BHR912: HUMAN RESOURCE METRICS AND ANALYSIS

MARKING SCHEME
QUESTION ONE (Compulsory)
CASE STUDY
a) What opportunities do you see regarding where and how metrics and analytics
might be applied in this organization? (5mks)
 Employee relations metrics and analytics are essential for aligning organizational goals
with the vision and mission, as well as monitoring the effectiveness of strategies and
initiatives.
 They can help identify employee needs, expectations, and concerns, while also enhancing
employee relations skills and competencies.
 Additionally, they can foster a positive work environment, resulting in higher employee
satisfaction, engagement, and productivity.
 Metrics and analytics also have the potential to reduce employee turnover, absenteeism,
and conflict.
 Ultimately, this can lead to an improved employer brand and reputation, giving your
organization a competitive edge in the market.
b) Explain three analyses and associated metrics you think might be useful for regional
hospitals to consider. (5mks)
 Healthcare dashboards and reports; It can get challenging to run a healthcare
business, as the high volume of data to analyze can overwhelm even the most
committed professionals.
 Patient-staffing predictions; Patient staffing prediction is a delicate balancing act
between efficiency and manpower.
 Telemedicine; With the power of the internet, healthcare providers can now deliver
remote clinical services like consultations, diagnosis, and monitoring to patients via
video conferencing.
 Electronic health records; one of the most obvious applications of big data in the
healthcare industry is creating electronic healthcare records.
 Early detection of chronic diseases; healthcare data analytics can efficiently
uncover patterns by analyzing a large amount of unstructured data that healthcare
 professionals can use to determine the risk factors of specific demographics and
social determinants associated with chronic diseases.

c) How might regional hospitals utilize benchmarking as a part of their metrics and
analytics efforts? (5mks)
 Department- and program-level champions are essential.
 Even though projects may be unique, the processes are very similar.
 A high code of ethics is essential.
 Benchmarking will be successful only if made an integral part of the project process.
 Commonly accepted, effective metrics for assessing project performance are necessary to
assess the extent to which best practices are used. Input, process, output, and outcome
performance measures are necessary, and it is possible to implement them.
 Performance measures should be applied through a structured benchmarking process.
 Cost-effective, value-added benchmarking can be implemented through the
standardization of definitions and the application of computer-based technologies.
d) What advice would you offer to managers at regional hospitals about developing a
program of HR metrics and workforce analytics? (5mks)
 HR analytics offers some undoubted benefits. It allows HR teams to significantly
streamline processes that reduce costs, reduce attrition, and consequently improve the
bottom line.
 With task automation, you are freed up to innovate and explore the human aspect of
human resources without spending time on tracking mountains of data from multiple
sources. Moreover, with AI and ML tools readily available to either use as standalone
solutions or as integrated components in your existing HR analytics toolbox, it is easier to
process and utilize large volumes of data.
 The insights we can glean today with the use of these tools in analytics are precious and
can help us understand various human-human, human-technology, and human-business
relationships. Overall, the use of HR analytics has been established as an HR technology
trend for 2019, as it is posed to improve the employee experience which directly
translates into improved business outcomes.
  Overall, the use of HR analytics has been established as an HR technology trend for
2019, as it is posed to improve the employee experience which directly translates into
improved business outcomes.
e) Explain potential problems that might occur in the establishment of an HR metrics
and workforce analytics program for regional hospital managers about which you
would want to alert them before beginning this project. (5mks)

 The vision for how analytics will become an HR core competency is being
constrained by limited consumption (insights being shared only within the four walls
of HR) and action (the research does not lead to a program change or new
investment). There is still much progress to be made.”

 In addition, because data is siloed across the organization and conversations about the
goal of implementing analytics are unclear, the valuable data HR requires for
analytics is often underutilized.

 The challenge is in waiting to see results. Predictive analytics is likely to take a

minimum of 24 months to show meaningful results, but it will help get started with
HR transformation. So, the time to get started with HR analytics is now.
 By making a strong business case for key stakeholders, as an HR practitioner, you can
leverage the power of analytics to become a strategic business partner who makes
substantial contributions to the business.

QUESTION TWO
a) Describe the factors managers should consider when building workforce analytics
capabilities in an organization (8mks)
 Data Integration; One of the critical factors when choosing an HR analytics solution is
data integration. The solution should have the capability to seamlessly integrate with the
organization’s existing HR and payroll systems.
  Customization; the solution should have the capability to be customized to meet the
specific needs of the organization. Every organization has unique HR processes, so the
solution should be flexible enough to accommodate these processes.
 Data Privacy and Security; Data privacy and security are essential when it comes to an
enterprise HR analytics solution. The solution should meet data privacy and security
regulations, policies, and certifications and ensure that the organization’s sensitive HR
data is protected.
 User Friendliness; the solution should be easy to use for both HR managers and team
members. The user interface should be intuitive and user-friendly, making it easy to
navigate and use.
 Analytics Capabilities; the solution should have Advanced analytics capabilities to
generate and display insights. The analytics features may include powerful tools such as
predictive analytics, data visualization, and artificial intelligence, among others.
 Customer Support; High-quality customer support is crucial when choosing an HR
analytics solution. The customer support team should be available to offer
implementation, technical assistance, training, and support when needed.
b) Discuss how decision-based view HR can be used to identify important workforce
analyses that can drive improved value in almost any organization. (7mks)
 Streamline recruitment and onboarding processes.
 Improve payroll management.
 Support diversity and inclusion goals.
 Examine benefits for cost-effectiveness.
 Measure the success of training and development activities.
 Understand key drivers of engagement.
QUESTION THREE
a) Discuss why objectives of analytics efforts need to be improved decisions (5mks)
 The purpose of data analysis is to gain meaningful insights from raw data to support
decision-making, identify patterns, and extract valuable information. Some of the key
objectives of data analysis include:
 Identifying trends and patterns,
 Making data-driven decisions,
 Finding correlations and relationships,
 Detecting anomalies,
 Improving performance, and
 Predictive modeling.

b) Explain why it is critical to generate a return on investment for an

organization(5mks)
 Focus on Your Core Competencies; One of the best ways to ensure a high ROI for your
startup is to focus on your core competencies. What are you good at? What sets you apart
from the competition? Focus on these areas and make them even better.
 Innovate; Innovation is key for any startup. You need to be constantly thinking about new
ways to do things and how you can improve upon what's already out there. This will not
only help you attract customers, but it will also help you retain them.
 Build a Strong Team; a strong team is essential for any startup. Not only do you need
people with the right skill sets, but you also need people who are passionate about what
they do. This combination will help you achieve success.
 Stay Focused; it’s easy to get distracted as a startup. There are always new things
popping up and it can be tempting to chase after every shiny object. However, it’s
important to stay focused on your goals and not get sidetracked. This will help you stay
on track and achieve the results you want.
 Measure Your Results; measuring your results is critical for any business, but it's
especially important for startups. This will help you see what's working and what isn't so
that you can adjust your strategy accordingly.

a) Discuss the differences between analytics used to assess efficiency, operational

effectiveness, and organization realignment, and offer examples of each (5mks)
 Improved efficiency and effectiveness of operations is a key reason for organizational
restructuring.
  By realigning processes, eliminating redundancies, and creating new roles or positions
within the organization, managers can ensure that operations are being run as efficiently
and effectively as possible.
 Improved accountability, engagement, and productivity helps employees have a better
understanding of how they contribute to the bigger picture.
 Better collaboration is brought on by streamlined communication flows between
departments, teams, and employees.

QUESTION FOUR
a) Discuss the role that activities such as data mining, predictive analytics, and
operational experiments play in increasing organizational effectiveness (9mks)
 Exploration–The primary stage can take place anywhere between a simple choice of
straightforward predictors for a regression model, to elaborate exploratory analyses using
a wide variety of graphical and statistical methods.
 Model building or pattern identification– The second stage is all about learning about
several models and choosing the right one for your needs. Depending on the predictive
performance, you need to conduct such a simple yet elaborate process.
 Deployment- The last and final stage involves the use of the selected model and applying
the same to generate predictions or estimates of the expected outcome. Data mining as a
business information management tool seems to be becoming popular day in and day out.

b) Discuss why the information from numeric systems like HR metrics and workforce
analytics may fail to generate value for an organization (6mks)
 Curating Data; it is necessary to collect and organize data from various operations and
departments within the organization for successfully implementing analytics in HR.
 Lack of Data Analytics Skills; though companies are intensively promoting the
implementation of analytics in HR functions, the hard truth is that the analytics skills of
most HR professionals are limited.
 Privacy and Compliance; Analytics requires an adequate amount of data to be collected
from various reliable sources to produce the desired results. While gathering data about
 an employee or a potential employee, especially from external sources, HR professionals
must consider privacy.
 Insufficient IT Resources; the implementation of analytics in HR is an IT-intensive
process. Many companies, especially smaller companies do not have the infrastructure
required to set up an analytics program.
 Data Variety; HR has a variety of tools for various services sourced from different
vendors. However, in most cases, these tools work in isolation. This proves to be a major
challenge for organizations.
 Employee Resistance; Companies often face flak from HR professionals while relying on
computers to undertake HR functions, especially in cases like hiring.
QUESTION FIVE
a) Discuss how decision-based view HR can be used to identify important workforce
analyses that can drive improved value in almost any organization.
(10mks)
 Practicing evidence-based HR; Traditionally, HR management was always based on
trends, biases, or temporary fixes. There will generally be inconsistencies between what
HR professionals believe to be suitable and effective and what data proves to be
effective.
 Improving recruitment and talent acquisition; You gain valuable insights into your hiring
process by tracking data about key recruitment metrics such as cost per hire, application
completion rates, quality of hire, quality of source, and candidate experience.
 Managing employee performance and productivity; With HR analytics and key
performance indicators (KPIs), you can assess the ROI of all employees. It helps you
identify your top performers (and use these as a benchmark when making new hires) and
those who are struggling (and offer them support). A better understanding of motivation,
productivity, and efficiency can help all employees improve their performance and
contribute to the bottom line.
 Helping build equitable compensation and benefits packages; Analyzing compensation
data allows you to spot any pay disparities and fix them to ensure you’re achieving
internal and external pay equity. It can also help you determine which benefits are most
valued by your employees.
 Enabling effective workforce planning; HR analytics also enables companies to remain
ahead of the game by forecasting and preparing for future workforce demands. For
example, predicting attrition rates helps organizations improve their workforce planning,
particularly for critical roles within the business.
 Easily conducting skills gap analyses; The richness and depth of HR analytics software
mean it can use algorithms to identify skills and knowledge gaps within your current
teams.
 Boosting learning and development, upskilling and reskilling; Data can show you where
your employees need upskilling or reskilling, if they’re utilizing training opportunities,
and if the training is relevant for them.

b) Discuss how HR metrics and workforce analysis might be useful in the organization
(5mks)
 Improving the organizational competitiveness by way of improved human resource
functioning.
 Provides the opportunity for shifting the focus from day to day operational issues of HR
to much more strategic objectives.
 Employees play an active part in the HRIS implementation and its usage in day to day
functioning.
 Results in reengineering or restructuring of the entire HRD.
 Advantages for the management in terms of improving the decision making capability of
management, effective cost control, clarity of vision and transparency in its operations
and more concentration on the strategic objectives of HR.
 Advantages for the Human Resource Department in terms of improving the efficiency of
the HR department, reduced dependence on paper work and manual management of
employee data/information, brings standardization in the key processes and reduces
redundancy and transforms the HR department into a proactive department.
 Provides added advantages for the employees as it saves time, facilitates convenience in
usage and administration, improves decision making, etc.