This document provides 58 quotes, facts, benchmarks, and best practices related to people analytics. It is intended to support organizations in creating great places to work. The quotes and facts are grouped under headings such as "The Case for HR Analytics", "HR Analytics in Practice", "14 Thoughts on Analytics for Talent Management", "10 Best Practices and Benchmarks for HR Shared Services", and "12 Reasons to Upgrade Your HR Analytics Toolset". The document contains insights from various sources on using data and analytics to improve talent management, demonstrate the value of HR, increase the effectiveness of shared services, and address challenges with current HR systems and tools.

1. 58 Quotes, Facts, Benchmarks,
and Best Practices
on People and Analytics
For the last 18 months, the consulting team at Media 1 has read tens of thousands of
pages of research, presentations, and white papers on analytics as it relates to people
and performance. When we came across especially interesting content, we added it to
a master list of resources. The following 58 items where curated from that list in the
hopes that people will use them in support of creating great places to work.
Edited by Harrison Cates Withers III

2. 58 Quotes, Facts, Benchmarks, and Best Practices
on People and Analytics edited by Harrison Cates Withers III
Copyright © 2013 Media 1. All Rights Reserved.
Harrison is the Vice President at Media 1 and a principal business operations consultant. He has over 20 years of
experience in the performance improvement space including managing learning and development activities on an
international scale. Prior to Joining Media 1 he was the Director of Training and Technology at the Domino’s Pizza
chain, giving him the unique perspective of both the business and advisor sides of the equation. He regularly writes
on the intersection of people, process, and technology, including in-depth perspectives on metrics and
measurement, use of social media in business, knowledge management, and the proliferation of mobile technology.
Harrison has a particular passion and talent for challenging the way things have “always been” and seeking the
unvarnished truth. Despite being an early adopter of new technology, Harrison is brutally honest with clients and
their expectations regarding “flavor of the day” trends. He insists on clear measurements that are linked directly to
metrics that align to business strategy, and driving behavior-based change to yield measurable financial results.
With contributions from the Media 1 ROP consulting team:
Scott Byers
Jordan McClure
L. Michael Wykes,
Cover and information design by
James Barnes
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported
License. To view a copy of this license, visit
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ or
send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street,
Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA.
Please share this eBook freely with leaders, innovators, and champions. Thank you!
Media1 delivers a unique process and technology that engages users, aligning them with strategy, enabling
measurable progress against critical business goals, leveraging customer-specific Human Capital Analytics, and
delivering more than a return on the technology investment.
Media1 delivers a Return on People and empowers the customer to build a more engaged workforce.
www.media1.us

3. The Case For HR Analytics
4
HR Analytics in Practice
18
14 Thoughts on Analytics for Talent Management
30
10 Best Practices and Benchmarks for HR Shared Services
46
12 Reasons to Upgrade Your HR Analytics Toolset
58
www.media1.us

4. The Case For HR Analytics

5. You are reading this because you have already decided that HR Analytics are
critical to your organization. However, you are likely facing the daunting task of
explaining to your organization why they should follow your lead. Often, an outside
perspective goes a long way towards helping you make the case. The following 12
quotes and facts come from a variety of well-respected sources and can be used
to start critical conversations and reinforce key points in your initiatives.
www.media1.us

6. “The real catalysts for meaningful workforce analytics are
generally not day-to-day operations, nor IT cost savings,
nor academic/theoretical requirements. Rather, they are
often the significant disruptions that occur to businesses,
but not on a schedule.”
Source: Deloitte
Workforce Analytics and Visualization: Practical Approaches, Tools, and Tips
www.media1.us

7. “Without the appropriate level of analysis and tools, there
can be a continuing wake of destructive activity as
organizations move from one extreme in over-hiring to the
other of recurring layoffs and reductions...”
Source: Human Capital Management Institute
Managing an Organization's Biggest Cost: The Workforce
www.media1.us

8. HR has not yet reached the level where it can
consistently and quantitatively demonstrate linkage
to value creation, causing many CEOs and CFOs to
view HR skeptically as simply a necessary expense.
Source: SHRM - Human Capital Analytics and Metrics
www.media1.us

9. Executives who said HR capabilities
are adequate but need to improve.
Source: Deloitte
www.media1.us

10. Most HR leaders have bought in to HR analytics.
The question is how to allow its use to thrive
throughout the organization.
Source: Cornell University CAHR
The State of HR Analytics
www.media1.us

11. Many leading companies are slowly evolving their
practice of HR Analytics, using data to model and
predict capabilities.
Source: Cornell University CAHR
The State of HR Analytics
www.media1.us

12. Only 1 out of 5 business leaders strongly
agree that they trust the reliability and
accuracy of their organizational data.
Source: Cornell University CAHR
The State of HR Analytics
www.media1.us

13. Even basic headcount reporting practices can be widely
inaccurate.
Source: HCMI via CFO magazine
www.media1.us

14. Business leaders who feel they
have the support of their senior
leaders for HR Analytics projects
and initiatives.
Source: Cornell University CAHR
The State of HR Analytics
www.media1.us

15. Business leaders who feel they have
a strong team of analytical talent that
can execute HR Analytics projects.
Source: Cornell University CAHR
The State of HR Analytics
www.media1.us

16. Top corporate barriers
to using HR Analytics
Source: CIO.com
www.media1.us

17. HR Reporting and Analytics are part of a journey; you
don’t get from “basics” to “sophisticated” in a single step.
Source: Deloitte
Workforce Analytics and Visualization: Practical
Approaches, Tools, and Tips
www.media1.us

18. HR Analytics in Practice

19. Not quite sure where to start with HR Analytics or what you should
expect to get out of it? The following 10 quotes and facts give insight
into how leading companies are using analytics and research on the
returns they are realizing. Some of this data even comes from the CFO
perspective and will be useful when making the case to your financial
stakeholders.
www.media1.us

20. HR Analytics in Practice
There are 3 types of measurement:
Efficiency
Effectiveness
Predictive
Source: SHRM - Human Capital Analytics and Metrics
www.media1.us

21. HR Analytics in Practice
How much the typical Fortune 500 company
can net through good Human Capital Analytics.
Source: The Hacket Group
www.media1.us

22. HR Analytics in Practice
What is the most significant metric in predicting
stock price changes across sectors?
Return on Human Capital Investment
CFO Magazine: Linking Human Capital to Business Performance
www.media1.us

23. HR Analytics in Practice
A $1 investment in employees
can equal $11 in returns.
These returns aren’t felt just by
HR, but by the entire company.
Source: Sage Employer Solutions
Return on Employee Investment
www.media1.us

24. HR Analytics in Practice
Human capital metrics are significant in all
sectors, explaining 35% to 65% rate of
change in stock prices, far more than the
average 1% explained by net income.
CFO Magazine:
Linking Human Capital to Business Performance
www.media1.us

25. HR Analytics in Practice
CFO Magazine:
Linking Human Capital to Business Performance
www.media1.us

26. HR Analytics in Practice
78% of the leading Human Capital
Performance companies are able to
quantitatively demonstrate the impact
of their top 3 workforces on overall
financial performance.
Source: Accenture
The New Generation of Human Capital Analytics
www.media1.us

27. HR Analytics in Practice
56% of HR functions report an
increase in using data analytics
compared to 3 years ago.
Source: KPMG
People are the real numbers
www.media1.us

28. HR Analytics in Practice
36%: Companies using workforce
analytics to identify historical trends.
13%: Companies developing future
scenarios based on this data.
Source: Kronos
Applying Analytics to the Workforce
www.media1.us

29. HR Analytics in Practice
The most popular investments made
in people to minimize turnover.
Source: Talent Management Magazine
“What to do when turnover turns up.”
www.media1.us

30. 14 Thoughts on Analytics
for Talent Management

31. HR Analytics are about people—how they engage with your company
and the measurable results that their behavior makes to your
business. Talent Management can utilize good analytics to select the
right people, provide the right training, and show measurable results
to the business. The following 14 thoughts, curated from research
from a variety of studies, address the criticality of talent analytics and
the results that can be shown from a well-selected and engaged
workforce.
www.media1.us

32. 14 Thoughts on Analytics for
Talent Management
More and more leaders recognize
that people—not products—create
sustainable competitive advantage,
but they are unsure about what to do
differently and how to get started.
Source: The Human Capital Institute Stuck In Neutral
www.media1.us

33. 14 Thoughts on Analytics for
Talent Management
The most valuable assets of a 20th-century
company were its production equipment.
The most valuable asset of a 21st-century
institution, whether business or non-business,
will be its knowledge workers and their
productivity.
Source: Peter Drucker
www.media1.us

34. 14 Thoughts on Analytics for
Talent Management
Organizations that invest in
talent management outperform
their competition significantly.
Harvard Business Review 2007
Return on Employee Investment - Sage
www.media1.us

35. 14 Thoughts on Analytics for
Talent Management
According to HP leaders, the most critical
issues in people management are:
• Leadership development and pipeline
• Talent management
• Creating a high-performance culture
• Training and development
Source: Deloitte
Taking HR to the next level
www.media1.us

36. 14 Thoughts on Analytics for
Talent Management
Employees who will determine the length
of their stay during the first 30 days
Aberdeen Group:
Onboarding Benchmark Report, 2006
www.media1.us

37. 14 Thoughts on Analytics for
Talent Management
Aberdeen Group: Onboarding Benchmark Report, 2006
www.media1.us

38. 14 Thoughts on Analytics for
Talent Management
Best Buy stores in which employee
engagement increased by a tenth of a
point (on a 5-point scale) experienced
a $100,000 increase in annual sales.
Return on Employee Investment (Sage):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lJNzOALdzw&noredirect=1
www.media1.us

39. 14 Thoughts on Analytics for
Talent Management
Return on Employee Investment (Sage):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lJNzOALdzw&noredirect=1
www.media1.us

40. 14 Thoughts on Analytics for
Talent Management
Public organizations with high employee
engagement had Earnings per Share
growth more than 2.5 times greater than
low engagement companies.
Return on Employee Investment (Sage):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lJNzOALdzw&noredirect=1
www.media1.us

41. 14 Thoughts on Analytics for
Talent Management
JC Penney stores with high
engagement of employees generated
10% more sales per square foot than
average stores.
Return on Employee Investment (Sage):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lJNzOALdzw&noredirect=1
www.media1.us

42. 14 Thoughts on Analytics for
Talent Management
MetLife agents hired for a positive
mental mindset outsold more
pessimistic counterparts by 21%
in the first year and by 57% the
following year.
Workforce Magazine, September, 2013
The Power of Positive Thinking
www.media1.us

43. 14 Thoughts on Analytics for
Talent Management
Top performers spend 12% more
on internal talent management.
SSON:
Big Data and Shared Services
www.media1.us

44. 14 Thoughts on Analytics for
Talent Management
72% of senior executives believe
people and talent are critical to
company results.
Deloitte:
Taking HR to the Next Level
www.media1.us

45. 14 Thoughts on Analytics for
Talent Management
Only 27% of companies feel they
have a strong team of analytical
talent who can execute HR Analytics
projects.
Source: Cornell University CAHR
The State of HR Analytics
www.media1.us

46. 10 Best Practices and Benchmarks
for HR Shared Services

47. HR is defined by both the strategic value it offers and the services it provides to
the business. In order to highlight and reinforce the strategic value, the services
offered must not only meet the needs of the organization, they must be provided
efficiently. HR Shared Services is something that many large companies have
struggled to implement. The following 10 best practices and benchmarks highlight
how the best of the best approach HR Shared Services and how they have
realized results.
www.media1.us

48. 10 Best Practices and Benchmarks
for HR Shared Services
The HR Shared Services best practices model…
• Achieves economies of scale
• Enhances consistency and standardization
across the organization
• Improves quality
• Leverages technology investments
• Manages labor costs
Source: Bersin & Associates
The High-Impact HR Organization
www.media1.us

49. 10 Best Practices and Benchmarks
for HR Shared Services
Companies that adopt an HR Shared Services
model reduce process costs by as much as 80%.
60% of these companies report process savings
of 21%–80%.
Source: The Hacket Group via Business Week Research Services
The New Era for Shared Services

50. 10 Best Practices and Benchmarks
for HR Shared Services
Source: Media 1
2012 Fortune 50 Companies Operating with HR Shared Services

51. 10 Best Practices and Benchmarks
for HR Shared Services
Source: SSON
Big Data and Shared Services

52. 10 Best Practices and Benchmarks
for HR Shared Services
Companies with multi-function global
business service organizations vs.
single-function Shared Services.
Source: SSON
Big Data and Shared Services

53. 10 Best Practices and Benchmarks
for HR Shared Services
Top performers’ activity inside global business
Shared Service organizations
Procurement
Source: SSON
Big Data and Shared Services
Finance

54. 10 Best Practices and Benchmarks
for HR Shared Services
“World-class organizations
spent 13% less on human
resources costs per employee
than their peer groups in 2006.”
The Hacket Group via Business Week Research Services:
The New Era for HR Shared Services

55. 10 Best Practices and Benchmarks
for HR Shared Services
Aberdeen Group:
Building the Case for HR Shared Services

56. 10 Best Practices and Benchmarks
for HR Shared Services
Institute of Management Accountants: Implementing Shared Services Centers

57. 10 Best Practices and Benchmarks
for HR Shared Services
The quality of the workforce ultimately
determines Shared Services success.
Accenture:
Achieving high performance through Shared Services
Lessons from the masters

58. 12 Reasons to Upgrade Your
HR Analytics Toolset

59. The vast majority of companies that decide to step up their HR analytics efforts
face serious challenges with the amount of effort it takes to collect, store, and
analyze good consolidated data about people. It’s not long before new systems
and tools need to be leveraged. The following 12 curated musings paint a picture
of the current state of analytics technology and what big companies are going to
do about it.
www.media1.us

60. 12 Reasons to Upgrade Your
HR Analytics Toolset
Most organizations’ human capital management
activities are bogged down by spreadsheets and
other methods that take time and increase errors.
Nearly half of all organizations are dissatisfied with
such processes, which require 2/3 of the time just
to extract the data.
Source: Mark Smith via Kronos & Associates
“Applying Analytics to the Workforce”
www.media1.us

61. 12 Reasons to Upgrade Your
HR Analytics Toolset
HR functions with user-friendly client systems are
2X more effective and efficient
than their counterparts.
Source: Bersin & Associates
The High-Impact HR Organization
www.media1.us

62. 12 Reasons to Upgrade Your
HR Analytics Toolset
“The average large company has a core
HR system that is more than 6 years old
with more than 10 different HR applications,
most of which are not even integrated within HR.”
Source: Bersin by Deloitte
www.media1.us

63. 12 Reasons to Upgrade Your
HR Analytics Toolset
Besides core HR management systems, how many systems
are in place for HR processes like recruitment, performance
management, compensation, benefits, and time & attendance?
Source: Forrester Research
HR Market Overview, 2011
www.media1.us

64. 12 Reasons to Upgrade Your
HR Analytics Toolset
Many HR leaders view centralized data as
a critical enabler of advanced analytics.
Source: CAHRS
The State of HR Analytics
www.media1.us

65. 12 Reasons to Upgrade Your
HR Analytics Toolset
HR departments that say adopting new
technologies such as data analytics will be
their main focus in the next 3 years.
Source: KPMG
People Are the Real Numbers
www.media1.us

66. 12 Reasons to Upgrade Your
HR Analytics Toolset
HR functional areas that plan to
implement new technology to
support the use of data analytics.
Source: KPMG
People Are the Real Numbers
www.media1.us

67. 12 Reasons to Upgrade Your
HR Analytics Toolset
Fortune 500 companies that have some kind of
Big Data project on the way.
Source: SSON
Big Data and Shared Services
www.media1.us

68. 12 Reasons to Upgrade Your
HR Analytics Toolset
“New technologies and skills in HR data management
have provided an opportunity for HR functions to
develop new methods of measuring activities and
results, proving out people and HR performance.”
Source: Deloitte
The Top Best Practices for the High-Impact
HR Organization
www.media1.us

69. 12 Reasons to Upgrade Your
HR Analytics Toolset
“Growth in global markets, rapid proliferation of new
technologies, and increasing productivity demands are
transforming the overall business environment.
HR must hustle to keep up with that transformation—or
better, stay one step ahead of it—to ensure alignment with
business needs.”
Source: Deloitte
The Top Best Practices for the High-Impact
HR Organization
www.media1.us

70. 12 Reasons to Upgrade Your
HR Analytics Toolset
“New HR technologies and skills in HR data analysis
have provided an opportunity for HR organizations to
become more data-driven. HR data is now systematically
gathered and analyzed, so that it can be translated into
actionable insights and measures of impact. These
measurement approaches provide clear connections
between the efforts of both the HR function and
individual people in the performance of a company.”
Source: Deloitte
The Top Best Practices for the High-Impact
HR Organization
www.media1.us

71. 12 Reasons to Upgrade Your
HR Analytics Toolset
“Organizations that integrate workforce and
business performance data into analytics tools are
3x as likely to achieve Best-in-Class (top 20%)
performance results as those who do not.”
Source: Aberdeen Group via Kronos
Applying Analytics to the Workforce
www.media1.us

72. 12 Reasons to Upgrade Your
HR Analytics Toolset
For companies understanding that user adoption is the key to
the success of their enterprise technology
investments, Media1 is a transformational firm that goes
beyond training and communication strategies delivered by
consultants and trainers.
Media1 delivers a unique process and technology that
engages users, aligning them with strategy, enabling
measurable progress against critical business goals,
leveraging customer-specific Human Capital Analytics, and
delivering more than a return on the technology investment.
Media1 delivers a Return on People and empowers the
customer to build a more engaged workforce.
www.media1.us

73. www.media1.us