Big Data Isn’t Necessarily “Good” Data: What You Can Do

Last week during my time at the Equifax Form 2013, I attended as many sessions as I could around data, analytics, technology, onboarding and turnover.  As I was listening to the general session on Labor Market Dynamics and the way that impacts your bottom line, I was impressed with the amount of data Equifax already has regarding competitive labor markets, voluntary and involuntary turnover by geography, benchmarking, and speed of turnover.

This made me wonder what HR leaders can do to increase the quality of data collected. Take reasons employees leave their employer, for example.  Here were a few that were shared:

• Other opportunities
• Personal reasons
• Quitting without notice
• Dissatisfied

As a HR leader, I know that if I can provide more specific reasons for employees to choose, I will have a more realistic picture of why they are not staying with the company long-term.  If you were a leader and looked at the list above, would you be able to decipher any real meaning from those reasons?

I think not.

To me, when someone leaves your company, they are firing you.  If an employee is leaving, they must be dissatisfied with some aspect(s) of your company offerings.  It could be dissatisfaction with:

• Advancement and promotion opportunities
• Compensation
• Percent of increases
• Flexibility in the work environment or schedule
• Education and training provided
• Healthcare benefits

If you were creating the perfect survey to measure this, you’d want to dive further into specifics on many of these items, as well as others.

Keep in mind, the more data you give yourself and your fellow leaders, the better you are equipped to make strong business decisions.  Be sure to check out Equifax for solutions to help you look at comparative benchmarks and your own data.