Big data metrics help companies in general, and HR in particular, enhance their human capital, which directly impacts their bottom line. Chronus, a leader in providing mentoring and talent software to a range of clients, predicts 2014 will be an important year for HR and big data will help us interpret its growth. More specifically, big data will be essential to measuring and interpreting employee engagement, performance and potential. In our interview with Steve O’Brian, Chronus VP of marketing & client services, we discuss big data and other implications of this game-changing year for HR.

As with any other corporate department, Human Resource executives aim to increase efficiency and productivity. More and more, companies are putting their money where their goals are. Towers Watson reports: “More than half of organizations (53%) indicated their investment in HR technology this year will match last year’s investment levels, while more than a quarter (27%) will either increase or significantly increase their HR technology investments.” Chronus shared a white paper with SiliconANGLE that cites a Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) report, which found: “59% of HR professionals believe that retaining and rewarding the best employees and 52% developing the next generation of corporate leaders are the biggest challenges facing their industry over the next 10 years.”

Despite the seemingly obvious benefits, Josh Bersin’s article on Big Data Have and Have-Nots notes that only 4% of companies have the technological savvy to perform “predictive analytics” about their workforce while 14% of HR organizations have conducted significant statistical analysis of employee data. Bersin explains that the remaining 84%, “are still dealing with data management and reporting challenges, trying to get out from under the burden of ad-hoc reports to deliver standard operational metrics.”

The companies that do perform big data analyses enjoy the benefits of their investment. The Chronus white paper also notes, “their stock market returns are 30% higher than the S&P 500, they are twice as likely to be delivering high impact recruiting solutions, and their leadership pipelines are 2.5 times healthier.”

Big data helps companies understand and develop its most precious resource; its employees. O’Brian explains why investing in current employees, innovating with new technology and evaluating ROI of social learning are key for 2014. Click the link below to hear our full conversation with O’Brian below.

Steve O’Brian Discusses Chronus HR Predictions