By Hayley Furer

The people within your organisation are far more than just numbers — the majority of businesses would say people are their most important asset. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t use numbers to your advantage. Employee data is an exceptionally useful tool for measuring attrition, absenteeism, performance and remuneration — which can be critical factors when making key decisions within your organisation. Learn how you can utilise employee data to identify patterns with your business, and streamline and optimise your operations.

Measure your staff attrition rate

Attrition is a key figure in business operations. This relates to the rate at which you lose staff. Attrition should be measured by team and manager, as well as the tenure of the employee. This enables you to identify any consistent patterns and tackle them accordingly. Implementing a scoring system for employee interviews can also assist in reducing attrition and acquiring the right talent. The scoring system can help with recruitment analysis and determine if you have a recruitment process in place that is effective, as you can compare their interview score to performance.

Determine your absentee rate

When you measure your absenteeism percentage in the same way on a regular basis, you can look for patterns that may be contributing to it. High amounts of unplanned absence can often be a sign of disengaged employees. That’s potentially a big signal that there’s something that needs attending to within the business – think of this as an opportunity to make changes that will have a positive impact on staff morale and the bottom line.

At an individual level, it’s important to deal with excessive absenteeism in the right way, by following legislative guidelines. For example, it’s not advisable to terminate an employee for high amounts of absence, as this opens yourself up for a Fair Work claim, which would likely go in the employee’s favour — especially if they have sufficient evidence to back up their absence (such as doctors’ certificates). You can, however, ask the employee if they are happy in their role and ensure their job role or the company plays no part in their absence. You can also ask whether there is anything your business can do to better support them, or whether a doctor has advised any ways they can help manage their conditions. Simply addressing the situation in the right way should improve their unplanned absence rate and help with making the employee feel supported.

Conducting ‘return to work’ meetings for anyone who has been on extended leave is also be a useful tool for combatting high absenteeism.

Measure your headcount plan against your actual employees

Measuring and achieving budgeted headcount is crucial in achieving business targets and goals. If you don’t have the right number of staff, this can lead to decreased productivity and performance. If you are not hitting your budgeted headcount, is this because of company attrition, a struggle to acquire the right talent or both? Are there particular teams or departments where budgeted headcount is consistently low? These questions can help you determine where you need to focus your energy and take action accordingly.

Conduct exit interviews

Holding face-to-face interviews with employees who have resigned can help you identify any recurring exit themes. Consider giving them a form where they can record their feedback, including a chart where they can score your organisation on various aspects, such as the working conditions, management style and company communication.
Analyse your organisation’s performance management scores Track the overall performance scores of employees across the business, over time. Are there overall trends, such as employees with a particular career background or with a particular manager that perform better? Compare performance over time in relation to improvement, or decline. This analysis can give vital clues that you can use to consider targeted, or business-wide actions to ensure your business, and your employees, continue to thrive.

Need a hand?

By following these simple tips, you can use employee data and analytics to make improvements within your organisation. Need help understanding or implementing any of the tips on this list? Contact me on 0451110745 or Hayley.furer@sourcelegal.com.au

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