Evidence-based decision-making in personnel management

Hammermann Andrea

Andrea Hammermann / Christopher Thiele IW-Report No. 35 2. October 2019 People Analytics: Evidence-based decision-making in personnel management

The data volume is growing fast. In 2018 33 Zettabytes of data were generated and the amount is expected to grow to 44 Zettabytes in 2020. Only a fraction of data in companies is used for improving decision-making. This hold true specifically for the HR department. Decisions in recruiting and talent management are nowadays mainly based on intuition and experience rather than hard facts.

Andrea Hammermann / Christopher Thiele IW-Report No. 35 2. October 2019

People Analytics: Evidence-based decision-making in personnel management

IW-Report

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The data volume is growing fast. In 2018 33 Zettabytes of data were generated and the amount is expected to grow to 44 Zettabytes in 2020. Only a fraction of data in companies is used for improving decision-making. This hold true specifically for the HR department. Decisions in recruiting and talent management are nowadays mainly based on intuition and experience rather than hard facts.

Contacts

A more evidence-based approach for decision making in human resource departments is currently hyped in the management literature and picked-up in the academic research literature using the terms People Analytics and HR Analytics. However, assumed advantages like nondiscriminating and objective decisions are seen more critically from a scientific point of view.

Our study analyses the risks and opportunities of People Analytics and its use of data sources and analytical approaches from an economic, legal and ethical perspective. We point out several pitfalls and obstacles which must be addressed thoughtfully before a People Analytics project is recommended. The three main obstacles in our regard are the lack of analytical skills, the reservation of data usage in workforces and legal uncertainty.

Andrea Hammermann / Christopher Thiele IW-Report No. 35 2. October 2019

Andrea Hammermann: People Analytics – Evidenzbasierte Entscheidungsfindung im Personalmanagement

IW-Report

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