UNIT FIVE

Analytics, Data, and Integration

ANALYTICS ARE ABOUT MORE THAN just reports, charts, and graphs. Analytics are a predictive science. They help the organization discover and see the root causes of issues more clearly and allow them to forecast potential problems in the future. However, using data to achieve such powerful ends requires a different mastery of the information. A Workforce Asset Management Professional (WAM-Pro) is not a magical gypsy offering a peek into the chaos of what could be through some sort of crystal ball. A WAM-Pro is a rational leader who matures the organization by using meaningful data along with real predictive and coincident indicators. WAM-Pros can do this by evaluating the credibility of the data, correctly measuring the variables, and identifying the organization's key performance indicators (KPIs). From there, the WAM-Pro works with the organization to use this data as part of its solution selection and implementation. Ultimately, the purpose of gathering and deciphering analytics is more about action than it is about information.

While there are interfaces for the basic inputs and outputs, increasingly more is being asked of workforce management (WFM) systems, and integration is growing in complexity. For interfaces to work effectively, WAM-Pros should take ownership of and responsibility for the data by taking on the task of appropriately governing and managing the data. Inconsistent, incorrect, or unnecessary data needs to be removed from the start to make sure this bad data does not taint decisions, solutions, or reports down the line. In a centralized role, data passes through the workforce management office (WMO), and the WAM-Pro plays the role of gatekeeper by controlling how the data is processed, stored, protected, accessed, shared, and used. In addition, the WAM-Pro sets expectations about the following:

• In what environment the data should reside.
• From what primary source is the data received or derived.
• What to look for in the data when performing credibility checks.
• What data should be considered sensitive or personally identifiable and how should it be protected from security breaches.
• What controls should be installed to protect the organization from misuse of data or noncompliance.
• Which processes and data belong in which WFM systems.
• How the data is transferred between systems and readied for use.
• How key performance indicators can be derived and measured with the data.

The WAM-Pro, while not necessarily a technical IT professional, should understand the very technical nature of WFM systems because it is constantly subject to modification requiring ongoing updates, testing, and upgrades. Technical issues also include serious compliance requirements around protected and sensitive data. WAM-Pros should guide the organization around staffing models and user roles that adequately support the business processes and systems. The WAM-Pro should also keep a strategic mind-set as he works with workforce analytics—staying vigilant about how the data impacts the overarching goals and objectives of the organization.

Analytics are commonly used for designing actionable and tactical solutions for day-to-day data and system management. However, they are also used to identify the sources of problems manifested in the data that could potentially affect strategic action. For example, the data may report that department A completed only three projects last quarter, even though the quota was five. If the supervisor used only this piece of data to create the budget for next quarter, he might overlook the fact that two employees were out on medical or family leave for more than half of the quarter. Therefore, the real issue was not simple lack of productivity or mismanagement. Rather, it could be related to other unmeasured variables such as absence management or proper scheduling. A WAM-Pro should be careful and cognizant of all variables and their potential impact if viewed as solutions. The data can become dangerous when it leads organizations to jump to conclusions. While the conclusion might be logical, it cannot be supported by the data. A WAM-Pro guides the supervisor toward actions that solve the core problem, not just the symptoms revealed in the data.

Workforce analytics may be viewed as a foreign language, steeped in misunderstanding and misapplication. Even today, the understanding of analytics is still in its infancy, only beginning to surface and expand. A WAM-Pro is distinguished by the ability to tackle and tame the data. A WAM-Pro translates the analytics into accurate and actionable solutions that support strategic and tactical objectives. Data and systems integration and management present a distinct set of challenges within and around WFM systems. Unlike many sets of data and technical landscapes, the technology domain overseen by the WAM-Pro presents numerous dichotomies. A system with a user population from many levels of the organization may require the greatest functionality at the lowest level, but also within the strictest set of controls. Data needs to flow freely, in real time, in and around numerous pieces of technology; yet computations and report outs are dictated by fixed schedules and hard deadlines. There is often functional overlap among related systems, so the WAM-Pro should carefully choose the appropriate spot because no one system can do it all.

Integrating data into and out from WFM systems is a complex process and should be properly controlled and managed because this process drives many systems designs and outcomes. The WAM-Pro is confronted with constantly changing requirements and a high maintenance system on the back end. Seamless is a term often used, beseeching the WAM-Pro to integrate carefully and correctly, without making things change. That is the WAM-Pro's challenge—establishing unity and continuity within the system. The operating model should work from end to end, place to place, user to manager to leader, tactical to strategic, and concept to actualization, making assets—people and technology—optimally engaged together.