22 April, 2021

Why standard reports and analytics are not enough for RnR

The current world of evolving workplaces demands organizations to be adaptive and make constant changes in their processes, policies and even their business models. Fluctuations in the economy driven by an unpredictable health crisis, have compelled leaders to focus on engaging and retaining their best talent. In such a scenario, it is imperative for organizations to have the right data to guide their employee engagement program. Basic analytics tools are already provided by RnR software vendors across the globe, but the relevance of the reports available and current visualization standards are being increasingly questioned by HR teams. In this blog, we will discuss the shortcomings of standard reports and analytics on an employee engagement platform as well as suggestions for what could boost the ROI of the reporting mechanism on a daily basis.

The first step towards interpreting data is often knowing which questions to ask. Singular data metrics could glaze of the specific needs of any organization. For instance, having reports on the number of logins into the platform is not useful without knowing the personas of the employees who frequently login. In the same way, knowing the number of recognitions has no impact unless it is accompanied by further data on recognition patterns at the location, department and team level to allow for interventions. On the other hand, platforms that bombard users with too many reports, complex matrices and fancy visuals often fail to reveal the inside story of the engagement platform without a measurable action plan going forward. Below are some of the ways in which people engagement analytics can actually help move the needle on organizational impact:

• Customized reporting- Role-based dashboards

Reports need to be tailored first and foremost to the role of the employee within the organization. This means having separate dashboards for employees of different departments and hierarchies. Customized reporting helps in throwing up the right information for every stakeholder without having them wade through irrelevant data.

• Performance Reporting- Insights for Appraisals

With the ongoing appraisal season, HR teams are looking for 360-degree feedback systems to create an accurate picture of employee performance. RnR tools that offer performance insights through features like an employee scorecard and achievement logs can assist the appraisal process by providing easily accessible crucial details in a top-down appraisal.

• Buildable Reports- Demand-driven complexity

Reports and analytics need to be aligned with organizational needs and mature as the demand arises. Having a DIY reporting tool helps to simplify or create more detailed reports at will. For example- getting a time-based comparative view like monthly or quarterly engagement statistics can be done with a few clicks, without having a dependency on an account manager.

• Actionable Insights- Prescriptive Analytics

Most standard data analytics tools provide the numbers but fail to provide actionable insights or highlight what is important from the business perspective. As a result, managers and leaders who are already pressed for time fail to derive value from RnR reports. Having an in-house consulting team that provides you with quantifiable and tested methodologies for improving your metrics ensures a complete package.

• Effective UI- User-friendliness

Lastly, analytics around RnR reports need to make the lives of the various stakeholders simpler. UI elements like a single window view of essential data, clean graphs and real-time updates encourages adoption of the often ignored analytics tool of the employee engagement platform.

Any modern business cannot undermine the value of data in developing resilience towards change. However, RnR reporting needs to be impact-driven and help in bridging real gaps in data. Ideally, RnR analytics should help in repairing weak links within work culture, measuring and managing RnR spends, improving the employee rewards program, and planning the employee engagement roadmap to remain adaptable to change.