, and Workday. Other systems include the applicant tracking system (ATS) and learning management system (LMS).
• Other HR data: Some HR data is essential for data-driven decision-making but is not included in the HRIS. This is often data acquired through surveys or other measurement techniques.   
• Business data: Although it is impossible to cover all business data when doing people analytics, it plays an increasingly important role in connecting workforce trends to broader company outcomes. This includes data from finance, sales, operations, and customer feedback systems.
• External data: Data from external sources, such as industry reports and trends and even data on the flu and the weather, also inform HR strategies.

HR systems data sources

The company’s HRIS contains data on the most common HR functions, including recruitment, performance management, and talent management. Although the modules in the HRIS differ from company to company, there is often a common group of modules that contain data useful for people analytics. 

Recruiting data

Recruiting data gathered from the ATS, which is part of or connected to the HRIS, is a common data source for analysis. It includes the number of candidates who applied, their CVs, other characteristics, and data about the recruitment funnel, recruitment sources, selection, and so on. The ATS is the most common source of input for recruiting metrics.

Demographic data

Another key data source is the employee records in the HRIS. These include employees’ IDs, names, genders, dates of birth, residences, positions, departments, cost center specifications, termination dates, and so on. These demographic data are often included in an analysis as control variables.

Also, when data is combined manually, this often provides a database enriched with data from other systems by matching an employee’s ID as a unique identifier.

Absence data

Recorded absence data is another key source of HR data. Managers or HR usually track sick days and record them in a system. Some organizations also record absence reasons. Similarly, other types of leave, like parental and FMLA leave, and tardiness data are also captured.

Performance management data

The performance management system (PMS) is often part of the HRIS and contains information about performance management, including employee reviews and performance ratings.

Learning management data

The learning management system (LMS) is another source of HR information. It contains a course offering and registers employees’ progress through different programs.

However, not all learning data is stored in the LMS. For example, the finance department often holds information on expenditures from external sources, while learning impact and effectiveness are typically measured using surveys. We’ll discuss this further below.

Job architecture

Job architecture is a framework that serves as a foundation for compensation. Other related terms are job grading and job leveling. Different roles are organized into salary scales with bands and grades with maximum reward levels.

For example, a company might group software engineers into levels from Junior to Senior to Lead, each tied to a salary band and clear expectations.

When used in analytics, it helps answer questions like:

• Are pay levels consistent across similar roles or departments?
• How many employees are in roles with growth potential vs. capped roles?
• Are certain levels seeing higher turnover or promotion rates?
• How well is the organization developing talent across job grades?

Compensation & benefits

An essential part of keeping employees engaged is making sure they receive fair compensation for their work. Compensation and benefits data is also stored in the company’s HR system and/or the payroll system. It includes compensation package details and secondary employee benefits.

Succession planning

Succession plans are also often found in the HR system. The amount of data regarding this depends on the organization’s succession planning practices. Example data includes leadership development data and data about which employees are next in line for certain positions.

Talent development

This includes data on programs aimed at growing internal talent—like leadership development tracks, high-potential employee lists, or mentorship participation. While some elements may live in the LMS, broader talent development data often comes from multiple sources, including the HRIS, talent reviews, and program tracking tools. It provides insight into how the organization invests in future leaders and internal mobility. 

Exit interviews

Depending on the organization, exit interview data may also be stored in the HRIS. The data provides information on, among other things, why employees left the organization. It can be valuable for gaining insights into reducing employee turnover and improving employee experience.

Other HR data sources

These are sources that typically fall outside the HRIS, often because they’re harder to collect through standardized processes. While not always structured or centralized, this type of data adds important context to how employees work, collaborate, and engage with the organization.

Learning programs data

Data on learning effectiveness and learning program evaluation is often stored separately from the LMS and managed by the learning department. This data may live in Excel spreadsheets and survey collection tools.

Integrating this data into a broader HR reporting and insights database is an early priority for organizations that are starting to work on learning analytics or trying to advance their reporting. 

Travel data

Travel data provides useful context about employee roles and work patterns, especially for global or client-facing teams. Since it’s typically managed through finance or travel booking systems, it usually sits outside the HRIS and needs to be pulled in separately for analysis.

Mentoring data

Mentoring programs can be a rich data source when tracked properly. Information such as who participates, how long mentorships last, match types (peer, cross-functional, senior-junior), and feedback from participants can help HR assess program reach, effectiveness, and its role in career growth.

This data is useful for understanding development trends, supporting DEIB goals, and identifying future leaders. It may come from dedicated mentoring platforms, program coordinators, or survey tools.

Employee survey data

A large part of HR data is collected through surveys. This can range from a poll on the quality of food in the cafeteria, a survey by the CEO about their popularity, to the traditional employee engagement survey. 

Most companies send out surveys in a decentralized way, which can lead to scattered survey data throughout the organization and survey fatigue. Collecting all this data in one place helps provide better insight into employee survey data. 

Engagement surveys

The engagement survey is sometimes part of the employee survey data bank we mentioned. However, engagement surveys are often collected by a third party to guarantee anonymity. This means engagement surveys function as a separate data source with their own structure and reporting.

Wellbeing and wellness

Depending on the organization, records may be available around (participation in) employee wellness programs. This is another data source that is not typically captured in the HRIS.

Organizational social network data

Data on organizational social networks—also referred to as organizational network analysis (ONA)—look at how employees connect and collaborate across the organization. It can reveal informal influencers, communication bottlenecks, and cross-team dynamics.

Data for ONA can come from various sources, including collaboration tools (like email or chat platforms), calendar data, phone logs, or dedicated network surveys. While it requires careful handling due to privacy concerns, ONA can provide valuable insight into how work really gets done beyond org charts.

Business data sources

The scope of business data is almost endless. Many business data sources can be used for people analytics. Here are some of the most important ones.

CRM data

The company’s Customer Relationship Management system holds a wealth of data on customers. This includes customer contact moments, NPS scores for those touchpoints, lead scoring, etc. This data can be crucial outcome data used to measure the impact of people policies on customer-facing employees.

Financial data

Financial data is another key business data source. It can be used for simple analyses of L&D spending or more complicated analyses of labor costs, ROI calculations for different interventions, and other financial analyses.

Production management data

Production management systems track operational metrics like scheduling, service calls, delivery rates, and turnaround times. While primarily used by operations teams, this data can serve as outcome data in people analytics—helping HR assess how workforce policies affect productivity, efficiency, or service quality in production and delivery roles.

Sales data

Sales data is another outcome measurement. Examples include sales per store, which can be used as outcome data to measure the impact of different HR policies, like learning program effectiveness.

External data sources

In addition to internal systems, external data can play a key role in shaping people strategies and understanding workforce dynamics. Here are a few notable categories:

Job market and salary benchmarking databases

Sources like Glassdoor, Payscale, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provide compensation and labor market data. These benchmarks help HR stay competitive in pay, understand talent availability, and spot shifts in demand for certain skills.

Competitor and industry reports

Research from organizations like McKinsey, SHRM, and Deloitte offers insights into hiring trends, workforce benchmarks, and evolving HR practices. These reports help contextualize internal data and guide strategic planning.

Government and compliance databases

Agencies such as the EEOC, OSHA, and IRS publish data on employment law, safety, benefits, and workforce trends. This information supports compliance efforts and can inform risk management and policy development.

Job boards and recruiting platforms

Job boards and recruiting platforms like LinkedIn, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter can serve as external data sources by offering insights into job posting performance, candidate availability, and market competitiveness. Employers using these tools can access analytics to refine sourcing strategies and adapt to labor market trends. Even without full access, these platforms can still provide useful signals about hiring demand and industry standards.

7 tips for working with HR data sources

Working with a multitude of different HR data sources requires structure and effective HR data management. Here are seven best practices to consider implementing:

• Centralize data: Use a Human Resources Information System (HRIS) as a single source of truth for employee data. Integrate other HR systems, such as your ATS, LMS, payroll, and performance management systems, to eliminate data silos. Use HR analytics platforms or data warehouses to consolidate information from multiple sources.
• Maintain compliance and data security: Follow guidelines and regulations to protect employee privacy and maintain HR compliance. Restrict access to sensitive HR data based on role-based permissions and encrypt and back up HR data. 
• Train HR professionals on data literacy: Data-literate HR practitioners can deduce relevant information from the data, think critically about what the data shows, and apply it suitably for specific purposes.  
• Combine HR data with business data: You can combine HR data with business data (e.g., sales and customer service metrics) to assess how your HR practices contribute to your organization’s business goals. The HR value chain can help you with this analysis.
• Establish clear data ownership and governance: Assign HR data stewards to oversee data integrity and compliance, define data ownership for each HR function (e.g., the payroll team manages salary data, the recruitment team handles ATS data, etc.), and create HR data governance policies covering data access, modification rights, and reporting structures.  
• Continuously improve data strategies: Review your HR data collection methods regularly to eliminate redundant data sources and optimize your processes. 
• Ensure data quality: You want to make sure the data you collect and work with is accurate, meaning complete, free from errors, and up to date.

On a final note

The short answer to the question of which data sources can be used for data analytics in HR is that there are many different data sources.

The slightly longer answer is that every organization has structured its HR and business data differently. Some of the data and sources mentioned in this article may be available, but other data may not (yet) be. That’s why it’s important to map out what’s already accessible, identify gaps, and build a plan to gradually bring more data into your HR analytics efforts.

FAQ

The post 25 HR Data Sources for Analytics appeared first on AIHR.

A report by Gallup shows that 70% of the employees who claimed their departure was preventable expressed that a change in actions related to how they are managed could have changed their minds.

So, what exactly is employee churn, why does it happen, and what employee retention strategies can you utilize to reduce it in your organization and keep your workforce happy, engaged, and motivated? 

Contents
What is employee churn?
Churn vs. turnover vs. attrition
How to calculate employee churn
The cost of employee churn
Causes of employee churn
Impact of high employee churn
Employee retention strategies to prevent employee churn

What is employee churn?

Employee churn – sometimes called staff churn or job churn – refers to the number of employees who leave your organization over a specific period, including both attrition and staff turnover. 

This means that your employee churn figure includes everyone who leaves the business, whether you plan to replace them or not.

The term “employee churn” is most commonly used in industries that have high-volume hiring and/or fast-paced environments where workforce changes occur frequently, like customer service, call centers, retail, and hospitality. Compared to “turnover” or “attrition,” “churn” tends to emphasize the transactional or cyclical nature of employees leaving and being replaced.

Churn vs. turnover vs. attrition

How to calculate employee churn

To calculate the employee churn rate for your organization, use the following formula:

Churn Rate (%) = (Number of Departures ÷ Total Remaining Employees) x 100

For example, if you have 100 employees, and five of them leave in one quarter, your churn rate would be 5%.

The cost of employee churn

Although it’s natural – and sometimes beneficial – for people to leave your organization, a high churn rate can have serious financial, operational, and reputational consequences for any business.

Gallup indicates that voluntary turnover costs U.S. companies $1 trillion every year. The voluntary turnover rate has averaged at 18.5% across the past three years. That means that a company with 250 employees would see approximately 46 employees leave in a year (250 × 0.185).

Assuming an average annual salary of $50,000, the cost of replacing each employee could range from $25,000 to $100,000 (one-half to two times the yearly salary).

This means the total annual turnover cost for the company could range from $1,150,000 to $4,600,000 (46 employees × $25,000 to $100,000 per replacement).

Causes of employee churn

Here are some of the main causes of employee churn.

• Inadequate compensation and benefits package: Although the new generation of employees prioritizes various aspects of a job over compensation packages, it’s still important to pay them fairly and competitively, and can mean the difference between an employee staying in your company or leaving for a competitor. 
• Poor workplace culture: A toxic workplace, lack of diversity and inclusion, or ineffective communication are all common reasons why employees leave.
• Lack of career development opportunities: Most employees want to be in a job and company where they can learn, grow, and progress in their careers. Without training and development programs and a clear path for progression, you risk losing out on top talent. 
• Burnout: Excessive workloads, demanding deadlines, lack of support, and a poor work-life balance can lead to employees burning out, which is increasingly a driver of workplace departures. 
• Absence of recognition: Employees want to be recognized and rewarded for their efforts at work. When they’re not, it can quickly lead to feeling undervalued and unappreciated, which leads to disengagement and a high risk of employees eventually leaving.
• Rigid work policies: Since the pandemic, workers have been reassessing their priorities. Many more are searching for flexible work options, either hybrid or remote, or with flexible scheduling for frontline employees. Companies with strict in-office and 9-5 policies risk losing their best employees to competitors who have adopted a more flexible way of working. 
• Weak leadership: People don’t quit their jobs; they quit their managers. Ineffective and unsupportive management is a key contributor to employee churn, which is why effectively training your leaders is essential. 

Impact of high employee churn

Employee churn isn’t always negative, as it can bring fresh perspectives, new skills, and opportunities to align the workforce with evolving business needs. However, an excessively high churn rate can negatively impact organizations in many ways, such as: 

Financial strain

Losing an employee that you need to replace can lead to significant costs, including recruitment, training, onboarding, and productivity loss.

As we’ve mentioned above, the average cost of replacing an employee is usually between one-half and two times the departing employee’s annual salary. This figure is likely to rise during a tight labor market when unemployment is low or for hard-to-fill roles, as it will often take longer to find the right talent.   

Loss of institutional knowledge 

Every time a good employee leaves – particularly one who has been with the company for a significant period – they often walk away with a variety of knowledge, skills, and abilities that are an asset in your workplace.

This means that your new hires’ productivity levels will likely be lower, and it will take them months (maybe years) to build their knowledge and skills to the same level. 

Lower productivity

Employee churn often leads to a gap in a team, meaning that there are not enough workers to complete all the work that needs to be done. This can place extra strain on other team members to bridge the gap while a replacement is found, usually without any extra compensation, which often impacts their quality of work and ability to complete their designated tasks on time. 

Naturally, this results in employees feeling unappreciated and overwhelmed, which can lead to burnout and further churn.

Slower business growth

If you constantly have gaps in your workforce and are trying to fill vacancies, it can create an unstable work environment where your efforts are focused on putting out fires rather than supporting the wider strategy and goals of the organization. This stunts growth and makes it difficult to maintain a clear long-term vision. 

Impact on employee morale

If too many employees leave, it can negatively affect the morale of the people who stay, create uncertainty, and affect motivation. It signals to employees that something is wrong or that better opportunities can be found at other organizations, which can lead to further churn. 

Damage to your reputation

High employee churn can also damage your employer brand by indicating to jobseekers that there are problems in your culture, work environment, or business stability. This can make it increasingly difficult to attract new talent and retain customers and clients, and it can take significant effort to bounce back. 

Employee retention strategies to prevent employee churn

Here are some of the strategies HR can implement to reduce employee churn in the workplace. 

1. Foster a positive workplace culture

One of the most effective ways to prevent employee churn is to create a thriving, inclusive organizational culture where all employees feel a sense of belonging and purpose.

• Start by clarifying your core values and ensure you’re hiring people who are a good fit for your values and the culture you want to build
• Be honest and clear in your communication at all levels so that employees feel respected and valued
• Ensure that employees understand how their role and efforts align with and support the wider goals of the business. 

2. Offer career growth opportunities

To reduce employee churn, focus on offering employees ways to grow, develop, and progress within your organization. This includes:

• Training programs
• Workshops and lectures
• Coaching and mentoring – NASA’s “Mentoring Matters” program uses a mix of webinars and group sessions through an online platform that supports both mentors and mentees
• Blended learning
• Soft skill development.

Gallup and Workhuman reported that 60% of employees who recently learned a new skill did so because it enabled them to perform more effectively at work, while 51% viewed it as an opportunity to learn and grow. Investing in your employees’ growth is an investment in the growth of your organization. 

3. Recognize and reward employees

Recognizing and rewarding employees for their efforts and achievements helps to build a culture of appreciation where your workforce feels valued. Research shows that employees are 56% more likely to stay in an organization that has an effective recognition program. 

So whether it’s a monetary bonus, a shout-out during a meeting or on social media, a gift, or something else, start investing in noticing and celebrating employees who go above and beyond – it will boost their engagement and connection to the organization’s success.

4. Introduce flexible work options

Employees value freedom and flexibility – in fact, 91% of workers told Gallup they would prefer not to return to their office full-time after working from home during the pandemic. Flexible working arrangements allow employees to manage childcare and pets, avoid commuting during rush hours, spend less time traveling to and from work, and work when they’re most productive. 

HR tip

While you may not be able to go fully remote, you could consider a hybrid model where employees work remotely one to three days per week, allow them to choose their working hours, or even reduce the working week to four days like Buffer. 

5. Train leaders to manage their teams effectively

Poor management is one of the primary causes of employee churn. HR and leadership must work together to manage it effectively. While HR provides the tools, training, and strategies, leadership implements them directly within teams, creating a strong impact on employee retention.

Address any current issues in your organization with managers and leaders, give them constructive feedback, and train them to lead with openness, honesty, empathy, and fairness.

Ensure there’s always a way for your employees and managers to give and receive feedback – not just in annual performance reviews – so that issues can be addressed quickly and not left to grow. 

6. Conduct stay interviews

By the time you conduct an exit interview, your employee is ready to depart, which means you’re too late collecting feedback! Stay interviews can help you uncover problems in the workplace, address them sooner, and retain your best employees.

Ask questions that help you understand what you’re doing well as an organization and what you can do better. Don’t let this valuable feedback go to waste – act on it. 

7. Improve onboarding processes

An effective onboarding program creates a positive, long-lasting first impression for new hires, helps them understand their role, integrate with their team, and equips them with the tools and skills they need to succeed. Remember that onboarding should begin the moment your employee signs their employment contract and usually lasts around three months to one year after they start.

Pinterest’s “Knit SF” onboarding strategy focuses on collaboration. New hires engage in icebreakers with peers and meet cross-disciplinary team leaders, encouraging them to get to know colleagues who are in and out of their immediate team. This helps build a strong sense of community where everyone is a big team.

Improving your recruitment process also has a positive impact on retaining your employees.

Retention starts at first sight. The experience that employees have with the organization starts from the moment they become aware of the organization and apply for a job. Therefore, it is critical to focus on creating a positive experience at every step of the recruitment process: from a transparent view of benefits and expectations, a realistic preview of the job, a positive and engaging interview experience, and an onboarding process that sets employees up for success and connects them to the brand.

Dr. Marna van der Merwe, Subject Matter Expert, AIHR

8. Invest in employee engagement technology

Leverage technology to help you track engagement metrics and ensure your employees are committed and feel supported and valued at work. Platforms like Culture Amp and Workday make it easy to collect, understand, and act on employee feedback to make your organization an amazing workplace.

9. Offer competitive compensation and benefits

Another way to reduce employee churn is to ensure your compensation and benefits package is fair and healthy enough to attract and retain top talent. A recent HAYS salary guide reports that even though 59% of U.K. employees are looking for a pay rise, only 16% of organizations intend to provide one. 

If you can afford to pay your employees above the industry average, then do – it’ll be worth it. At the least, consider inflation and the rising cost of living when adjusting salaries so that employees aren’t left out of pocket.

If you can’t afford to increase your compensation packages, take a look at the extra benefits you can offer that are meaningful to your employees. 

10. Support employees’ mental and physical health

A Harvard Business Review study found that over 50% of Millennials and 75% of Gen Z have left a job due to concerns over their mental health. As an area of growing concern, it’s important that you support the wellbeing of your employees so that they feel happy and healthy at work. 

Some of the things you can consider offering:

• Unlimited (and well-managed) paid time off
• Flexible work arrangements
• Employee assistance programs
• Regular check-ins
• Pregnancy loss leave
• Access to counseling and therapy sessions.

Final thoughts

Employee churn is a pressing issue, but it is also an opportunity in it. By addressing the root causes and implementing targeted strategies, organizations can create an environment where employees truly want to stay. Strong leadership, effective communication, and investment in people are the pillars of successful retention efforts.

Start managing churn today by applying these strategies—your employees and bottom line will thank you!

The post Understanding Employee Churn and How To Manage It Effectively appeared first on AIHR.

Contents
What does an HR Analyst do?
HR Analyst skills
How to become an HR Analyst
HR Analyst vs HR Business Partner
HR Analyst vs. HR Generalist
HR Analyst salary
HR Analyst career path
HR Analyst example job postings
FAQ

What does an HR Analyst do?

An HR Analyst, also referred to as HR Data Analyst or People Analyst, plays a key role in helping organizations make data-driven decisions related to their workforce. They analyze HR data, identify trends, and provide insights that improve processes like recruitment, retention, and employee engagement. The HR Analyst job growth rate is estimated to be 11%, highlighting the demand for these types of roles in the market.

Key responsibilities of the HR Analyst include:

• Collect and analyze HR data: Evaluate metrics like turnover rates, employee satisfaction, and absenteeism.
• Generate reports and dashboards: Present insights to HR teams and leadership to inform decision-making.
• Monitor workforce trends: Identify patterns in hiring, productivity, or retention to recommend improvements.
• Support compliance efforts: Ensure HR practices align with employment laws and company policies.
• Collaborate on strategy: Work with HR and management teams to develop strategies for workforce planning.
• Evaluate HR tools and systems: Assess the performance of HR software and suggest optimizations.
• Conduct salary benchmarking: Research market data to ensure competitive and fair compensation practices.

Note that the HR Analyst has a broad role and – depending on the organization – will be asked to focus on different tasks.

HR Analyst skills

The exact skills an HR Analyst should have will, again, depend on the organization. Quite a few organizations are looking for an HR Analyst with predominantly soft and HR skills. This makes the analyst’s function profile very similar to an HR Business Partner. Other organizations are really looking for a data analyst role. When applying for a job, read the job posting thoroughly to understand what type of role it is.

Here are some common skills that an HR Analyst should have.

1. Business acumen

Business acumen is becoming increasingly important for HR roles. The same holds true for the HR Analyst.

Before you analyze data, you need to know what project you will work on and how the data analysis will impact the business. Business acumen is an essential skill for any analyst who is involved in either simple data analysis or in an end-to-end analytics project.

2. Communication & consultation

Whether you’re spending most of your time analyzing data or only very little, you need to talk to the business, manage stakeholders and their expectations, and communicate the results of an analytics project to the relevant audiences. Hence, communication and consultation are essential for HR Analysts.

3. Relationship management

As an HR Analyst, it is key to effectively manage relationships and stakeholders. Expectation management is a requirement for analytics success. In addition, you need to keep the business involved in your analytics project and keep them up to date on progress and potential setbacks.

4. HR expertise

Whether you’re more on the business partner side of the analyst role or crunching numbers every single day, HR expertise is an essential skill. This expertise touches almost everything you do in your job.

HR expertise can be divided into three key areas:

• Knowledge of the science behind what we do in HR
• Knowledge of HR best practices
• Understanding of the key HR processes.

5. Data analysis

The HR data analyst is involved in the basics of data-driven HR in the organization. For most organizations, this entails (ad hoc) reporting and dashboarding.

In order to accurately report on HR data, the analyst is involved in the aggregation of data, maintaining HR data quality, and the analysis of data.

Depending on the data maturity of the organization, these reports can be ad hoc. Ad hoc reporting means that the information has to be manually retrieved from the systems for reporting and analysis. This kind of data often needs to be cleansed as well – which may take a lot of time.

More mature organizations have automated this process. This makes reporting less time-consuming, and the analyst can focus on analyses that add more value than basic reporting, like predictive analyses.

Competencies required for this include strong attention to detail and a strong drive to use data to answer business questions.

6. HR systems & implementation

HR data comes from HR systems, often referred to as the Human Resources Information System (HRIS). These transactional systems contain most of the data that the HR Analyst works with.

Implementing, maintaining, and updating these systems is part of the HR Analyst’s responsibility.

7. Global and cultural awareness

HR data often spans multiple regions, especially in large international organizations, making global and cultural awareness a key skill. As an analyst, you’ll work with data from diverse locations, requiring an understanding of how cultural differences influence HR practices, employee behaviors, and data collection methods. This awareness helps you interpret data accurately and provide insights that are relevant across different cultural contexts.

How to become an HR Analyst

Breaking into HR analytics or people analytics requires a mix of HR knowledge, data skills, and familiarity with HR technology. Whether you’re coming from an HR background or a more technical field, the right approach can help you bridge the gaps and stand out to employers. Here are some key steps to build the skills and experience needed for an HR analyst role:

Understand the job requirements

As we’ve already mentioned, job requirements will differ per role and organization. Check job openings for HR analyst roles in your desired location or field to identify common skills and tools required.

The standard requirement for an HR analyst position is domain experience in HR. HRM studies or a background in industrial and organizational psychology are usually considered highly relevant.

A background in economics, statistics, or analytics is also beneficial. People with these kinds of backgrounds bring a unique set of quantitative skills that most people with an HRM background are missing. This background often requires complementary training in Human Resources.

Get hands-on with HR systems

Many HR jobs require HRIS experience, so learning to work with systems like Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, or Oracle HCM is key for an HR Analyst job.

Some of the things you can do include:

• Take online courses on digital HR and analytics
• Explore interfaces and reporting features of HRIS providers offer demo accounts or trial versions
• If you’re already working in HR, check out the HR reports, dashboards, or data extraction in your company’s HRIS.

Develop visualization & reporting skills

HR Analysts frequently use tools like Tableau, Power BI, or Qlik to create HR dashboards and reports. A must-have skill is proficiency in Microsoft Excel. This is still used in most organizations and an understanding of how to combine worksheets and analyze large amounts of data using pivot tables are usually considered elementary.

You also need to build a foundational understanding of key HR metrics like turnover rates, employee engagement, and recruitment efficiency.

Gain practical experience

Real-life experience is one of the best ways to build confidence and strengthen your resume. If you’re transitioning into HR analytics, look for opportunities to work with HR data in your current role or take on projects that showcase your skills.

Some ways to gain experience:

• Volunteer for HR reporting tasks if you’re already in an HR-related role
• Work on personal projects—analyze publicly available HR datasets to practice data visualization and reporting
• Apply for internships or entry-level roles in HR analytics to get exposure to real-world HR data
• Freelance or contribute to HR analytics projects on platforms like Kaggle or GitHub.

Prepare for job interviews

When applying for jobs, it’s helpful to review common HR analyst interview questions to understand what employers look for.

Practice explaining HR metrics, data analysis techniques, and how you’ve used HR tools in past experiences to address the interviewees’ queries. Be ready to discuss real-world scenarios, such as how you would analyze turnover data or improve HR reporting.

Stay updated on HR analytics trends

HR technology and analytics are evolving quickly, so staying informed can give you a competitive edge. You can start by following HR analytics thought leaders and pages on LinkedIn and industry blogs.

Other great ways of keeping up to date with the developments in the field include attending webinars and conferences on HR technology and workforce analytics and joining HR analytics communities and forums to learn from professionals in the field.

HR Analyst vs HR Business Partner

We already hinted a few times about the similarities between the HR analyst and the HR business partner’s job. Both roles contribute to HR strategy but focus on different areas.

An HR Analyst specializes in collecting, analyzing, and reporting data, using technical skills to provide insights. In contrast, an HR Business Partner (HRBP) works closely with managers, using soft skills to solve HR-related challenges and align people strategies with business goals.

The HR BP acts as an internal consultant, advising on operational and strategic HR matters. When data-driven solutions are needed, the analyst steps in to define problems and provide insights.

As HRBPs gain analytics skills, the line between these roles can blur, leading some companies to use the term “HR Analyst” when they really mean “HR Business Partner.”

HR Analyst vs. HR Generalist

While both roles contribute to HR operations, they have distinct focuses.

An HR Analyst works with HR data, reporting, and workforce analytics, using tools like Excel, Power BI, and HRIS to identify trends and improve decision-making. Their role is more technical and data-driven.

An HR Generalist, on the other hand, handles a broad range of HR functions, including recruitment, employee relations, compliance, and benefits administration. They are involved in day-to-day HR operations and often serve as the first point of contact for employees.

While HR Analysts focus on data and insights, generalists work more directly with employees and HR policies. Some companies may blend these roles, but in larger organizations, they are typically separate functions.

HR Analyst salary

Salaries for the HR analyst role can vary wildly depending on the size of the company, the location, and the experience of the analyst. In the United States, you can expect to earn between $67,000-$110,000 in the midwestern United States, while someone doing the same job in New York City could expect to earn between $69,000 and $117,000 per year.

Payscale.com puts the average base salary at around $65,000.

HR Analyst career path

It is hard to map a well-defined career path in today’s world. Usually, you start as a junior analyst and can grow your way to a senior analyst position.

The data-driven mindset of an analyst is increasingly popular and looked for in management positions.

Career paths to becoming HR Manager and HR Director are available, as well as horizontal paths towards (senior) Human Resources Generalist, or the more specialized Human Resources Information System Analyst and HRIS manager.

HR Analyst example job postings

Because defining what an HR Analyst exactly differs from business to business, we’ve looked at job postings from companies that hire HR Analysts to see the commonalities and dissimilarities in responsibilities and requirements.

A brief job analysis

We conducted a brief analysis of HR Analyst job postings to help you understand the role of the HR Analyst even better. Here are a few interesting details:

• Many job postings explicitly mention advanced Excel skills, including PivotTables, VLOOKUP, and data manipulation.
• Some job postings emphasize data visualization tools like Power BI, but none require deep statistical expertise in SPSS, STATA, R, or Python.
• Many roles require familiarity with Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, or other HR systems.
• A lot of companies seem to be looking for candidates with Excel expertise and an interest in HR rather than HR professionals with a strong data background, making these positions accessible for early-career professionals.
• A significant portion of job postings emphasize administrative HR tasks, such as updating HR data, preparing reports, and supporting employee engagement initiatives.

A final word

To sum up, if you’re looking to start a career as an HR analyst, focus on building strong Excel skills and gaining familiarity with HR systems like Workday or SAP SuccessFactors. Entry-level HR roles that involve reporting, data management, or HR operations can be a great stepping stone, as many companies prioritize candidates with hands-on experience in these areas. Taking courses in HR analytics or data visualization tools like Power BI can also help you stand out.

FAQ

The post What Is the Role of the HR Analyst? A Full Guide appeared first on AIHR.

This article explains the benefits of an HR analytics certification and lists 18 top certifications you can consider to help you further your HR career.

Contents
Why get an HR analytics certification?
18 best HR analytics certifications to consider
How to choose the right HR analytics certification for you

Why get an HR analytics certification?

Getting HR analytics certified provides multiple advantages, including: 

Expertise in a highly valued skill set

An HR analytics certification can teach you how to translate data into actionable insights. Employers value this skill because it can optimize the workforce and align it with company goals. Being certified in HR analytics proves you can analyze HR data for sound recruitment, retention, performance management, and workforce planning decisions.

A competitive edge in the job market

Some HR data analytics programs allow you to work in specialized positions and help you become eligible for promotions and higher pay. Being certified also shows employers your commitment to enhancing your knowledge. Once you complete the course, you can fill roles such as people analytics consultant, data analyst, and workforce planning specialist.

Practical, hands-on knowledge

HR data analysis certification courses often allow learners to work on actual case studies, which require you to apply your knowledge to real-life scenarios. You’ll also learn how to use industry-standard HR analytics tools, giving you the technical skills to perform the duties relevant to the HR positions you may want to apply to.

The ability to take a data-driven approach to HR

An HR data analytics certification will teach you to identify KPIs impacting recruitment, engagement, and turnover. You’ll also learn to use different frameworks to collect and analyze data, enabling you to create reports that will influence stakeholders and justify your proposed HR strategies.

Staying updated on HR and data analytics trends

HR analytics certification programs often include relevant information on the latest trends and best practices in HR analytics. Staying abreast of the latest technological advancements, AI, and data science in HR enables you to be prepared and remain competitive in addressing changing organizational needs.

18 best HR analytics certifications to consider

1. People Analytics Certificate Program (AIHR)

• Format and duration: Online and self-paced; 42 hours over 12 weeks.
• The program covers: Data analytics, HR dashboards in Microsoft PowerBI, HR statistics in Microsoft Excel, and using data to create more effective people policies.
• Cost: $1,125
• Find out more: People Analytics Certificate Program

2. HR Metrics & Dashboarding Certificate Program (AIHR)

• Format and duration: Online and self-paced; 35 hours over 12 weeks.
• The program covers: Defining and implementing strategic HR metrics, data integrity and visualization, and how to extract, clean, and analyze HR data.
• Cost: $1,125
• Find out more: HR Metrics & Dashboarding Certificate Program

3. People Analytics Specialty Credential (SHRM)

• Format and duration: Online and in person; you have one year after your purchase date to complete the program.
• The program covers: Foundational data literacy, the metrics behind people analytics, the analytics maturity model, and how to combine different data types.
• Cost: $1,855 (member) or $2,130 (non-member) 
• Find out more: SHRM’s People Analytics Specialty Credential

4. Data and Analytics for People Professionals Course (CIPD)

• Format and duration: Online and self-paced; eight hours over two weeks (one four-hour online lesson per week).
• The program covers: Gathering and using credible data, the analytics mindset, and how to use data and people analytics to align projects with broader business activities.
• Cost: $1,210
• Find out more: Data and Analytics for People Professionals Course

5. Certificate in Data Analytics (HRCI)

• Format and duration: Online classes; available for 180 days from the purchase date.
• The program covers: Real-world data analysis, data analysis to improve organizational performance, statistical process control, and statistics as a managerial tool.
• Cost: $399
• Find out more: Certificate in Data Analytics

6. Analytics That Support The Workforce Certification (HRCI)

• Format and duration: Online classes; available for 180 days from the purchase date.
• The program covers: How analytics support employee wellness and performance, using analytics to make real-time staffing decisions, and exploring data ethics with AI.
• Cost: $149
• Find out more: Analytics That Support The Workforce Certification

7. Recruitment Analytics Certification (HRCI)

• Format and duration: Online classes; available for 180 days from the purchase date.
• The program covers: Common recruiting KPIs, data-driven recruitment, predictive analytics life cycle, and using analytics to predict performance and attrition.
• Cost: $149
• Find out more: Recruitment Analytics Certification

8. Use of Analytics Certification (HRCI)

• Format and duration: Online classes; available for 180 days from the purchase date.
• The program covers: HR, people, human capital, workforce, descriptive, diagnostics, predictive, and prescriptive analytics, and data collection in ATS, CRM, and HRIS.
• Cost: $149
• Find out more: Use of Analytics Certification

9. HR Analytics Certificate (Rutgers University)

• Format and duration: Online and self-paced with a personal learning coach, five to seven hours a week over approximately three months.
• The program covers: The business of HR analytics, stakeholder management, governance, developing a culture for HR analytics, and the future of HR analytics.
• Cost: $2,300
• Find out more: HR Analytics Certificate

10. HR Analytics Certificate (Cornell University)

• Format and duration: Online; three to five hours a week over approximately two months.
• The program covers: HR analytics essentials, strategic talent analytics, applied predictive analytics in HR, and how to conduct a credible ROI analysis.
• Cost: $3,900
• Find out more: HR Analytics Certificate

11. HR Management and Analytics (Wharton)

• Format and duration: Online; four to six hours a week over two months.
• The program covers: People analytics and performance evaluation, using analytics to improve hiring decisions and maximizing employee performance with talent analytics.
• Cost: $2,800
• Find out more: HR Management and Analytics

12. People Analytics (University of Cambridge)

• Format and duration: Online; four to six hours a week over two months.
• The program covers: Strategic positioning, achieving operational excellence with data, root cause analysis and project tactics, psychometrics, and organizational data science.
• Cost: $2,170
• Find out more: People Analytics

13. People Analytics for HR (HCI)

• Format and duration: Online and in person; two days.
• The program covers: Connecting people analytics to organizational outcomes, assembling metrics and expertise to test hypotheses, and consulting with stakeholders.
• Cost: $1,995
• Find out more: People Analytics for HR

14. Certificate in HR Analytics (EY)

• Format and duration: Online; 18 hours over six months.
• The program covers: Data visualization and DAX, Python Essentials packages, data-cleaning, attrition management using descriptive statistics, and data import.
• Cost: $250
• Find out more: Certificate in HR Analytics

15. Human Resources Analytics (UCI)

• Format and duration: Online and self-paced; five hours.
• The program covers: HR metrics and life cycle, staffing, training and compensation, employee relations, and how to build your case and create action.
• Cost: $59 a month or $399 a year with Coursera Plus
• Find out more: Human Resources Analytics

16. People Analytics (Josh Bersin Academy)

• Format and duration: Online and self-paced; four to six hours over five weeks.
• The program covers: Analytics revolution, meaningful data, insightful analysis, persuasive communication, and creative questions.
• Cost: $49 a month, or $495 a year for access to all Josh Bersin Academy courses
• Find out more: People Analytics

17. Certificate in People Analytics (NYU)

• Format and duration: Online; duration varies.
• The program covers: Data visualization for HCM, introduction to data science methods in R and Python, database management with SQL, and HCM introduction to statistics.
• Cost: $12
• Find out more: Certificate in People Analytics

18. HR & People Data and Analytics Fundamentals (Udemy)

• Format and duration: Online; three hours.
• The program covers: HR and people data basics, HR data tools, calculating HR and people metrics, Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel basics, and HR data and people partnerships.
• Cost: $12
• Find out more: HR & People Data and Analytics Fundamentals

How to choose the right HR analytics certification for you

Here’s what to take into account when selecting the HR analytics certification that best suits your needs:

Consider your career goals

Are you looking for foundational knowledge or advanced expertise? Or do you need advanced training to prepare for a leadership role?

If you’re an HR Generalist, you can take beginner-level HR analytics certification courses that cover basic concepts, tools, and techniques to move you to a People Analytics Specialist role. However, advanced programs are ideal if you are a mid-to senior-level HR professional wanting to specialize in predictive analytics, using AI, or strategic workforce planning. 

Evaluate the program content

Does the certificate program align with your current role or desired specialization in HR analytics? Review the curriculum to make sure it meets your needs. Check if it teaches specific topics:

• Data collection, HR metrics, or KPIs 
• Tools and techniques such as Tableau, Power BI, Excel, or Python 
• Real-world case studies that show practical applications
• Predictive modeling, AI integration, and business impact analysis (for advanced courses).

Look for programs that provide a balanced approach to concepts and hands-on learning. 

Decide on the most suitable delivery format

Choose between a self-paced, online, or in-person HR analytics course based on your schedule and learning preferences:

• Self-paced learning gives you the flexibility to learn on your own terms. This is ideal for busy professionals
• Live online classes offer real-time interaction that fosters engagement and accountability while still being flexible with the location
• In-person learning suits those who prefer classroom settings, face-to-face mentorship, and networking.

When selecting an HR analytics course, ask yourself what you want to gain from it, how it fits with your career and role requirements, what the best mode of learning is to make sure you achieve the intended benefit, what support you need to make the learning effective, and how much time you can commit to it. Embarking on a new certification, especially in an area you might lack experience in, requires a significant commitment in terms of time and focus.

Dr Dieter Veldsman, Chief Scientist (HR & OD), AIHR

Assess the costs

Consider your financial investment and the potential ROI when evaluating which programs to take. This includes costs for tuition fees, materials, tools, and certification exams. You should also evaluate the course’s value—will it help you land a higher-paying job or improve business outcomes?

Finally, compare the total costs against industry salary trends for HR professionals with analytics skills to further determine its worth in the context of your career goals and your organization’s business needs. 

Check if it has industry recognition

Ensure the certification is recognized and respected in the HR industry. A credible certification can enhance your reputation and broaden your career opportunities. Research the provider’s credentials—are they associated with reputable universities, HR organizations, or tech platforms? 

Look for certifications endorsed by industry bodies like SHRM, HRCI, or CIPD, and check for alumni testimonials and employer recognition to validate the program’s value in the job market.

Look into support and resources

Check if the program offers additional resources like mentorship, case studies, or networking opportunities:

• Mentorship: Does the program offer access to industry experts who can guide you and answer your questions? 
• Hands-on tools: Does the program include case studies, HR tools, and software platforms to help you apply the concepts you’ll learn in real-world scenarios?
• Networking opportunities: Will you have access to a professional community or alumni network to help you build relationships and discover job opportunities?
• Post-certification support: Does the program offer career coaching, job placement assistance, or continued access to resources and content even after you complete it?

Programs with a strong support system can help you maximize the value of your certification and sustain long-term growth.

To sum up

Getting HR analytics certification can significantly boost your career prospects, as you’ll have the right skills to make data-driven decisions. These certifications cover essential competencies like data collection, analysis, and visualization, ensuring you’re ready to address real-world HR challenges. 

When choosing an HR analytics program, consider your professional needs, goals, and budget. Investing in certification can broaden your expertise and position you as a valuable asset to your HR department and overall organization.

The post 18 Best HR Analytics Certifications and Courses [2025 Edition] appeared first on AIHR.

In this article, we dive into the details of KPIs in HR. We will discuss what HR KPIs are and how you can use them, provide a framework for setting them up for your HR department and organization, and share a handy HR KPI template. Let’s dive in.

Contents
What are HR KPIs?
How does HR use KPIs to support organizational needs?
HR KPI examples
HR KPIs vs metrics
Characteristics of good HR KPIs
Leading vs. lagging KPIs
HR KPIs case study
HR KPI template
HR KPI best practices
FAQ

What are HR KPIs?

Human Resources key performance indicators (HR KPIs) are strategic HR metrics used to assess how effectively HR supports the organization’s overall goals. An HR KPI measures how successful (or not) HR contributes to and achieves the organization’s HR strategy.

Since HR strategy is built to support the organization’s broader strategy, HR KPIs reflect how HR performance ties into the company’s objectives. They are typically linked to outcomes that drive business success and are often derived from frameworks like the Balanced Scorecard. To achieve a specific business goal, HR may track multiple KPIs, each representing a smaller, actionable target.

Ideally, all KPIs should work together to advance the HR strategy. However, conflicts can arise. For example, if you have to cut costs in your learning and development budget while also trying to stimulate innovation, it creates a strategic challenge. In such cases, HR must balance competing priorities, such as encouraging innovation with fewer resources.

How does HR use KPIs to support organizational needs?

HR KPIs provide valuable insights that help improve decision-making, monitor workforce performance, and plan for future talent needs in multiple ways, such as:

• Aligning HR activities with business goals: HR uses KPIs to ensure that its strategies, like hiring or employee development, contribute directly to broader company objectives.  
• Data-driven decision-making: By analyzing KPI progress, for instance, by using an HR dashboard, HR teams can make informed, data-based decisions and choices about policies, resource allocation, and workforce strategies. 
• Tracking workforce performance: KPIs like employee productivity or goal attainment help ensure that teams are effectively meeting their business targets.
• Monitoring employee engagement: Metrics such as engagement survey scores or turnover rates signal morale and satisfaction, which impact retention and organizational performance. 
• Supporting workforce planning: HR uses data and metrics to anticipate and address current and future staffing and talent needs, ensuring the organization has the right people in the right roles.

HR KPI examples

The KPIs used in an organization are unique. Every organization is different – and its KPIs should reflect that uniqueness.

Many resources you’ll find online list tens, sometimes even close to a hundred HR KPI examples. Most of these, however, are simple HR metrics that can offer useful insights into HR operations but they won’t directly contribute to the organization’s strategy.

Here is a list of 20 key HR metrics examples that will:

Absence rate

The absence or absenteeism rate in the organization is typically calculated by dividing the number of working days in which the employee was absent by their total number of working days. High absence rates may signal underlying issues like low morale, burnout, or workplace inefficiencies, all of which impact productivity and the organization’s ability to meet its goals.

Absence cost

The total cost of absence is calculated by including employee pay, the cost of managing absence, and replacement cost.

This KPI is especially relevant for European countries with strong labor unions and robust employee protections because these factors often lead to higher costs associated with employee absence. These protections might include guaranteed paid sick leave, extended leave policies, or legal requirements for employers to cover wages during absence, all of which increase the financial burden on organizations.

Benefits satisfaction

Satisfaction with different types of employee benefits is usually measured through an engagement survey but can also be gauged in stay interviews. The insights from these surveys can help reduce employee turnover.  

Employee productivity rate (EPR)

Although this metric is hard to calculate, it measures the productivity of a company’s workforce over a certain period. It can help managers understand whether they need to hire more (or fewer) people to achieve their goals. 

Employee satisfaction index

Employee satisfaction can be measured via attitude, engagement, and pulse surveys, as well as stay and exit interviews. Unsurprisingly, dissatisfaction is a common reason for employee turnover. 

Employee engagement index

Employee engagement is measured through the same tools as employee satisfaction (minus the exit interview). High employee engagement predicts higher productivity, better customer service, lower turnover, and many other relevant and positive outcomes.

Employee innovation index

Innovation can be measured using attitude or engagement surveys and is increasingly becoming a key driver of business success. It’s part of HR’s role to enable this innovation within the organization. 

Employee wellbeing index

This metric provides a composite score from surveys measuring employees’ mental and physical health, work-life balance, stress levels, sense of purpose, and other factors that impact productivity and retention.

Internal promotion rate

This KPI is measured by dividing the number of senior functions filled through internal promotion by the total number of senior positions filled. Internal hires are often up to speed faster, reduce the risk of bad hires, and stay longer in the role. 

Net Promotor Score (NPS)

A Net Promoter Score is an excellent way of measuring the degree to which someone would recommend a service or business to another person.
To find out how satisfied employees are with HR’s services, you can measure the NPS of HR.

Using the Net Promotor Score, you can also measure to what degree people recommend working for the organization – employee net promoter score (eNPS). The NPS can be a solid HR KPI, depending on your strategic goals.

Manager effectiveness (index)

Various metrics can contribute to tracking manager effectiveness, including:

• Turnover and retention per manager 
• Engagement scores per manager 
• Team performance metrics
• Absenteeism per manager 

How a company measures the effectiveness of its managers will depend on the organization’s goals. Doing so helps it assess the impact of managers on, among other things, team satisfaction and productivity.

Percentage of cost of the workforce

This metric measures the proportion of an organization’s total expenses that is allocated to workforce costs, calculated by dividing workforce expenses by the organization’s total costs.

While not commonly used, this KPI can be valuable for identifying opportunities to reduce costs or evaluate the potential benefits of automation in streamlining operations.

Quality of hire

Put simply, quality of hire represents the value a new hire brings to a company. It indicates how much a new employee contributes to an organization’s long-term success.

The quality of hire demonstrates how effective HR is in recruiting and selecting candidates. Consistently maintaining a high quality of hire enables the organization to reach its strategic goals more easily. 

Turnover rate

Turnover is a common metric and an important KPI since high turnover can be very costly. Calculating employee turnover, however, is much trickier than it may seem. For an in-depth overview, you can check out our article about how to calculate employee turnover rate, in which we discuss various approaches and propose a best practice.  

Involuntary turnover rate

Not all turnover is voluntary. Involuntary turnover refers to the percentage of employees who leave the organization due to employer-led decisions, such as layoffs, terminations, or redundancies. This can be calculated as a percentage of either the total number of employee departures or relative to the total number of employees in the organization during the same period.

Voluntary turnover rate

This is the number of employee-led departures. Again, you can consider it as a percentage of the total separations or in relation to the total number of employees.

Unwanted turnover rate

Not all turnover is bad. It is usually positive when bad performers or actively disengaged people leave the organization. Unwanted turnover occurs when good or high-performing employees leave the company for reasons that could have been avoided (i.e., compensation, management, lack of development opportunities, etc.).

Training effectiveness

The training effectiveness evaluates how well a training program achieves its objectives by measuring its impact on employees’ skills, knowledge, and job performance, as well as its contribution to the company’s financial results. Effective training should deliver measurable improvements in these areas to justify its value.

Training ROI (Return on Investment)

As the name suggests, training ROI assesses how much a company gains financially from its investment in training programs by comparing the benefits (e.g., increased productivity) to the training costs. To calculate training ROI, subtract the total cost of the training from the net benefits gained, then divide that result by the total training cost.

90-day quit rate

This refers to the number of new hires that leave the company within three months (or a year if you opt for the 360-day quit rate). It is part of HR’s role to ensure that the right people are hired. Failing to do so will have a measurable, negative impact on the organization’s effectiveness.

HR KPIs vs. metrics

Every KPI is a metric, but not every metric is a KPI. That’s the main difference between the two. The table below gives a brief overview of HR KPIs and HR metrics.

Examples of what HR KPIs are not include: 

• Average length of service/tenure
• Average salary
• Average interviewing cost
• Average number of vacation days per employee
• Average number of training hours per employee
• HR-to-FTE ratio
• Employee training satisfaction.

These aren’t KPIs because they tell us nothing about effectiveness. For example, do we need 1 HR staff member per 100 employees or 1.5? Measuring the HR-to-FTE ratio alone doesn’t answer that question.

Put simply, HR KPIs are not just average employee data. They are measurable metrics directly linked to the organization’s strategic goals.  

Characteristics of good HR KPIs

As we’ve already mentioned, good HR KPIs are unique to the organization and its goals. Let’s explore two frameworks that you can use to shape and set KPIs that help you track your progress towards these goals.

Eckerson’s KPI framework

In a 2009 paper, Wayne W. Eckerson described several characteristics of “good” KPIs. These can be applied to creating KPIs in HR as well:

• Sparse: You should only focus on a few HR KPIs. After all, they are called key performance indicators for a reason. Focus on the essential ones for your organization and leave the rest out. The general rule remains the fewer, the better.
• Drillable: You should be able to drill into detail. Why aren’t we meeting our recruitment cost target? What groups are the costliest to recruit? By drilling down, you can predict your future success more easily and see where progress is lacking. 
• Simple: Users, including people from outside the HR department, need to understand the KPI. If it’s not simple, it is hard to communicate and focus on. 
• Actionable: HR only focuses on KPIs related to HR outcomes because they can influence these. HR is not responsible for revenue or sales success. Only focus on the KPIs that you can affect. 
• Owner: In line with the previous characteristics, KPIs need to have an owner. The owner is rewarded in case of success and is held accountable if the target isn’t hit. The owner of an HR KPI typically is a senior member of the management team, like a department leader or manager.
• Correlated: The KPI should be related to the desired outcome. When we speak about business targets, the HR KPIs need to be related to these business outcomes. Griffin (2004) states that there should be a direct link from KPI to goals, from goals to objectives, and from objectives to strategy.
• Aligned: We briefly touched on the alignment of HR KPIs earlier. KPIs shouldn’t undermine each other.

SMART goals framework

Most of us are familiar with another, more straightforward framework that summarizes the above. This alternative, defined by Hursman 2010, is the well-known SMART acronym. It stands for:

There’s a simpler framework that we are all familiar with that summarizes the above. The alternative, defined by Hursman (2010), is the well-known SMART acronym. This stands for

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Relevant
• Time-Bound.

Knowing these criteria and applying them can help you create the relevant Human Resources key performance indicators your organization needs to succeed. 

Let’s look at an example of what this can look like. Take the internal promotion rate metrics. It’s a SMART KPI because it aligns with the criteria:

• Specific: It focuses on a clear outcome—tracking the percentage of employees promoted within the company.
• Measurable: The promotion rate can be quantified, making it easy to track progress over time.
• Attainable: Companies can reasonably influence this metric through internal development programs, mentorship, or succession planning.
• Relevant: It aligns with organizational goals like talent development, employee retention, and cost-saving measures by reducing external recruitment needs.
• Time-bound: The metric can be tracked over a specific period, such as monthly, quarterly, or annually, to evaluate trends and improvements.

This KPI highlights both employee growth and organizational efficiency, making it a valuable tool for tracking HR and business success.

An example of something that is not a SMART KPI is the average length of service. While it is simple to measure and attain, it lacks relevance and is not time-bound. The duration of an employee’s tenure doesn’t provide insight into their efficiency, productivity, or contribution to innovation, nor does it directly connect to the organization’s goals or priorities.

Leading vs. lagging KPIs

Key performance indicators can be leading or lagging. Kaplan and Norton (2007), the researchers who developed the Balanced Scorecard, explain the difference in their paper.  

Leading indicators are forward-looking and focus on causes or predictors of future events. They help anticipate outcomes. For example, productivity is a leading KPI for labor costs, as higher productivity can lower labor costs in the future.

Lagging indicators look backward and measure the results of past actions or developments. They reflect outcomes already achieved. For instance, if productivity is a leading KPI, sickness rate could be a lagging KPI, as it shows the effect of productivity-related efforts. Another example of a lagging KPI might be labor cost per employee.

Here’s an example: Let’s say the business goal is to enhance employee qualifications. This is relevant, especially in industries where continuous training is critical. In that case, a leading indicator could be time to proficiency—how quickly employees complete training and begin applying their skills. This predicts improvements in productivity and innovation.

A lagging indicator could be the percentage of employees who completed the qualification, showing the final outcome of training efforts.

As you may notice, leading indicators are often less precise but offer interesting insights into a KPI’s ongoing performance and potential outcomes. Lagging indicators, on the other hand, are more precise, but only after the fact.  

Using both types of KPIs helps build a well-rounded HR scorecard that tracks past achievements and forecasts future performance.

HR KPIs case study

As mentioned above, not all metrics are KPIs, and not all KPIs will assist in understanding HR performance. Let’s look at how a company in the maritime sector sets its HR KPIs for its recruitment department.

The Western maritime sector is in difficult waters. Fifty years ago, most ships were built in their home country; today, building large cargo ships and tankers in East Asia is much cheaper.

For the U.S.-based shipbuilding company in our HR KPIs case study, competing with cheap labor and steel from China was difficult. Therefore, a cost-differentiation strategy was not an option. The company decided to invest heavily in technology and innovation, knowing that most of its current client portfolio was interested in their high-tech shipbuilding skills (mostly smaller vessels) at a much higher price point.

As strategic goals don’t happen in isolation, the U.S. company had to cut costs while becoming more innovative through smarter hiring. This meant that: 

• They had to decrease their recruitment costs 
• They needed to hire more qualified professionals.

The image below shows what their recruitment strategy map looked like. The arrows indicate the internal relationships between the company’s different goals. The executive board decided on the strategic objectives, and based on those, HR established the HR goals.

To implement these goals, the company created specific KPIs. For example, they measured the reduction in lead time and evaluated their attractiveness as an employer. Once the KPIs were established, they assessed their current performance levels and set targets for improvement.

The resulting HR KPI framework outlined clear metrics aligned with their strategic goals, enabling the company to track progress and adjust strategies as needed.

HR KPI template

An HR KPI template is an excellent tool for monitoring key performance metrics in HR. It enables Human Resources teams to:

• Align their HR initiatives and activities with the company’s goals
• Measure the success of these initiatives over time
• Strive for continuous improvement. 

To help you get started, we have created a free, downloadable HR KPI template in Excel that is easy to customize:

HR KPI best practices

Let’s explore some best practices for implementing and tracking HR KPIs, for example: 

• Set KPIs based on organizational goals: As highlighted throughout this article, you need to define KPIs that align directly with the organization’s strategic objectives, focusing on outcomes that drive business success. For example, a company aiming to improve productivity might track KPIs like time to proficiency for new hires or task completion rate.
• Leverage people analytics and KPI dashboards: Apply analytics tools like Excel or your HRIS analytics capabilities to connect data points such as recruitment costs, employee satisfaction, and demographics for actionable insights. Create an HR dashboard with your most important KPIs to keep track of and provide a handy overview.
• Empower your HR team: Provide your HR team with the tools, training, and authority to effectively track, analyze, and act on KPI data. This includes investing in people analytics platforms, fostering a data-driven culture, and encouraging proactive decision-making based on insights. 
• Secure executive sponsorship: Engage organizational leaders to support HR initiatives by demonstrating how these efforts contribute to achieving key business objectives and improving overall performance. Ensure leadership understands the value of aligning HR strategies with measurable outcomes.   
• Track performance over time: Regularly analyze how you perform on your KPIs and other HR metrics to identify patterns and adjust strategies accordingly. 

A final word

HR KPIs are an excellent way for HR to contribute to the overall organizational strategy, providing measurable benchmarks to assess how HR contributes to business success. They not only track progress but also create a clear link between HR activities and the company’s broader objectives, such as improving productivity, enhancing employee satisfaction, or reducing costs.

Setting them, however, requires a thorough understanding of the company’s strategy and goals. This means HR must collaborate closely with leadership to identify key business drivers and determine how HR can support them.

FAQ

The post HR KPIs: Guide, 20 Examples & Free Template appeared first on AIHR.

In this article, we explore the intricacies of the HR dashboard. We compare it to the HR report, examine key functions and metrics, and discuss how to build an effective dashboard. We also share some examples. Let’s dive in!

Contents
What is an HR dashboard?
HR dashboard vs HR report
Key functions of an HR dashboard
HR dashboard metrics
Best HR dashboard tools
How to create an effective HR dashboard
HR reporting pitfalls to avoid
HR dashboard examples
Headcount dashboard in Excel: Template
How to read an HR dashboard
FAQ

What is an HR dashboard?

An HR dashboard is a tool that provides HR teams with a visual overview of the most important HR metrics and KPIs in one place. It aggregates and displays information in a user-friendly format, often using graphs, charts, and tables. An HR dashboard gives an overview of the state of the workforce and it is key to strategic decision-making in HR.

HR dashboards typically include metrics related to recruitment, employee performance, turnover rates, absenteeism, training and development, employee engagement, and workforce diversity. Advanced dashboards may integrate real-time data and predictive analytics to forecast future HR needs or challenges.

HR teams can use various tools to create an HR dashboard, including Excel, Tableau, PowerBI, or their HRIS. Modern, interactive dashboards allow HR teams to gather and combine data from different HR and business systems and analyze this data without having to switch between tools.

HR dashboard vs. HR report

Both HR dashboards and HR reports focus on data and metrics to inform decision-making, but they differ significantly in terms of format, purpose, and functionality.

HR dashboards are highly visual, aiming to provide insights at a glance and enable ongoing monitoring of key metrics and trends. HR reports are typically text-heavy and often structured with tables and descriptive summaries. They’re intended for detailed analysis, documentation, and deeper explanations of data.

While HR dashboards are meant to be accessed for routine monitoring and decision-making, HR reports are often generated periodically (e.g., monthly, quarterly) for review or compliance purposes.

There are different types of HR reports, such as: 

• Headcount reports 
• Monthly HR reports
• Annual HR reports
• Turnover and retention reports
• Health and safety reports.

Both the HR dashboard and the HR report have their place in an HR strategy, allowing for high-level monitoring (dashboards) and detailed evaluation (reports).

For example, an HR dashboard might display a real-time view of employee turnover trends using an interactive chart that updates automatically. Meanwhile, an HR report might provide a detailed analysis of turnover data for the past quarter, including narrative insights and static tables.

Key functions of an HR dashboard 

The HR dashboard plays a big part in enabling HR to track workforce data and report on it. The tool has several key functions, including: 

• HR monitoring: Tracking key workforce metrics and regular reporting enables HR to keep a finger on the organization’s pulse. They can spot new trends and opportunities early on and address emerging problems before they significantly impact the business. 
• Management information: An actively monitored and managed HR dashboard – and the reports that derive from it – can help managers do their jobs better. A well-structured and easily digestible report can inform managers about relevant team and department developments.
  For example, suppose the customer support department struggles with high turnover and a high time to hire. In that case, managers will be more likely to emphasize retaining employees and be more aware of risks like longer replacement times when someone is about to leave. 
• Track problem areas: An HR dashboard is also a great way to track key problem areas transparently. Transparency in turnover rates per manager will encourage them to pay closer attention to retaining employees because their own reputation is on the line. By tracking areas of concern, HR can leverage its position to drive improvements.
• Strategic decision-making: Monitoring and analyzing data over time naturally gives HR teams insights into developing trends, budding issues, and more. This, in turn, allows them to make more strategic and data-driven decisions that align with the organization’s business goals and contribute to its success.
• Better communication: A well-designed HR dashboard that tracks data in real-time provides HR professionals with a wealth of information. The HR reports generated based on the dashboard data allow them to back up their ideas or initiatives with actual company data and hence improve their communication with the organization’s leadership and stakeholders.

HR dashboard metrics

A general HR dashboard should track metrics related to the workforce demographics and costs. Specialized dashboards might provide insights into specific areas like diversity, recruitment, and employee performance.

Here are some common metrics to showcase on an HR dashboard:

• Tenure: This metric measures the length of time employees stay with an organization. Tracking employee tenure can help identify trends in employee loyalty and engagement, and it provides valuable insights for workforce planning and retention strategies.
• Gender: A common distinction to drill into diversity data.
• Age: Age is becoming increasingly important in today’s multigenerational workforce. Age is also important for strategic workforce planning and succession planning, and it is often a key focus point for organizations that want to innovate and reorganize. 
• Education level: Educational levels should only be included when available and when relevant to the organization’s overarching goals. Otherwise, they risk being a ‘vanity metric’ in the HR reporting.
• Function type: A metric like function type or function clusters might help to distinguish different groups within the company. Examples include top management, middle management, and individual contributors.
• FTE: A Full-Time Equivalent is the hours worked by one employee full-time. The number of FTEs is often lower than the number of total employees. This is especially true if there are many part-time workers present in the organization. FTE provides an accurate measure of the total workload in the organization. People who work less than 1 FTE can be considered part-time workers. 
• Employees active: This metric represents the number of employees working at the organization. 
• Turnover: This metric represents the number or percentage of employees who left in the previous period.
• New hires: This metric represents the number or percentage of new employees who joined the organization within the last year. 
• Absenteeism rate: This metric represents the average percentage of time that employees were absent in the previous period. Another representation of this number is the total days of absence per employee. 
• Cost of absence: This metric is not a standard one, but it can make the previously mentioned absence rate more tangible by relating it to a financial number.
• Cost of labor: Labor cost is the total amount that an organization pays to its workforce. This number includes employee benefits and payroll taxes. The cost of labor can be divided into direct and indirect costs. Direct costs are the labor costs associated with people who contribute to the primary process (an assembly line worker, for instance). Indirect costs cannot be traced back to a specific level of production (a security guard guarding the factory, for example).
• Training cost: Training cost represents the total amount a company spends on training new hires and the existing workforce.
• Recruitment cost: This is the total cost of recruitment efforts. Typically, it includes the costs of external agencies, job advertisements, and, sometimes, lost productivity. The cost of recruitment is much more complex, though, as it also involves elements like the cost of management time in selection and training. All these components help calculate the cost per hire.
• Time to fill: This metric refers to the number of days between a position opening up and a candidate accepting that position. It will vary significantly between job types: software developers, big data analysts, and highly qualified salespeople are much harder to find than entry-level marketers, for example.

Bear in mind that this is by no means an exhaustive list. The metrics you’ll track on your HR dashboard will depend on your organization’s specific goals, priorities, and challenges, as well as the dashboard’s audience.

For example, senior executives may prioritize high-level metrics like turnover rates, headcount trends, and workforce costs, while HR managers may focus on more operational metrics such as time to hire, training completion rates, and absenteeism.

Best HR dashboard tools 

To get the most out of an HR dashboard, it is important to choose a tool that fits your organization’s needs and your current HR tech stack. Let’s take a look at some common HR dashboard tools and their advantages and drawbacks. 

Excel

It is fairly easy to create a basic HR dashboard in Excel. You can use a pre-created HR dashboard template directly in Excel or create tables and charts with the relevant HR data yourself.

Benefits and drawbacks

The biggest benefit of using Excel for your HR dashboard is the fact that Excel is (relatively) familiar to many people and is usually readily available.

But Excel has drawbacks, too. Its visualization, collaboration, and real-time data management capacities are limited, for example. Spreadsheets also don’t offer the best data protection, which can lead to all sorts of security risks. 

Tableau

Tableau’s HR dashboard software offers People Teams many ways to visualize their HR data, including motion charts, boxplots, pie charts, bullet charts, and more. 

Benefits and drawbacks 

The most obvious benefits of Tableau are its top-of-the-line data visualization features and, as a result, the fact that the software allows HR teams to showcase their data in a way that works for them. 

The other side of this is that the platform is more complex, which means that you will likely need at least one person on the team who knows (or is willing to learn) how to work with Tableau. 

Power BI

Microsoft’s Power BI is another tool that makes creating an HR dashboard and the subsequent aggregation, analysis, and visualization of data and reports very simple. 

Benefits and drawbacks

Since Power BI is a Microsoft product, integration with other Microsoft products such as Excel, SharePoint, and Azure is easy. This can be an important benefit as many businesses work with Microsoft products. Other advantages include the fact that it’s easy to use, offers real-time data processing, and is secure.  

As with any platform, there are also a couple of potential disadvantages of working with Power BI. The software is online-only, has limited customization options, and a rather steep learning curve for those who are unfamiliar with it. 

Asana

Asana is a task and project management platform. Its dashboard capabilities enable People Teams to use pre-built dashboard templates or to create custom ones for their HR processes.

Benefits and drawbacks

Asana’s software offers some interesting collaboration features. HR stakeholders and others involved can engage in discussions, co-edit dashboards, and leave comments, making it a good option for People Teams that need a collaborative dashboard tool.   

Disadvantages may include the fact that Asana doesn’t offer phone support and is relatively expensive.

HR tip

You might also want to look into dedicated HR dashboard platforms like Visier and Charthop. Such tools offer specialized features designed for HR needs, like advanced analytics, customizable reporting, and integration with existing HR systems.

5. Google Data Studio (Looker Studio)

Google Data Studio—now called Looker Studio—is a free tool from Google that helps you turn HR data into interactive dashboards and reports.

Benefits and drawbacks

The biggest benefit of Looker Studio is that it’s free to use and works well with other Google tools like Google Sheets, BigQuery, and Google Analytics. It’s a good option if your HR data lives in spreadsheets or cloud databases. The platform lets you create interactive dashboards that update in real-time and are easy to share with others.

The drawbacks include limited design options and fewer built-in templates compared to paid tools. While it’s simpler than more advanced platforms, building a solid dashboard still takes some time and understanding of how your data is set up. It may also not be the best choice if you need complex analytics or large-scale reporting.

An HR dashboard is the most efficient way for HR teams to monitor, manage, track, and report on their HR KPIs (key performance indicators).  

Here’s what to consider when creating an HR dashboard:

• Choose the right tool: The ideal tool for one organization might not be the right option for another. Factors to consider here include:
  • The features you need (i.e., collaboration, visualization, etc.)
  • Vendor support
  • Whether the tool is easy to use or if you need a dedicated person who has experience with it
  • The available budget.
• Select critical metrics for your dashboard: Here, too, the key metrics for your HR dashboard depend on what kind of dashboard you want to create; they won’t be the same for a recruitment dashboard and an employee performance dashboard, for example. If it is a ‘generic’ one, some of the HR dashboard metrics mentioned earlier in this article may be useful.
• Focus on user-friendliness: HR dashboards should be easy to maintain and use to ensure they deliver value to the organization without creating unnecessary complexity or administrative burden. Focus on providing quick access to key metrics without overwhelming users.
• Prioritize accuracy: HR reporting is often seen as a hygiene factor. This means that, like hygiene, solid and accurate reporting is taken for granted and not fully appreciated. Imagine you’re out for a meal in a restaurant. You’re not likely to comment on the restaurant being clean; this is something we simply expect. But, if you get dirty cutlery or the toilets are messy, you complain. To relate this to HR, reporting is not noticed much unless errors occur. Solid reporting, like cleanliness in a restaurant, is essential in maintaining credibility.    
• Customize for stakeholders: If other stakeholders outside the HR department also require (regular) access to certain HR dashboards, you may want to involve them in the creation of those dashboards. What metrics do they believe are important, and how would they like to work with and use the dashboard?

HR reporting pitfalls to avoid

There are several pitfalls concerning HR reporting. It is important to address these, as doing so will prevent you from getting trapped in a never-ending reporting cycle.

• Avoid generating your reports manually: This is highly inefficient and will drain the capacity of your HR data department or person. See how you can automate your HR reporting, for example, by using HR software tools that integrate with your existing systems to pull and analyze data automatically.
• Don’t try to please everyone: If you can make 80% of the people happy with 20% of the information, that may be the best solution. Making an overly complicated dashboard and reporting on irrelevant data may lead to low engagement with the reports or dashboards and thus decrease their impact.
• Don’t ignore data errors: HR data will contain human errors. No matter how efficient your software, processes, and people are, there will be mistakes. When mistakes occur, fix them in the source systems. Make sure to create procedures to check accuracy when inputting data.  

HR dashboard examples

HR dashboards come in different shapes and forms. Here are a couple of examples of HR dashboards in action.

General HR dashboard

This HR dashboard provides a snapshot of workforce data, highlighting headcount distribution by grade, hiring trends, and employee movement by year.

Key metrics such as top talent and performers, recruitment costs, and promotions are displayed, along with turnover breakdowns (regretted and non-regretted).

Sickness & absence HR dashboard

This HR metrics dashboard focuses on absence information, and the tab displayed in the image below revolves around sickness in particular. It visualizes the average number of sick days taken per employee over the past year and their cost.  

Headcount dashboard in Excel

This Excel dashboard helps HR teams easily monitor workforce trends and patterns.

Recruitment dashboard

This recruitment dashboard example distinguishes between the company’s technical and non-technical hires. The dashboard provides real-time updates as we see the organization’s current hiring pipeline. It also includes the company’s top hiring sources for various departments.

General HRIS dashboard

This HRIS report is part of AIHR’s People Analytics Certificate Program, in which you can learn how to create this exact report by connecting multiple datasets using Power BI. The report is fully interactive.

If you’re new to Power BI, you can also watch this guide on using the tool to create interactive HR dashboards:

How to read an HR dashboard

Once you’re looking at the dashboard, the next step is knowing how to interpret what’s in front of you. The data may seem simple, but each metric has a story behind it. Here’s how to read the most common ones and what to take away from them.

A final word

Whether it’s employee turnover, employee safety, or any other workforce-related topic, HR dashboards are a great way for People Teams and other stakeholders in the organization to get a picture of what’s going on. While they might take some time to set up, they can save countless hours in the long run by consolidating key data into one easily accessible place.

With clear visuals and real-time insights, dashboards help teams identify trends, address issues proactively, and make informed decisions. Plus, they foster transparency by ensuring everyone has the same understanding of workforce metrics.

FAQ

The post HR Dashboard: 5 Examples, Metrics and a How-To appeared first on AIHR.

This article explores some of the most common reasons for employee turnover and ways to prevent it. Let’s get started!

Contents
What is employee turnover?
Why you need to understand the reasons for employee turnover
Top reasons for employee turnover
Interaction among predictors of employee turnover
How to reduce employee turnover
FAQ

What is employee turnover?

Employee turnover refers to the rate at which employees leave a company within a specific time frame, often measured annually. There are several types of employee turnover:

• Voluntary turnover: An employee chooses to leave a company, like resigning for a new job or personal reasons.
• Involuntary turnover: An employer decides to part ways with an employee, often due to performance issues or layoffs.
• Functional turnover: This is when the departure of an employee is seen as positive for the company, like when a low performer leaves.
• Dysfunctional turnover: This refers to the loss of high-performing or valuable employees, which negatively impacts the organization.
• Employee attrition: Often used interchangeably with turnover, employee attrition is a gradual reduction in staff, usually through natural causes like retirements or resignations, without actively replacing those employees.

Turnover can be measured for the entire organization and by department, team, demographic groups, and other subcategories within the company. 

To calculate their employee turnover rate easily, organizations usually divide the total number of people who leave during a specific period by the average number of employees at the company during that same period. For example, if an organization with 1,000 employees encounters 100 departures over a year, its turnover rate is 10%.

Why you need to understand the reasons for employee turnover

There are multiple reasons why it’s essential for businesses to understand why their employees leave, including:

• Preventing unwanted turnover: If you understand why employees leave, you can do something about it. For example, data from exit interviews shows that people leave mainly because their compensation isn’t in line with the rest of the market. You can then see how you can start improving your compensation packages and eliminate it as a cause for unwanted turnover. 
• Cost saving: The average cost of replacing an employee is between one and two times their annual salary. Employee turnover often leads to knowledge and productivity loss and a drop in employee engagement and morale, all of which translate into extra monetary costs as well.     
• Building a stable workforce: A stable workforce positively impacts morale, while excessive turnover often leads to an increased workload and stress for those left behind. Less turnover also contributes to sustainable, long-term business growth through continuity in productivity, team dynamics, and institutional knowledge.
• Implementing targeted employee retention strategies. As mentioned above, when you know why people leave, you can implement targeted strategies to improve retention. For example, data from your new hire survey shows people find their onboarding doesn’t prepare them for their role and focuses too much on administrative tasks. Modifying your employee onboarding process can tackle this issue and prevent new hire turnover.

Top reasons for employee turnover

A comprehensive meta-analysis of research on employee turnover, drawing from data on over 60,000 employees, has revealed key factors that consistently predict why people leave their jobs. These insights highlight the top reasons behind employee turnover and clarify what drives employees to move on.

Some of these factors are easy to track, while others are harder to measure or are more abstract in nature.

Let’s take a closer look at the top drivers of employee turnover.

1. Stress

Stress causes people to leave their jobs. Highly stressful work environments typically have higher employee turnover rates and more cases of employee burnout than low-stress environments.

Examples of things that can cause stress include: 

• Role clarity: Clearly defined roles and responsibilities give people more support and are less likely to cause stress. 
• Role conflict: A role conflict occurs when an employee is expected to fulfill the duties of two contradictory positions. 
• Role overload: Employees need a number of resources (e.g., time, autonomy, budget, coaching, career opportunities, etc.) to do their jobs well.
  When employees don’t have sufficient resources and a taxing role, this leads to role overload and stress and often prompts them to leave. Excessive, unmanageable workloads are one of the most common causes of stress. If the sheer volume of work or tight deadlines are simply outside people’s capabilities, this will likely become a source of pressure.
• Overall stress: To build a buffer against work-related stress, people need to enjoy a good quality of life outside their work. For instance, a lack of work-life balance will only increase their stress levels.

How to measure stress

Stress is often subjective and, therefore, not always easy to measure. One way to do so, though, is by using employee surveys such as:

• Engagement surveys
• Employee pulse surveys 
• Stay interviews
• Exit interviews.

Other elements, like your organization’s absenteeism rate and the number of sick days taken, can also indicate that your employees experience a lot of stress.

2. Demographic

Demographic variables are a strong predictor of people’s turnover intentions and are easy to measure. Think of the following examples: 

• Age: Age is typically negatively associated with people’s intention to leave their employer. This means that younger people leave their jobs more frequently than older people. 
• Children: People with children are less likely to switch jobs. This is probably due to the extra responsibilities of being a parent.  
• Kinship responsibilities: The level of kinship responsibilities, the obligations or duties individuals have towards their family members or close relatives, influences their willingness to change jobs. This is likely because having more responsibilities discourages risk-taking.
• Marital status: People who are married are less likely to switch jobs than people who are not married. This is probably due to the extra responsibilities of marriage in line with the previous two factors.
• Tenure: The single most significant indicator of turnover is employee tenure. For example, people usually are more likely to leave in their fourth or fifth year than in their first year. Most people don’t want to be seen as job-hoppers, so they tend to work for at least a couple of years for the same company. On the other hand, when people work for a company for a very long time, they are less likely to ever work for another organization. 

How to measure demographic variables

Demographic information usually is easily accessible through an organization’s Human Resources Information System (HRIS).

3. Leadership

The age-old adagio “people leave their bosses, not their jobs” is confirmed by research and rings truer today than ever. Gallup data shows that the manager determines 70% of team engagement variance. The following elements matter in that regard:

• Supervisory satisfaction: Employees who are happy with their supervisors will stay with the organization for a longer period. 
• Leader-member exchange (LMX): The LMX theory focuses on whether or not the relationship with the leader is a two-way relationship.
  When managers see their team members as individuals and recognize their contributions to the team, people will appreciate their managers much more than when they feel like they are just one of the many. 

How to measure leadership 

Leadership variables are difficult to measure. However, when you have large teams, you can use them as a control variable in your analysis. For example, if one team loses employees much more rapidly than others, this might indicate something about the team manager’s leadership style.

Of course, a closer analysis is still needed to justify this conclusion and to determine what exactly needs to be improved; are we dealing with poor management and leadership practices, a lack of transparent communication, or toxic leadership, for instance?

4. Job satisfaction

People’s satisfaction with their jobs is another important turnover indicator. Consider the following factors in that regard:

• Job satisfaction: This is a much-used measure in surveys to gauge how satisfied people are with their jobs. 
• Job met expectations: Whether or not the job meets people’s expectations from before they started is an essential element of their happiness with that job. For example, if people expect to have more responsibilities or autonomy than they actually have, they are likely to leave. If there is a significant gap between their expectations and reality, people may leave the organization within just a couple of months. Companies can use methods like realistic job preview to prevent this from happening. 
• Job involvement: Job involvement refers to how engaged people are in their work. When their role aligns with their interests and they feel fully engaged, they are more likely to remain with the organization.

5. Work satisfaction

Work satisfaction is a factor very similar to job satisfaction. There is a subtle difference. Job satisfaction generally refers to the overall contentment an employee feels about their job, including factors like pay, work conditions, and relationships with co-workers. Work satisfaction specifically focuses on satisfaction derived from the tasks and responsibilities of the job itself—how fulfilling or engaging the work is and whether the employee feels motivated by the work they do.

In other words, work satisfaction zooms in more directly on the nature of the work itself.

How to measure job and work satisfaction

Satisfaction is subjective. To accurately measure job and work satisfaction, you can use surveys. The usual suspects mentioned earlier can also be excellent tools (e.g., pulse surveys, engagement surveys, stay interviews, and exit interviews).

6. Job content

This turnover predictor refers to how people experience their jobs. The following factors play an important part in this:

• Routinization: Most people don’t like to do the same thing day after day. A high degree of routinization is associated with an increase in productivity but also a rise in turnover. 
• Promotional chances: People are more likely to stay with a company when they know they have career advancement opportunities and can get a promotion. On the other hand, a lack of career progression can push people toward other companies.  
• Instrumental communication: The way people communicate within the company has an impact on employee turnover. Instrumental communication is goal-oriented and focuses on the sender. Examples are “Please update the client on the project status by the end of the day.” and “Could you schedule a meeting with the marketing team for next week?” This kind of communication helps define goals and targets and benefits practical, goal-oriented tasks.

How to measure job content

Surveys are a helpful way to assess the level of routinization, perceptions of career advancement opportunities, and the state of communication.

Job analysis can also help gather insights about the daily tasks of different roles, the degree of repetition in the work, and how much discretion or variety the employees experience. This data can provide a clearer picture of how structured or routine-based certain roles are within the organization.

7. External environment

Many people have a tendency to constantly compare their situation with that of others, both personally and professionally. This is also true for their jobs and work environments. The external environment refers to the external factors that influence an employee’s decision to stay or leave their job, particularly through comparisons with other opportunities. Two elements in particular are worth mentioning in this regard:

• Alternative job opportunities: People are less likely to leave when there are few alternative job opportunities, and vice versa. 
• Comparison to the present job’s alternatives: Even when various options are available, people are still less likely to leave if their current job is better than the alternatives. However, when the alternatives are superior – and when the grass really is greener on the other side – people are more likely to leave.

How to measure external environment

Some specialized HR consultancy firms have access to large amounts of detailed function data, which gives a relatively accurate description of the demand for a certain job. 

People with popular jobs can more easily find an alternative job, have more alternatives, and are more likely to be approached by recruiters. 

By comparing your organization’s job functions with their respective databases, you can estimate which employees will be most tempted to switch jobs. For example, a data analyst might be in higher demand than a secretary because the former is more sought-after and harder to replace.

8. Co-workers

People leave their jobs not only because of their managers but also because of their colleagues and the workplace culture. Co-workers are another factor that predicts employee turnover. These components, in particular, play a role: 

• Workgroup cohesion: Cohesion among colleagues is associated with lower rates of turnover. 
• Co-worker satisfaction: How happy people are with their co-workers relates to a lower likelihood of them leaving the organization.   

How to measure the co-worker variable

People’s perceptions of and attitudes toward their co-workers can be measured through employee surveys.

9. Compensation

Compensation is often still seen as an important predictor of why people leave. However, this is not always the case. In fact, pay is a non-significant predictor of people’s intention to leave. Pay satisfaction and perception of pay equity, however, are. Here’s why: 

• Pay satisfaction: As mentioned above, people tend to compare things. As such, they are more likely to leave their jobs when a colleague or friend with the same job earns considerably more. In other words, it is not the de facto pay that matters but someone’s satisfaction with this pay.
• Distributive justice: Distributive justice occurs when employees perceive how they are being compensated as equal and fair. For example, when a manager with only a few extra responsibilities earns two or three times more than other employees, people will lose motivation and become more likely to leave their jobs.   

How to measure compensation

You can benchmark your pay data against market data to find out where your organization stands. When someone believes they’re underpaid or receive inadequate compensation, they will be more likely to be dissatisfied and leave. Benchmarking data can give you an indication of whether you are underpaying or overpaying your people.

10. Indicators

There are several other reasons for employee turnover, signs that might indicate whether or not people will leave the company, including: 

• Lateness: When people are consistently late, this could result from demotivation and indicate that they will soon leave the company. 
• Absenteeism: People who are absent more often than others are also more likely to leave. One reason for this could be that they take a sick day to interview for a new job or because they are less motivated. Absenteeism is the strongest indicator of turnover intentions, together with tenure. 
• Performance: Another important factor is performance. People with low performance are likelier to leave than those with high performance.
  However, when people perform exceptionally well over a longer period of time, they become more likely to leave, as this may indicate that they experience a lack of challenge and change.  

How to measure these indicators

Organizations usually already record absenteeism data, which can be used to predict turnover. Performance data can also be easily obtained if the company uses a performance management system.

Interaction among predictors of employee turnover

Predictors of employee turnover often interact with each other. Depending on this interaction, some effects will be enhanced while others will be reduced.

For example, marital status tends to influence turnover differently at various life stages. Someone who marries in their early twenties may be more focused on career-building and less likely to prioritize family life immediately. In contrast, someone who marries in their thirties and is planning to start a family may prioritize work-life balance more, affecting their job choices.

Another example is workload and gender roles. A woman with a demanding job might be more likely to seek flexible work arrangements after having children, while a man, under societal pressure to provide financial stability, might remain in the workforce despite a heavy workload. Here, gender norms interact with workload to produce different turnover outcomes.

These examples show how predictors like age, gender, marital status, and workload combine and influence employee decisions in complex ways. This phenomenon called interaction highlights the importance of considering multiple factors when predicting turnover.

How to reduce employee turnover

Once you are aware of the above-mentioned reasons for employee turnover, you can track them and actively work on reducing the turnover in your organization. Here are a few ideas to consider:

• Thoroughly understand the drivers of employee turnover in your organization: This is your starting point. Why are people leaving the company? Are they unhappy with their compensation? Do they not get along with their manager or co-workers? Do they dislike their job? When you know why people quit, you can create a targeted retention strategy to avoid this.
• Keep track of employee turnover in detail: Detailed turnover data is essential for a thorough understanding of what causes people to leave. Track this metric in various subcategories, such as the organization’s different departments and roles, geographic locations, gender, age, tenure, etc. 
• Conduct exit interviews: People who are leaving tend to speak more frankly than those who remain with the company. Exit interviews can, therefore, provide you with a wealth of information to identify patterns and areas where improvement is needed. 
• Target your retention efforts: Based on the information you gather about why people leave and in what part of the company, you can target your retention efforts. Depending on where there is the highest urgency (i.e., new hire turnover, customer service team departures, manager turnover, etc.), you can take action first. 
• Conduct stay interviews: While stay interviews are not as commonly used as employee surveys or exit interviews, they can be an excellent way to do two things: 1) uncover solutions to potential causes of employee turnover, hence enabling you to be proactive, and 2) hear directly from your employees why they enjoy working at the organization and why they are staying.        
• Focus on the fundamentals. As with everything, preventing employee turnover starts with having a solid foundation and creating an environment that fosters engagement. In our HR trends for 2025, we identify a couple of key ingredients for this:
  • Fair wages, safe working conditions, reasonable working hours
  • Adequately resourced managers with the tools to provide stability and support
  • Purpose-driven work that enables valuable contributions
  • Meaningful recognition with clear growth opportunities
  • Creating an environment where employees feel heard in combination with strong team connections.
• Foster open communication. Transparent communication in the workplace helps employees understand where they stand and what’s expected of them. It also clarifies their career growth opportunities, learning and development options, and performance goals, which can boost engagement and reduce uncertainty about their future within the company.

Wrapping up

Fighting turnover begins with knowing the reasons for employee turnover in your organization. The turnover predictors mentioned in this article can be a good place to start looking. Once you have identified the main drivers of employee turnover in your company, you can create a targeted strategy to reduce it. Not only will it help you retain talent and create a more stable, engaged team over the long term, but you’ll also save significant costs for your organization.

FAQ

The post 10 Top Reasons for Employee Turnover & How To Prevent It appeared first on AIHR.