New IBM Tools Target Employee Data

IBM has announced new workforce-related big data software and services, which it says will help organizations build and maintain their global workforce by analysing data shared by employees and finding trends.

The services promise HR execs the ability to bring together answers from employee surveys, employee data such as demographics, performance reviews and salary, and data shared on internal and external social media platforms, in real-time, to improve retention, performance and morale. The tools could also help gauge reaction to a more specific topic such as a new company policy or advertising campaign.

The first new service, IBM Survey Analytics, extracts and displays anonymous unstructured data derived from employee surveys, and scans data in the Human Resource Information System (HRIS) broken down by employee demographics. These are shown in dashboard visuals including a sentiment 'heat map' of trends broken down by employee segment - for example 'an HR manager may learn that engagement levels for computer engineers in a business unit rose two percent more than the overall organization' - and could then look at the drivers of this for examples of good practice for other units.

The second, IBM Retention Analytics, provides a data-driven approach to understanding attrition patterns within a business, picking out high-attrition 'hot spots' using predictive analytics software on enterprise HR and CRM data, and social data. This in turn helps to identify reasons why workers in some areas are more likely to stay with a business, again giving opportunities to develop and spread good practice.

Dr. Bob Sutor, VP, Business Analytics and Mathematical Sciences, IBM Research, comments: 'Companies that invest in Big Data and analytics to nurture their workforce will keep the best talent and distinguish themselves from their competition. Knowing what motivates people can boil down to the data you capture and how you interpret it. Using the insights identified by our new predictive and socially-driven workforce analytics tools, companies can ensure long-term success through employee engagement and meaningful work.'

Web site: www.ibm.com/analytics/us/en/index.html?lnk=fkt-anly-usen .