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Life as an HR leader is overwhelming right now — juggling retention, recruiting, performance, engagement, growth and navigating a new world of work.

HR doesn’t have time to dig for information to build a people strategy. But they need to be able to access data quickly to make people-centered decisions to achieve business goals.

The hardest part of connecting people analytics to business success is knowing where to start. People analytics dashboards help leaders visualize trends and save time with necessary insights. Here are seven dashboards HR needs to achieve success.

1. Employee Engagement

Engagement surged in 2020 but started to drop in the middle of 2021. An employee engagement dashboard can help HR understand how the organization is doing on this key business metric so that they can promptly adjust.

Is the latest engagement strategy working? How has engagement trended over time? HR leaders use engagement surveys to better the employee experience. A survey will show if employees are engaged — but to move the needle, HR leaders need to see if the plan is working.

With an employee engagement dashboard, HR can measure employee engagement, strategize to make it better and then continue the cycle. Increases in engagement show if employees feel heard and see improvement. Decreases give insights into potential issues that need to be addressed — before they impact the organization’s bottom line.

2. Turnover

Turnover is a big problem facing HR right now, and to address it, they NEED really good data. What is the turnover rate? Why are people leaving?

Having a real-time pulse on retention risk can help save HR a lot of turnover headaches. Quantum Workplace research indicates 58% of employees have been recruited or received a job offer from another organization in the past six months.

HR leaders need to know their retention rate during a given time period and who’s leaving the organization by tracking turnover based on different demographic groups, positions, and tenure lengths. To actually move the needle — HR needs to know why they’re leaving.

Understanding the retention rate gives insight into the employee experience, especially when connected with exit survey feedback. Using people analytics, machine learning, and engagement survey data, HR leaders can identify the root causes of turnover and create a strategy to retain talent before they walk out the door.

3. Workforce Makeup

With the increasing importance of DE&I, leaders need to be able to see if their strategy is working. Quantum Workplace research shows 75% of employees say diversity and inclusion are equally important. Is the organization on track to meet diversity goals? Do employees feel diversity is valued? Is training needed?

The first step for HR leaders is understanding the organization’s workforce makeup. From there, the organization can look at investing more time in training, setting diversity goals and objectives and tailoring strategies to create a diverse and inclusive environment employees crave and thrive in.

4. Talent Snapshot

When leaders have easy access to employee performance data, they understand where the organization stands in meeting annual goals, what obstacles might hinder financial performance and what training is needed. Are employees meeting expectations? Are managers effective? Do skill gaps exist? Is there a correlation between pay and performance? Does the CFO have a successor lined up for their looming retirement?

HR leaders need to see the big picture of the organization and connect the dots from individual employee performance to organizational goals and even the future through succession plans.

Using analytics for goals, feedback, and talent reviews, HR can evaluate opportunities to grow employees, understand who is meeting expectations, view which employees are ready for promotions now and have the data to back up what was previously left to gut feelings.

5. Software Usage

Having software is one thing. Using it is another. Knowing software usage numbers gives HR leaders insights into software adoption. Are employees using the performance management software? What was the last employee engagement survey completion rate? How many manager-employee conversations were completed?

Software usage analytics tell if leadership needs to reinforce using the tool, educate managers on how to use the tool or help employees understand why their feedback is important.

6. People Strategy Effectiveness

Organizations need to know if their people strategy is effective. Is the recognition program working as planned? Which feedback templates lead to higher performance without hurting engagement and retention? Do performance templates show a positive correlation with engagement and goal progress?

Connecting these metrics helps HR leaders see the value of their software solution and gauge if their own programs are creating the expected outcomes.

7. Survey Feedback

It’s easy to concentrate on quantifiable metrics. But organizations also need to understand perceptions to add context to all the numbers and answer “why?” Quantum Workplace research shows 48% of departing employees said that the feedback they provided was well-received and followed up on. It’s not enough to just survey. Employees want to see action too.

Feedback is powerful in providing explanations for the quantitative data. Identifying key themes helps keep track of what is important to employees and concentrate efforts on meaningful changes.

People analytics dashboards provide a cohesive picture of what is going on inside the organization. People metrics are intricately connected to each other, providing crucial information needed to make decisions to better the employee experience and meet business goals.

HR leaders can’t be everywhere at once, but they can have access to real-time data that helps make more strategic decisions for business success. Want more information about getting started with HR analytics? Check out Tips and Tools for an Actionable Strategy.