What is Predictive Analytics?
In the new frontier of predictive analytics, companies are constantly finding new and innovative ways to leverage metrics and data points to strengthen their employee talent pool.
Predictive analytics – sometimes referred to as “people analytics" or "talent analytics” – can be used to drive greater transparency into the employment lifecycle, make better informed workforce decisions, and modify talent strategies to drive competitive differentiation.
In a column from the Wall Street Journal, writer Christopher Mims describes data as a type of currency – something that, when leveraged properly, can yield greater performance and better employee retention, thereby driving revenue and reducing costs.
But the potential of predictive analytics does not begin on the employee's first day, first month, or first year anniversary. Using predictive analytics to inform the hiring process to identify, recruit, and employ talent with job-critical skill-sets is not only effective, but entirely possible. In doing so, the ability to to measure these skills with the benefit of predictive analytics becomes somewhat of a moot point since the employee was hired with the knowledge that they do possess the skills, ability, and motivation needed to succeed. The ability to measure comes from using assessments like personality tools, problem-solving tests, and simulations.
Connecting with the Right Talent Through Hiring Analytics
Using assessment for talent selection is a rapidly growing trend within the hiring process. Assessment testing makes use of analytics to target, measure, and produce data about a candidate’s personality, ability, and skillsets, measuring the data against what’s needed in a position in order to succeed. These traits and skills could measure anything from how a candidate handles pressure, to how creative or innovative their thinking process is. Using assessment testing during the hiring process means a candidate is can be selected for a position based on their work ability, work skills, and work motivation - with hard, quantifiable data to justify that choice.
Predictive analytics enables companies to hire talented individuals based on actual data, rather than going with gut instincts or basing their decisions on outdated or irrelevant information.
Mims correctly assesses in his Wall Street Journal article that predictive analytics can be used to better track and understand employee motivation and satisfaction. Predictive analytics can also be used to create better visibility into the hiring process linking candidate selection to actual business performance with the result being improved company performance.
To learn more about pre-hire assessment testing, check out this e-Book with 15 Must Ask Questions Before Implementing a Pre-Hire Process.
Topics: Better Interviewing