Power of people analytics can extend HR’s reach

By plugging in the right data fields and information on eHealth Technologies’ 40 employees, Michelle Halloran can guide some of her company’s human resources decisions. For instance, Halloran, vice president of HR at eHealth, can use numbers to predict recruiting strategies for the future. An electronic medical records firm, eHealth uses an off-the-shelf analytical program that comes with its payroll system. It joins the ranks of other employers that use people analytics to maximize their most important resource—their employees. “It’s metrics and analytics … for managing the human capital function in a strategic way,” says Carolyn Broderick, a member of the technology and management panel of the Society for Human Resource Management, based in New Jersey. “It’s definitely the wave of the future.”