The majority of HR professionals worldwide do not know how their company’s workfrce potential is affecting their company’s bottom line, according to global talent measurement firm SHL.

SHL’s survey of enarly 600 HR professionals worldwide, found that the majority feel overwhelmed by the volum of employee data, and struggle to elicit meaningful insights that will help them drive businesses forward.

The ‘big data deluge’ is leaving HR professionals confused as to how to best manage talent data to impact company performance.

espite workforce planning and talent analytics being referenced among the top five priorities, less than half of respondents (44%) said their organisations use objective data on employees’ competencies and skills to make workforce decisions and only 18% of HR professionals are currently satisfied with the way their organisation manages talent data.  

With organisations focused on restructuring, cost-cutting and growing the top line in tough markets, HR’s 2013 priorities reflect the organisation’s need to engage their talent (55% of those surveyed) and cultivate strong leaders (52%) to drive change. The report reveals the other priorities of HR professionals are performance management (49%), workforce planning/talent analytics (43%) and training (42%). HR priorities reflect the contention between balancing short-term employee productivity and performance with longer-term strategy of aligning talent to the needs and vision of the business. 

“Our research shows that even though organisations measure employee performance, they have historically focused on efficiency data, like how well an employee is performing versus data that allows them to make a strategic talent decision,” said Ken Lahti, vice president, Product Development and Innovation, SHL. “This means key information on talent potential and future capability is overlooked, effectively making targeted programmes that identify the next generation of leaders and nurture talent for critical roles ineffective. This increases succession risk for organisations, putting business performance and continuity in jeopardy.