HR dashboards propose to put useful HR metrics in an attractive graphical format right on your desktop. There might be a dial showing engagement scores; a meter showing sickness days; a graph of turnover data. For each display it is usually possible to drill-down to get more detail; to see turnover by department for example. Dashboards are based on one good idea and one bad idea, but I fear the bad will usually outweigh the good.
Only a Dash of Useful Information It is very useful for HR to gather data that will help it make better decisions. If HR needs a better relationship with the business units then gathering some data on that relationship is a good idea. To the extent dashboards encourage HR to think about and collect useful data they are a good thing. Unfortunately, that is where the good ends and the bad begins. While HR dashboards provide information, they are not well-suited to provide useful information. Worse, they encourage HR managers to think they will find answers by staring at a dashboard instead of walking around and talking to people.
Using the Wrong Data Why do dashboards not provide useful information? It’s because the data on the dashboard is typically pulled from your existing ERP or HRMS. That data is the easy to collect, easy to quantify, operational information. It’s not data that will show you anything about HR’s relationship with the business units, the quality of the performance appraisal process or whether the top university graduates want to work for your company. The dashboard shows what’s easy to show, not what’s important.
Once you decide to implement an HR dashboard there will be incredible pressure to fill it with information. Since the only information readily available is the unimportant data in your IT systems then that is what you will get. One vendor notes the dashboard can show average sickness costs per employee. Why on earth would that show up as a key indicator for HR? It’s not because it’s important, it’s because that is the data that happens to be available. Another claim dashboard vendors make is that they provide real-time data. That’s fine, but useful HR data is rarely real-time. Most good companies measure employee attitudes once a year. You don’t need a graphic on your desktop showing a number that only changes annually. The data is real-time because an IT system can easily refresh the data, not because it is useful to do so.
Using the Wrong Mindset What bothers me most about HR dashboards is that they are likely to encourage the wrong mindset. Dashboards are very pretty; they give you the impression that you have the critical information at your fingertips; they give the feeling of control. Many smart people are attracted to the idea of sitting alone in their office analysing reams of data. Unfortunately that’s not how good HR is done.
Good HR managers embrace the messy, confusing and frequently unpleasant world of a complex organization. They spend their time meeting with people—trying to help, trying to persuade and simply trying to make sense of what is going on. Time spent gazing at a beautiful dashboard and drilling down into sickness costs is a way of avoiding the real work of management.
You Can’t Drive by Looking at the Dashboard One dashboard vendor says, ‘A car’s dashboard tells you when there is danger, or when you should accelerate.’ Well, that’s not really true is it? Yes the car’s dashboard can tell you if your engine is overheating, but not if the corner up ahead is dangerous. A car’s dashboard can tell you your speed, but deciding to accelerate is often based on judging what another driver is likely to do. In fact, if we take the car dashboard analogy seriously then we realize that dashboards have very little to do with driving. The only critical piece of information a car dashboard provides on an everyday basis is whether or not you are low on fuel. Even speed is something we usually judge by feel, not by looking at a metric. HR dashboards are likely to be a distraction, encouraging you to take your eye off the road.
Back to Metrics I started this article saying the good side of dashboards is that they may encourage you to collect useful data. HR departments should be spending time thinking through what important decisions they need to make. Having done that they are in a position to gather data that will help them make those important decisions. A dashboard is more likely to take time and energy away from getting the most important information than to help provide it.
David Creelman is CEO of Creelman Research, providing writing, research and commentary on human-capital management. He is investing much of his time in helping HR VPs report to the Board about human capital.
He works with a variety of academics, think tanks, consultancies and HR vendors in the U.S., Japan, Canada and China.
Mr. Creelman can be reached at dcreelman@creelmanresearch.com
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