Big Data Can Boost HR For Your IT Clients, But Are HR Reps Being Left Behind?

By Jonathan Buckley, Senior VP of Marketing, at Qubole

Big Data has already become a common sight in nearly every aspect of business, so why not human resources? After all, Big Data can introduce some tremendous benefits to business areas such as marketing, finance, and sales. Those same benefits can be applied to the human resources department at companies all over the world, giving HR representatives a boost in their work. At least, that’s the theory many organizations are hoping turns into reality. In practice, it’s not that simple. While businesses have been eager to embrace Big Data and all its advantages, HR is often forgotten or at the least shuffled to the side, and HR reps are treated as more of an afterthought. If companies truly want to see the benefits of Big Data, they’ll need to help prepare their HR departments and employees in order to use it to the fullest extent. 

In much the same way a marketing or financial team can gain valuable insight from Big Data, human resources workers can also receive much needed help in evaluating current and prospective employees. That’s one of the most attractive aspects of Big Data. The problem comes from the infrastructure and tools that many organizations adopt when it comes time to actually use Big Data. Too often, infrastructure is developed that’s specifically tailored to the needs of revenue-driving departments. The result is that human resources workers have to use tools and infrastructure that don’t fit their own needs and demands. There’s little doubt that HR can benefit from Big Data by being able to continually evaluate employee performance, assess investment options and benefit plans, and improve the recruitment process, but when they’re forced to use tools that are meant for other departments, the benefits will be restrained and minimal at best.

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