Sometimes called HR data, people data is the collection of demographic, survey, employment history, contact, and social data on individuals. It may also include payroll and benefits package information.
Management and HR departments have collected rudimentary people data for generations. Lately, however, AI and big data management platforms have expanded the sources of and uses of people data. These expanded sources include social media profiles, location data, and student data from a candidate’s college days.
These datasets can become unwieldy with the amount of potential information recorded, especially if they also contain manager notes on employee performance. However, most of the attributes themselves sort easily into columns.
HR departments and managerial teams use this data to recruit and manage employees throughout the employee lifecycle.
Fraud analysts and marketing teams also use this data in service of their goals, as well.
People data comes from many disparate sources and changes frequently, so to ensure the dataset is good quality, you should make sure it is updated and thoroughly cleaned often. Time-stamping the data, especially geographic data, is also a useful test of data quality.
Privacy concerns and compliance issues are another stumbling block for dataset creation. Not only do individuals opt into or out of tracking services, but different jurisdictions have different privacy laws that you must adhere to. This is where using data vendors like the ones on our site can benefit your organization.
Sage People: Case study: How google uses People analytics
Humanyze: A Pharmaceutical Company Introduces Cultural Changes To Improve Performance
The strategic people side of business has been technology-deficient for decades, and business leaders are tired of the manual, tedious and low-tech processes that come with organizational management. That’s why more than 40 founders and C-level executives have personally invested in ChartHop. They’ve experienced the pains of spreadsheet-reliant people management such as manual headcount and compensation planning, and know how hard it is to make informed and strategic decisions without access to the right data.