With the arrival of Big Data, HR has an unprecedented opportunity to become more data-driven, analytical and strategic in the way that it acquires talent. A new article from eQuest, “Big Data: HR’s Golden Opportunity Arrives,” describes the forecasting possibilities that transform the HR function from reactive to proactive, allowing for evidence-based decision making and efficient resource allocation.
HR has spent much of the past decade trying to find increasingly better ways to apply metrics and analytics to its human capital decisions. The article explains how powerful new technologies make it possible for HR to take advantage of an unprecedented amount of data to make evidence-based sourcing decisions and to raise the department’s profile as a strategic partner to senior leadership.
“Talent constraints due to sourcing ineffectiveness lead to missed business opportunities or delayed business outcomes and decreased profitability,” said David Bernstein, vice president of eQuest’s Big Data division. “The promise of Big Data lies in its forecasting and real-time analysis capabilities. Properly used, it will drive more effective sourcing and faster hiring.”
The article brings welcome news. Companies don’t have to spend years creating infrastructure and hiring data scientists to enjoy the benefits of the Big Data boom. A growing number of Big Data software vendors now offer HR much-needed assistance in launching talent-related Big Data initiatives that yield immediate results.
“In many ways, Big Data and HR are a natural fit, since HR already owns much of an organization’s most valuable internal data—its human capital information,” said Bernstein. “Big Data fueled hiring means getting the right people into the company at the right time, the first time. It means improving candidate sourcing and selection, which speeds up the hiring process and creates significant competitive advantage.”
