Most organisations will use HR Metrics. They are things like sickness absence rates, employee turnover (how many people are leaving) and where our job applicants find out about our vacancies.

Fewer people are aware of ISO 30414:2018 – Human resource management – Guidelines for internal and external human capital reporting. This is a lengthy way of saying it’s a standard on HR Metrics and reporting. As an international standard, it brings with it a wealth of benefits, not least of which is an external certification saying you meet the standard.

But why am I interested in this?

Over the course of my career, I have contributed to or written entirely, HR reports that are provided to the Board, senior managers etc. I’ve built dashboards in Excel to make managing the reporting easier and worked with IT Directors to begin to use the business reporting mechanism.

In my experience, HR reports are a couple of lines of text and then some graphs highlighting some metrics. Yet they can be so much more! Metrics within HR interlink with each other but also with other departments and that is where the real power of metrics is, consider this from my experience:

A manager is constantly recruiting staff, using any agency that waves a CV in his email, using a test HR wasn’t allowed to see and planning a restructure (that HR wasn’t involved in). In a senior management meeting, I explained that the recruitment budget is gone. It has been wiped out 2 months into the financial year. The preceding slide to this was employee turnover. This manager had a 70% employee turnover rate in a team of 10. On average a new recruit to this team was about £10,000. The restructure was adding 4 more positions to the team to cover shift work.

There were low employee engagement scores, a low number of near-miss incidents being reported, an increase in accidents and poor reports from the agencies that said people wouldn’t work for the company.

The outcome of this was the Finance Director moved budget from the manager’s budget back to my budget so the rest of the organisation could use agencies that year, the entire recruitment process in the team was reviewed and improved, the team were re-briefed about near miss reporting and the manager was asked to attend some training to deal with how the team was run. It gave me a basis to start working with the other departments on how to better support them – one of those initiatives was to install an IT help desk system into the HR department to see the volume of work coming in and to automate some manual processes making them GDPR compliant in the process.

HR should be, in my opinion, at the heart of the organisation yet it is often seen as a cost centre. The HR team have a wealth of data at their fingertips and by linking with other departments, can really change how they are perceived in an organisation.

There is no reason that the HR team can’t share limited and/or anonymised data with other departments. Think about the following:

• Forecasting the number of leavers for the following financial year
  • to share with finance to determine the recruitment budget
  • to share with IT to arrange the necessary equipment
  • to share with facilities for a desk to be assigned
  • to share with H&S to arrange the necessary PPE
• Working with Sales & Marketing to see when promotions are going to happen to assess the workforce requirements
• Working with all the departments about any planned growth
• Looking at the skills of existing staff against what is needed to generate development/talent plans

In 2021, I was fortunate to be the first auditor to participate in an audit against the ISO30414 standard. I worked alongside the lead auditor and between us, we determined that the reporting both internally and externally met the standard. But what were we looking for?

We looked to see if the policies in place met with legislation and whether the reporting also covered what was required. This was an interesting part as the organisation operates in three different countries.

We determined whether the organisation should be measured against the SME requirements. This isn’t defined within the standard as it is left to the country to determine. In the UK for instance, I would look to the Companies Act for a definition. We talked about what information should be made public and what shouldn’t. The standard has guidelines for this.

We then looked at the metrics and worked through the documents provided to see what the organisation had already covered in their work and what needed further work.

The audit works on a Red/Amber/Green (RAG) process where red is not present, amber requires more work and green meets the standard.

After the initial audit, there were several places that were red or amber and we provided a list of HR consultants that the organisation could work with to move them on to a second and final certification audit.

The organisation has published part of its final report whilst keeping some sections as only for the organisation. You can see more at https://jetruby.com/iso/. Their HR Manager also wrote a testimonial for me:

“I worked with Emma during our auditing process to certify JetRuby according to ISO 30414 Human Capital Reporting and ISO 10018 People Engagement. Emma was our auditor together with David Simmonds. This was our first ISO audit. And, if I'm not mistaken, it was one of the first ISO 30414 audits in the world, since the standard was issued about a year before. It was a challenge for us. Emma carefully and thoroughly reviewed the pile of documents we provided. She was very helpful and attentive. She took care to answer our questions and to provide detailed feedback. We managed to complete the audit within three months and a lot of credit goes to Emma for that. I highly recommend Emma as a great HR expert and a dedicated professional.”

As part of my focus on #peopleanalytics, I partnered with Edligo having had a chat with them and seeing the software that they offer.

It is a fabulous #Talentanalytics platform offering competency, learning & development, performance management and workforce planning to larger organisations.

These four areas are going to be key over the coming years as the world of work continues to change as a result of economics, people entering and leaving the workforce, people taking charge of their own development rather than relying on the organisation to provide opportunities and of course, the shift from office to hybrid or fully remote working.

In today's highly competitive business landscape, the performance of projects plays a pivotal role in determining an organization's success. Successfully executed projects gave numerous benefits, including heightened efficiency, elevated customer satisfaction, and an enhanced reputation. Nonetheless, achieving superior project performance comes with its fair share of challenges.

Among the crucial elements influencing project success, the composition of the project team and their skill sets stand out as key factors. The right mix of skills within the team is essential for tackling project complexities and delivering results that exceed expectations. By recognizing the significance of skill diversity and actively addressing skill gaps, organizations can ensure a higher likelihood of achieving project objectives and staying ahead in the competitive market.

Skills-Based Project Staffing

Building project teams based on skills is a fundamental aspect of project management. When team members possess the right mix of expertise and knowledge, projects are more likely to be efficient and successful. The correct skill mix ensures that the team can handle various project tasks effectively, minimizing delays and potential roadblocks.

For instance, in a software development project, having a balanced team with experts in required programming languages, design, and testing can lead to faster development cycles and better-quality output. On the other hand, a team lacking the necessary skills may struggle to deliver on time and within budget.

Moreover, based on Deloitte, companies that match the right talent and skills to tasks effectively are 52% more likely to be innovative and 57% more likely to be agile.

Thus, a skills-based approach to project staffing can significantly contribute to an organization's overall competitiveness and adaptability in today's dynamic and rapidly changing business landscape. By aligning team members' strengths and proficiencies with the specific demands of a project, organizations can not only enhance their project outcomes but also foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Identifying Skills for Project Requirements

To optimize the team's skill composition, a thorough assessment of the required team's abilities becomes imperative. The process involves identifying key skills that directly contribute to the achievement of project objectives—an essential and decisive phase.

This step is where AI-driven analytics can significantly augment the process. AI algorithms can scan through project requirements and analyze the skills needed based on keywords and contextual understanding. This involves comparing the skills mentioned in the project description with those present in candidate profiles, resumes, or employee databases. AI can quickly identify matches, helping to ensure that the right skills are available for the project.

Moreover, AI can perform semantic analysis to understand the nuanced skills required for a project. Semantic analysis empowers AI to go beyond simple keyword matching when identifying skills for project requirements. It enables understanding of skill context, recognizing synonyms and variations, mapping hierarchical relationships, and adapting to evolving industry trends. By comprehending implied skills, accommodating industry jargon, and considering complex skill combinations, semantic analysis ensures accurate skill-to-project matches, ultimately enhancing staffing decisions and project success.

Utilizing historical project data and performance metrics, AI algorithms can swiftly analyze the proficiency of individual team members in various areas, highlighting areas of strength and those that could benefit from reinforcement. This data-driven approach ensures that the selection of skillsets aligns precisely with the project's demands, enhancing the overall capability of the team.

Optimizing Staffing for Project Success

Project staffing is the process of strategically assigning the right people to the right projects. According to Deloitte, 83% of leaders believe that leveraging employees’ skills data creates benefits for both the organization and its employees.

By considering each team member's skill sets and experience, project managers can assemble teams that are tailor-made for specific projects. This not only improves project outcomes but also enhances employee satisfaction and engagement.

Additionally, taking into consideration employee availability and workload can prevent burnout and the inability to meet project deadlines. By factoring in these aspects, project managers can ensure a balanced distribution of tasks, promoting a healthier work environment, sustained productivity, and successful project completion.

In this era of technological advancement, AI and Talent Analytics can play a valuable role by providing data-driven recommendations for project staffing, considering individual skills, current workloads, and historical project performance. By factoring in these aspects, project managers can ensure a balanced distribution of tasks, promoting a healthier work environment, sustained productivity, and successful project completion.

Empowering Skills Development

According to Gartner, 64% of IT professionals consider the skills shortage to be the foremost challenge limiting the adoption of transformative technologies. Talent Analytics plays a vital role in bridging skill gaps.

By analyzing data on employees' skills and experiences, organizations can identify potential candidates for projects based on existing or adjacent skills. For instance, if a project requires expertise in a specific programming language that the current team lacks, Talent Analytics can identify individuals with adjacent skills that can be quickly upskilled to meet the project's requirements.

Sometimes, organizations may face a challenge where specific skills needed for a project are not readily available within the team. In such cases, it is crucial to empower employees through skill development initiatives. Investing in employees' growth and upskilling not only meets project demands but also fosters a culture of continuous learning within the organization.

By providing training opportunities and resources, employees can acquire new skills that align with project requirements. Moreover, a culture that encourages skill development attracts top talent and retains skilled employees, making the organization more competitive in the long run.

Incorporating personalized learning initiatives further enhances the team's capabilities. By offering tailored training opportunities and resources, employees can acquire new skills that precisely align with the specific project requirements. This personalized approach not only boosts individual growth but also fosters a culture that values skill development, making the organization more attractive to top talent. Moreover, when skilled employees are encouraged and supported in their professional development, it leads to higher retention rates, ensuring the company's long-term competitiveness in the market.

Monitoring and Evaluating Project Performance

Setting measurable performance indicators for projects is essential to track progress and identify areas for improvement. Regularly monitoring project performance allows teams to make necessary adjustments and ensure that the project stays on track.

Talent Analytics comes into play once again when evaluating project performance. By comparing project outcomes with the skill sets of the team members and staffing decisions, organizations can gain valuable insights into the impact of skill development and staffing optimization on project success.

AI's proficiency in aggregating and integrating data from diverse sources, including project management tools, collaboration platforms, and performance metrics, lays the foundation for comprehensive insights. Complementing this, Talent Analytics meticulously captures skill-related data, offering a panoramic view of project progress and creating a synergistic approach that informs strategic decision-making.

AI's capabilities extend to anomaly detection, where its algorithms identify deviations in project performance to predict and mitigate risks. This proactive identification of anomalies enables taking timely actions to ensure that projects maintain their trajectory. The collaboration of AI and Talent Analytics transforms project monitoring and evaluation, offering predictive insights and skill-driven decisions that elevate project outcomes.

Achieving superior project performance requires a proactive approach to skill development and staffing optimization. By assembling project teams based on skills, identifying essential skills, and leveraging Talent Analytics to bridge skill gaps, organizations can significantly enhance project efficiency and success.

Investing in skill development empowers employees and ensures the availability of necessary expertise for future projects. Continuous learning contributes not only to individual growth but also to the overall growth of the organization.

EDLIGO Talent Analytics helps organizations assess the impact of skill development and staffing decisions on project outcomes. The platform's analytics provide actionable insights into project performance, allowing businesses to identify trends, strengths, and weaknesses. With this data-driven approach, organizations can continuously improve project management strategies and enhance overall project performance.