Data analytics has found its way into many aspects of society—and human resources (HR) is no exception.

HR leaders are using analytics to track turnover, performance, development, engagement, salaries, and more.

“It’s important to start expanding HR data analytics,” Kathy Menditto, vice president of human resources at Buckeye State Credit Union in Akron, Ohio, told attendees at America’s Credit Unions’ 2024 HR & Organizational Development Council Conference Monday in St. Pete Beach, Fla. “Your C-Suite loves numbers, anything that shows how much they’re spending or how much they could save.”

Menditto says credit union leaders ask three main questions of HR: Can we fill roles fast enough? Can we find good people? And how much will it cost to recruit and hire them?

She suggests following four steps to answer those questions: 

1. Prepare. Form the business plan by defining and analyzing the business problem and creating a project plan. Develop the plan’s framework by setting expectations and time frames.

2. Collect the data. Determine what data you need and where to collect it. Ensure that the data being collected is correct and up to date.

3. Analyze the data. Compile quantitative and qualitative data, clean the data of inaccuracies and outliers, code qualitative data into categories, and analyze the data to make conclusions and look for patterns.

4. Tell the story. Present your findings, making sure “you’re telling your story to the right people,” Menditto says. “Are these the people who can implement change?”

Follow this format when telling the story:

• Introduction. What’s the problem?
• Hypothesis. The if/then statement.
• Data. Present graphs and other visuals.
• Solution. What do you recommend to solve the problem?
• The future. How can we prevent this from happening again? And should we keep collecting this data in the future?

Menditto believes data analytics can take HR departments from a cost center to a strategic partner by improving the efficiency of talent acquisition, employee engagement, training and development, employee values and performance, turnover tracking, and more.

“People want a greater depth in HR analytics and data insights,” Menditto says, “And there is so much data you can track.”