Human Resources (HR) has changed dramatically over the past decade. Leaders of organizations have come to understand the importance and significance of this field. There has been a shift from human resources to strategic human resource management (SHRM), and business leaders have begun to rely on analytical data rather than subjective metrics. Moreover, HR processes began to reflect the main business processes in the organization. Now, the HR specialist in the company is a business partner of the organization's head, and their work processes are interrelated.
In this field developing rapidly, a large number of new technologies, methods, tools and definitions are emerging. In these conditions, many concepts are so close in meaning that they are used as synonyms.
In HR Analytics, a fairly young field in Russia, there are already a lot of definitions borrowed from the West. For example, HR Analytics, People Analytics, Workforce Analytics, and Talent Analytics are very similar terms that are often used synonymously. Many domestic and foreign companies use these definitions in their work, and only some of them understand the differences among them.
Certified Human Resource Management Professional (CHRMP) is a certified human resource management professional. This is an internationally recognized certification program that validates one's competence in human resources management. The CHRMP reviewed all four concepts in detail, focusing on the definitions given by other organizations.
MicroStrategy company, a software developer for integrated reporting, analytics and monitoring, considers HR Analytics as a process for measuring the impact of HR metrics, such as time on hiring, retention rates, and others, on HR performance.
People Analytics is a process in which human resource managers apply a combination of statistical methods, technology, and their experience to large data sets about businesses and employees. This definition is provided by Alchemer, a company dedicated to transforming companies into customer-centric organizations. Alchemer believes that People Analytics leads to better decision-making and better investments in people, by attracting and developing competitive talent within the organization.