Mike West - People Analytics For Dummies

People Analytics For Dummies

Published by: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, www.wiley.com

Copyright 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2019931481

ISBN: 978-1-119-43476-4; 978-1-119-43483-2 (ebk); 978-1-119-43479-5 (ebk)

1. Chapter 4
2. Chapter 7
3. Chapter 9
4. Chapter 10
5. Chapter 11
6. Chapter 15

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
5. Chapter 5
6. Chapter 6
7. Chapter 7
8. Chapter 8
9. Chapter 9
10. Chapter 10
11. Chapter 11
12. Chapter 13
13. Chapter 14
14. Chapter 15
15. Chapter 16
16. Chapter 18

You might already be familiar with how the power of data analytics has transformed the fields of marketing, sales, supply chain management, or finance. You may also be familiar with the idea that people are a companys greatest investment. Well, like peanut butter and chocolate eventually found their way into a delicious treat, these two ideas found their way together, too the happy result is called people analytics.

Welcome to People Analytics For Dummies, a book written for people open to the idea that there need not be any contradiction between what makes companies great places to work and great at producing business results. People analytics is built on the premise that what makes companies great is people, and that what can make more companies great when it comes to people is data analysis. Not any kind of analysis specifically, the analysis of people at work.

In this book, you'll find an introduction to the data, metrics, and analysis at the basis of this new field called people analytics. Because its a new field, this may be the first time youre hearing anything at all about it or, like most of the people doing the work today, youre figuring it out as you go along. In any case, even if youre familiar with people analytics already, this book may introduce you to new ways of approaching your work and may also provide you with some tips on how best to explain to others exactly what you do. (It never hurts to be able to express clearly and succinctly to others the importance of the work you do.)

This is a book about making important management decisions about people by using data analysis rather than whim or instinct. This is a book about getting great business results while at the same time creating a great place for people to work. This is a book about finding a way to be a great company that relies on continuous feedback and learning rather than a mediocre company that's satisfied with either doing it the way it's always been done or that tries to keep up by slavishly copying the competition. This book is the recipe for getting the highest possible individual, team, and company performance while also making employees happier!

In People Analytics For Dummies, I talk about the ways that analysis can connect human resources decisions to business strategy as well as offering an overview of some of the nuts-and-bolts of how to do the analysis. You'll find out about gathering data about your employees at different stages of their careers, detecting patterns from the data, making predictions, and measuring the consequences of the actions you take. You'll find out how to use data to continuously improve the methods you use to attract, activate, and retain talented people so that you can achieve higher levels of productivity.

When I can, I include real-world examples from companies I have worked with big and small so that you can learn from the real world how to collect and analyze data in ways that can help you make better business decisions across a wide variety of human resources management topics: recruiting, performance, rewards, learning and development, leadership, diversity, and attrition. These examples show you the broad variety of opportunities for a smart application of people analytics.

Whether you're an executive, a human resources professional, or an analyst, youll find something in this book for you.