What Is People Analytics? Benefits, Examples, Tools (2025)

A core component of HR transformation is people analytics, which empowers HR teams and people managers to make data-driven decisions to maximize employee potential, guide strategic hiring decisions, and drive business results.

A Deloitte and Visier survey of 500 business leaders revealed low confidence in addressing some of their most pervasive, everyday business and people topics. However, with better access to people data, 70% of executives say they could make better workforce management decisions.

This article explores the significance of people analytics, its key applications, and how HR organizations can leverage it to unlock the potential of their workforce.

Key Components of People Analytics

Here are the key components of people analytics include data collection, analysis, and metrics. Let’s break down each below:

Data collection

The process of gathering relevant employee data from various sources within the organization. This can include demographic information, performance data, employee engagement survey results, recruitment records, etc.

Sources of data:

Data analysis and interpretation

The process of examining collected data to uncover patterns, trends, and correlations that can inform decision-making. It involves both qualitative and quantitative analysis techniques.

Metrics and KPIs

Workforce management metrics and KPIs are measurable values used to track and assess specific aspects of the workforce and the effectiveness of HR initiatives. Metrics represent data points, while KPIs are specific metrics chosen to evaluate success against business objectives.

People Analytics vs. HR Analytics vs. Workforce Analytics

The terms HR analytics, people analytics, and workforce analytics are often used interchangeably.

However, each type of HR-related analytics serves a different purpose. HR analytics, people analytics, and workforce analytics collectively empower organizations to make data-driven decisions to improve workforce performance, employee engagement, and other people-related initiatives.

Let’s break down the key differences between HR analytics, people analytics, and workforce analytics below:

People Analytics Use Cases

Here are a few use cases of using people analytics to enable your workforce transformation strategy.

1. Improving employee retention

People analytics helps organizations identify the factors contributing to employee turnover by analyzing data such as engagement scores, performance metrics, and employee feedback. By pinpointing trends that predict attrition, such as poor management or lack of career advancement opportunities, companies can proactively address these issues.

For example, organizations can implement targeted retention strategies such as employee development programs, flexible work arrangements, or enhanced benefits packages, all designed to improve employee satisfaction and reduce turnover.

2. Enhancing recruitment process

People analytics enhances the recruitment process by using data to streamline hiring, predict candidate success, and reduce biases. By analyzing recruitment funnel data and performance indicators of past hires, organizations can refine their job descriptions, optimize sourcing channels, and shorten the time to hire.

Predictive models help HR teams assess candidates’ likelihood of success based on characteristics of top performers, leading to better hiring decisions. Additionally, tracking diversity metrics allows organizations to ensure a fair and inclusive recruitment process.

3. Boosting employee engagement

Boosting employee engagement through people analytics involves collecting and analyzing data from surveys, feedback tools, and performance metrics to uncover drivers of engagement and disengagement. By understanding these patterns, organizations can implement targeted initiatives such as improving leadership communication, enhancing career growth opportunities, or fostering a more inclusive culture.

Regularly monitoring engagement levels allows companies to respond quickly to dips in morale and continuously tailor their strategies to maintain a motivated and productive workforce.

5. Workforce planning

Workforce planning leverages people analytics to align an organization’s staffing needs with its long-term business goals. By analyzing data on employee skills, future business demands, and market trends, HR teams can forecast talent shortages or surpluses and make informed decisions about recruitment, training programs, or workforce restructuring.

Analytics-driven workforce planning ensures that organizations have the right talent in place at the right time, helping them stay agile and competitive while optimizing labor costs and productivity.

6. Leadership and succession planning

People analytics supports leadership and succession planning by identifying high-potential employees and assessing the readiness of future leaders. By analyzing performance data, career trajectories, and engagement levels, HR teams can pinpoint employees with the skills and attributes necessary for leadership roles.

Predictive analytics helps identify potential gaps in leadership due to retirements or turnover, allowing organizations to develop leadership pipelines and provide targeted development programs to ensure a smooth succession process and leadership continuity.

People Analytics: Key Metrics to Track

Here are some key metrics to track for people analytics.

• Employee Turnover/Attrition Rate: This metric measures the percentage of employees who leave the organization over a specific period. It helps organizations assess workforce stability and identify retention issues.
• Employee Engagement Score: A measure of how committed and motivated employees are toward their work and the organization, typically gathered through surveys. Higher engagement scores indicate better job satisfaction and productivity.
• Time to Hire: The average time taken from job posting to filling a position. It assesses the efficiency of the recruitment process and helps improve hiring timelines.
• Cost Per Hire: This calculates the total cost of hiring a new employee, including recruitment fees, advertising, and training, divided by the number of hires. It helps in optimizing recruitment spending.
• Absenteeism Rate: The percentage of workdays employees are absent without approval, used to track employee well-being and engagement. High absenteeism often indicates workplace dissatisfaction or health issues.
• Employee Productivity: A measure of an employee’s output or performance relative to set goals or KPIs. It helps gauge overall workforce efficiency and contribution to organizational success.
• Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS): Measures how likely employees are to recommend the company as a great workplace. It is a key indicator of employee satisfaction and loyalty.
• Diversity and Inclusion Metrics: Tracks the representation of different demographic groups (gender, race, etc.) in the workforce and helps assess how well the organization fosters a diverse and inclusive environment.
• Internal Mobility Rate: The percentage of employees promoted or transferred to new roles within the company. It reflects the effectiveness of career development and talent retention initiatives.
• Training and Development Participation:
  The proportion of employees participating in training programs. It indicates the organization’s commitment to skill development and future growth.
• Time-to-Proficiency: This measures the time it takes new hires to become proficient in their day-to-day activities, responsibilities, and tasks.
• Performance Ratings/Reviews:
  Average scores or feedback received during performance evaluations, used to assess employee skills, contributions, and areas for improvement.
• Flight Risk Prediction: A metric that uses data to predict which employees risk leaving the organization, allowing HR to take proactive retention actions.
• Salary Competitiveness Ratio (SCR): Compares internal salary levels with industry benchmarks to assess whether employee compensation is competitive and aligned with the market.
• Healthcare Costs Per Employee: The average cost of providing healthcare benefits per employee, is used to track the organization’s healthcare expenditure and optimize benefits programs.
• Onboarding Effectiveness: Measures how quickly and effectively new employees adapt to their roles and the organization. Successful onboarding leads to faster productivity and higher retention.

How People Analytics Drive Business Outcomes & Performance

People analytics plays a pivotal role in driving business outcomes and enhancing performance by leveraging data to make informed decisions about workforce management. Here’s how it accomplishes this across five key areas:

1. Identify people needs

​​People analytics enables organizations to deeply understand the needs, preferences, and challenges of their employees by analyzing patterns and trends in data gathered from various sources, including surveys, performance metrics, and HR systems. This insight helps create a supportive and responsive work environment that addresses individual and organizational needs, leading to higher engagement, satisfaction, and productivity among employees.

2. Reduced turnover

By predicting potential employee turnover by analyzing factors such as engagement levels, job satisfaction, and employee feedback, people analytics allows organizations to proactively address issues that contribute to attrition. Tailored retention strategies, such as career development opportunities, recognition programs, and competitive compensation packages, can be developed to keep high-value employees. Reducing turnover not only saves on the cost and disruption of replacing staff but also retains institutional knowledge and talent.

3. Defining what matters for productivity

People analytics helps identify the drivers of productivity by analyzing work patterns, collaboration networks, and performance data. This enables leaders to understand what factors contribute most to high performance, such as team composition, leadership styles, and work environment characteristics, and replicate these conditions across the organization to boost the overall productivity of the workforce.

4. Higher productivity levels

By analyzing skills gaps, performance data, and career progression paths, people analytics helps create personalized learning and development programs for your employees. These programs are tailored to the individual needs and career aspirations of employees, ensuring that training is relevant and engaging for them. By focusing on developing skills that are directly linked to business objectives and individual growth, organizations can enhance their competitive edge and adaptability.

Get a customizable copy of our Skill Gap Analysis template!

5. Achieving business outcomes powered by people

​​At its core, people analytics aligns workforce strategies with business outcomes by ensuring that people-related decisions are based on data and insights. By understanding the relationship between workforce dynamics and business performance, organizations can optimize talent acquisition, development, and management practices to directly support business goals. This strategic alignment means that human capital is leveraged effectively to drive growth and competitive advantage, demonstrating the direct impact of effective people management on business success.

How to Create a People Analytics Strategy

The following steps will help you start understanding how to create a people analytics strategy for your organization.

• Define your people analytics goal(s) – Start by identifying the specific objectives you want to achieve with people analytics, such as improving retention, optimizing hiring, or enhancing employee engagement.
• Identify metrics to track and analyze – Based on the defined objectives, identify specific, measurable metrics that will provide insights into achieving these goals. These could include turnover rates, engagement scores, time to hire, or performance ratings.
• Train your HR team – Equip your HR team with the necessary skills in data analysis, interpretation, and tools for people analytics. Proper training ensures that the team can effectively use data to make informed decisions.
• Find your data champions – Identify individuals or teams who are knowledgeable about data analysis and can lead the initiative. Data champions bridge the gap between HR and technical data teams, driving adoption and best practices.
• Communicate the purpose of people analytics – Ensure stakeholders, managers, and employees understand the value and goals of people analytics. Transparency helps gain buy-in, fosters trust and reduces resistance to data-driven changes.
• Build your software toolbox – Select the right tools for data collection, analysis, and visualization. Whether it’s an HRIS system, analytics platforms, or custom dashboards, choose software that fits your needs and integrates with existing systems.
• Collect relevant data – Begin collecting the data needed to analyze the identified metrics. This involves gathering data from various sources within the organization, such as HR systems, performance management tools, and employee surveys. Ensuring data quality and integrity during this step is crucial.
• Evaluate the data – Analyze the collected data to identify trends, patterns, and correlations. Use statistical models, dashboards, and visualizations to make the data more accessible and easier to interpret.
• Act on your people data – Use the insights gained from the data analysis to implement targeted HR strategies. Whether it’s improving retention or adjusting recruitment practices, take informed action based on the data.
• Repeat regularly – People analytics is an ongoing process. Continuously collect and analyze data, adjusting your strategies as new insights emerge. Regular iteration ensures you stay agile and responsive to workforce changes.

People Analytics Trends in 2025

Here are some trends that are particularly noteworthy in the evolution of People Analytics.

• Integration of AI- The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in people analytics is becoming more prominent. AI-driven tools help automate and enhance data analysis, providing deeper insights into employee behaviors, performance, and trends. AI enables predictive models to forecast outcomes such as turnover risk, productivity levels, or candidate success, and its integration reduces manual HR tasks while improving decision accuracy.
• Focus on employee experience and well-being – Companies are increasingly using people analytics to enhance employee experience and well-being by tracking factors such as engagement, stress levels, work-life balance, and job satisfaction. By analyzing real-time feedback and well-being metrics, organizations can create more personalized, supportive environments that foster higher engagement and productivity, addressing mental health and overall wellness more proactively.
• Ethical use of data and privacy concerns – As organizations gather more employee data, the ethical use of data and privacy concerns are becoming central to people analytics. Organizations must ensure compliance with data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR) and maintain transparency with employees about how their data is collected, stored, and used. This trend emphasizes building trust by promoting data ethics, ensuring anonymity, and preventing the misuse of sensitive personal information.
• Enhanced focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion – There is a heightened emphasis on using people analytics to track and improve diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Analytics help organizations assess demographic representation, pay equity, promotion rates, and inclusion scores, allowing them to identify gaps and biases in hiring, promotions, and compensation. DEI metrics have become essential in building more inclusive and fair workplaces, with organizations increasingly using data to drive accountability.
• Predictive analytics for strategic workforce planning – Predictive analytics is increasingly leveraged for strategic workforce planning, allowing companies to forecast future talent needs, skill gaps, and workforce demands. By analyzing historical trends and external factors, predictive models help HR teams anticipate and prepare for future changes, such as skill shortages, turnover risks, or emerging role requirements, ensuring they have the right talent at the right time to meet organizational goals.

Best People Analytics Tools

You might start with a simple Google Spreadsheet to track your people data, but this is not a scalable solution.

A people analytics tool will allow you to document your processes, store people data for future analysis, and create recurring flows eliminating the need to do a lot of manual work every time you dig into people analytics.

1. Visier

Visier is one of the most advanced people analytics platforms. It is designed to help HR teams make data-driven decisions easily. It provides pre-built templates and dashboards, making it user-friendly for HR professionals. The tool focuses on workforce insights, predictive analytics, and helping organizations identify patterns in turnover, productivity, and engagement.

Features include:

• User-friendly pre-built templates for HR analytics.

• Predictive analytics for turnover and workforce planning.

• Comprehensive workforce insights to inform decision-making.

• Customizable dashboards to track key HR metrics.

• Strong data security and compliance features.

2. Crunchr

Crunchr is a cloud-based people analytics platform that emphasizes ease of use and scalability. It offers powerful data visualization and reporting features, enabling HR professionals to access insights quickly. Crunchr focuses on simplifying workforce data analysis, making it ideal for mid-sized and large enterprises looking to boost their data capabilities.

Features include:

• Easy-to-use data visualization tools for HR teams.
• Scalable platform for small and large businesses alike.
• Customizable reports for detailed workforce analysis.
• Real-time insights into employee performance and engagement.
• Pre-built modules for key HR functions like retention and diversity.

3. Tableau

Tableau is a leading data visualization tool that’s widely used in people analytics due to its flexibility and ability to handle large datasets. It enables HR teams to create dynamic dashboards, offering rich visual insights into workforce data. While it is not solely focused on HR, Tableau is highly customizable, making it a powerful tool for HR analytics.

Features include:

• Intuitive, drag-and-drop dashboard creation.
• Handles large datasets for comprehensive workforce analysis.
• Integration with various data sources, including HRIS.
• Highly customizable reports for in-depth analytics.
• Strong visualizations to communicate key workforce trends.

4. One Model

One Model is a people analytics platform that focuses on data integration and predictive analytics. It pulls data from various HR systems and combines it into a centralized platform for detailed workforce insights. Its strength lies in its advanced analytics capabilities, which allow businesses to predict turnover risks and future workforce needs with precision.

Features include:

• Seamless integration with multiple HR systems.
• Advanced predictive analytics for workforce planning.
• Centralized platform for unified workforce data.
• Customizable dashboards for real-time HR insights.
• Risk analysis tools for turnover and succession planning.

5. Eightfold AI

Eightfold AI leverages artificial intelligence to enhance talent management and workforce planning. Its AI-driven platform helps organizations identify skill gaps, improve hiring processes, and make more accurate predictions about employee performance. Eightfold is known for its focus on using AI to match candidates and employees to the right roles, making it highly effective for recruitment and internal mobility.

Features include:

• AI-powered talent matching for recruitment and internal mobility.
• Predictive analytics for workforce planning and performance.
• Automated insights into skill gaps and development needs.
• Focus on diversity and inclusion in talent acquisition.
• Integration with existing HR systems for seamless data flow.

Analytics Software Clicks Better With Whatfix

People analytics can transform workforce management, driving data-driven decisions that enhance recruitment, retention, performance, and employee satisfaction. However, to truly maximize the potential of your people analytics software’s potential, employees must efficiently navigate and use the available tools.

Whatfix’s in-app guidance offers real-time, interactive support to help HR teams master their analytics platforms, minimizing the learning curve and boosting productivity. Coupled with Whatfix’s advanced analytics, organizations gain deeper insights into how their HR tech is being used, ensuring optimized workflows and more informed decision-making. By integrating Whatfix into your people analytics processes, your organization can unlock the full potential of its HR technology, leading to better outcomes and a more data-driven HR strategy.

To learn more about Whatfix, schedule a free demo with us today!