Analytics is a buzzword not just in HR but in management overall. Management is an art of getting things done, and it has a science behind it. While it is an art, there has been years of scientific research that has gone behind it. Studies in management focus on how things happen. And who is responsible for making things happen? The people in organizations. How do they make things happen? By taking decisions. How do they take decisions? on the basis of their experience. How does experience help? Well, it lets the manager predict outcomes of decisions based on past knowledge.
Now, doesn't that make the outcomes of an organization person specific? Wouldn't the organization end with the retirement of the person. No, because the learnign can be transferred, because it is a science.
Analytics is what helps create a bond between management and science.
It is a popular belief that HR is an art, because dealing with people is an art. But people can be measured, as there a pattern that governs how humans think. If you don't believe it, ask a psychologist, they make a living out of it :)
HR managers are not always psychologist, so they don't always know how to measure up their employees. This is where HR analytics tools come into the picture. It provides managers with quick access to information that they can use to make quick informed decisions. Decisions that are strategic in nature.
