HR Analytics

HR analytics borrows techniques built for large datasets and applies them to populations that are frequently tiny.

Two problems follow. The first is identification. A breakdown by team, gender, age band and tenure will single out one person long before anyone intends it, and an aggregate report can disclose personal information without containing a name.

The second is noise. In a team of nine, one departure moves the rate enormously. Reacting to that as a trend produces initiatives aimed at something that was never there.

Practical guardrails. A minimum group size before any cut is reported, usually five or more. Trends over several periods rather than single points. And a check on what a determined reader could work out from combining two reports.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner publishes the Australian Privacy Principles. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s privacy training course and HR management system.