The five ways in which People Analytics turn people into your greatest asset.

“People are our greatest asset”. This phrase, or some variation of it, must be one of the most over-used in business. Cringeworthy, eye-roll-inducing when uttered in boardrooms, it had acquired cliché status a long time ago. This is unfortunate because there is a lot of truth to it.

According to a recent study by Ocean Tomo, intangible assets now make up 90% of all market value on the S&P500. In 1975, it made up only 17%. Much of this growth is driven by people. Today’s employee is much more knowledgeable and skilful than their 1975 counterpart. Organisations are much more adept at aggregating and amplifying individual contributions than was the case a few decades ago. In every modern economy, human and organisational capital is at the heart of rising market values.

It would make sense for any organisation to be paying close attention to such an important source of market value. But there is ample evidence that they are struggling to be effective custodians. Depending on which engagement methodology you use, disengaged employees are anywhere between 33% and 84% of all employees. Burnout is becoming more prevalent. The World Health Organisation now classify it as an occupational syndrome, stopping just short of calling it a disease. It is estimated one in four working adults will be affected at some point. If people really are the greatest asset, then there is still a long way to go before practice matches belief.

So what is causing the disconnect? And how can People Analytics help? Five gaps need to be addressed:

1. The Measurement Gap

Many organisations struggle to measure the health and value of their workforce. Engagement surveys are popular but are often poorly designed, too infrequently administered and notorious for lack of meaningful action. When done well, people analytics create a comprehensive and context-sensitive measurement plan that gives leaders deep and actionable insight into the health of their workforce from multiple data sources.

2. The Leadership Gap

Leading like a hyena, the avocado leader, messy leadership, authentic leadership, level5 leaders — leaders are bombarded with acronyms, metaphors and n=1 anecdotes that claim to have the magic leadership sauce but lacks context and evidence. People Analytics can provide the evidence-based perspective, ensuring leaders, as custodians of the most important asset, invest their time in proven leadership practices.

3. The Culture Gap

For most employees and leaders, culture is a nebulous concept that is difficult to shape. People Analytics have the tools to provide evidence-based perspectives on how people work, connect and relate to each other.

4. The Talent Gap

Some roles and some employees contribute more to value creation than others. Some have more potential to be successful. People Analytics identify those differences in contribution and potential and allow leaders to preferentially invest in talent programs to fully realise potential.

5. The HR Gap

HR as a discipline still struggles to justify investment in its menu of programs and practices. HR budgets are often at the front of the cost-cutting queue because it is difficult to quantify the value of HR programs. People Analytics, through an evidence-based perspective, enables a smarter, more scientific decision-making process. It allows HR to compete on a more even footing for scarce budget dollars.

By closing these gaps, People Analytics can transform the phrase “People are our greatest asset” from a cliché into a fundamental, practised belief powered by an evidence-based approach.