WTH is People Analytics?
And why it is here to stay.
As I build the People Analytics Newsletter, I could not help but wonder what the hell is people analytics?
In some ways, you can call people analytics “business intelligence in HR.” This means the collection, analysis, and communication of the people data to make decisions.
Despite this, the term people analytics implies only a part of the process — analysis.
However, analysis cannot collect and organize the data. It is also not stitching data together. And it does not include data communications.
All those things people analytics professionals do!
Why is that?
I have two guesses here.
The first is people analytics in its origin only focused on analysis.
Engineers and data scientists entered HR via consulting and tech (e.g., Google). They introduced new ways to analyze people’s data to inform business decisions. This was cool and valuable.
Hence, the analysis gave rise to the term people analytics.
Still, people analytics could be a marketing trick.
I have met many “people analytics professionals” who know nothing about analytics. Yet, they know enough buzz words to create an impression. They use people analytics to advance in their careers. Among them are those who lie about knowing Python, SQL, and R to get a job.
I despise those people.
Yet, those people probably created some buzz around the term to introduce it broadly in conjunction with people who practice the art. We need to weed the tricksters out!
Where was I?
Whether sounding cool or coming from analysis, people analytics is a hot topic. And, I am confident it originated at the intersection of nerdiness and coolness.
Imagine, first people analysts of Google gathering together, bringing forth some cool HR insights. The business thought, “this is so cool,” and the term business intelligence doesn’t quite fit. What do they do?
They called it people analytics! It’s catchy, and it’s pretty spot on!
At the end of the day, what else would you call this field if not people analytics?
People research? Too academic…
HR analytics? Too HR…
People science? Ummm…?
People analytics is the proper term for collecting, analyzing, and communicating people data to make decisions.
And that, my friends, is why it is here to stay!
Although this term does not fully capture all things people analytics professionals do, it is so ingrained in our minds that it does. Thus, the term and the definition serve a focusing function for us, people analytics professionals. They remind us it’s not only data manipulation, analysis, and communication.
It’s all three.
So, if you are a part of the team or are an aspiring people analyst, remember the first principles and always focus on what matters.
