2018 Benchmarking Report: HR Analytics

Executive Summary

Data from the Annual Benchmarking Survey, developed by the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR) in collaboration with its Research Committee, inform this 2018 IPMA-HR Benchmarking Report – Beyond HR Metrics: HR Analytics. A total of 386 responses were received from 6,701 IPMA-HR members. Key findings from the Benchmarking Survey include the following.

Key Findings

• The rate of organizations collecting HR metrics is relatively unchanged from 2010 at 70 percent. However, there is a 12 percent increase in public sector human resources professionals reporting the use of a Human Resource Information System (HRIS) since 2010. Medium and large organizations reported higher use of HRIS than small organizations.
• Over half of public sector HR professionals report using data analysis with the purpose of improving HR strategy and support. About 64 percent report having implemented HR analytics for over two years, with 63 percent of our members feeling “somewhat” to “a great deal” of value and support given to their HR analytics projects.
• Although IPMA-HR members feel their agencies value and support their data-related projects, only one-fifth of our members reported having their agency provide training for data collection, analysis, and software and programs used. HR practitioners mostly reported a need for software and basic data collection to develop their agency’s capacity for HR analytics, followed by higher-level analysis and best practices training.
• The most common improvement from implementing HR analytics in their agency noted by our members was better communication with senior leadership, with over 80 percent of survey respondents communicating HR analytics findings with senior leadership. About 68 percent of members also felt that implementing and reporting on an HR analytics project affected HR’s strategic influence “somewhat” to “a great deal.”
• Most public sector HR professionals collect and analyze data for the purpose of impacting both internal and external processes. The findings are mainly used for reporting to HR and the organization, and for predicting trends and influencing decision-making processes.