Ventana Research Analyst Perspectives

Human resources has long been stereotyped as the department that relies on intuition and experience in decision-making. Enterprises have evolved to understand the importance of their workforce to achieving business outcomes and not just as a line item in the expense column of a balance sheet, earning HR executives a seat in Lin Manuel Miranda’s eponymous “room where it happens.” In doing so, those very executives must be armed with the data that ties worker performance to business outcomes; thus, people analytics has become an industry of its own.

Like any data analytics enterprise, the strength of people analytics vendors lies in their inherent ability to process and interpret vast amounts of business and people data to generate insights; in today’s world, data is the linchpin of decision-making. Think about the avalanche of data a typical enterprise generates from its employees: demographic information, performance metrics, engagement surveys, feedback loops, compensation trends and much more. While this data is valuable on its own, it truly shines when combined with business and external data sources, like market compensation trends, industry benchmarks, and evolving skill-demand matrices, which is then interpreted in ways that are meaningful to end users who don’t happen to be data scientists. A people analytics provider can integrate this ocean of data to provide actionable insights, allowing companies to stay ahead in their unique competitive landscapes.

Visier is a premier people analytics platform provider that specializes in offering comprehensive people analytics solutions, helping enterprises harness the power of data to make informed decisions about their workforce. And while theoretically any data analytics platform is capable of providing the same level of analytics capability, there are a variety of reasons why enterprises should choose to invest in people-specific analytics capabilities. Visier offers comprehensive domain expertise, with deep knowledge of HR-related metrics tied to business outcomes, and an understanding of the context, challenges, and best practices of HR-related issues. Further, its platform provides pre-configured HR metrics, reports, and dashboards specifically designed for workforce management and insights, unlike general analytics platforms which would require customization. And because it is specifically intended for use in workforce-related analytics, integration options with other HR software like applicant tracking, performance management and core HR systems are readily available and require less work and data mapping than with non-people analytics systems.

As an advanced analytics platform, Visier offers all the same capabilities of any non-HR analytics platform that data analysts are accustomed to. But it is also designed to be used by those who may not have advanced data analytics skills; the user interface and experience are tailored for ease of use by non-technical users. That level of usability is important, as I assert that by 2027, two-thirds of enterprises evaluating people analytics offerings will require prescriptive guidance with actionable insights that can be read and heard rather than just visualized in dashboards. Recently, Visier significantly advanced its capabilities in that arena with the release of Vee, a generative AI (GenAI)-based digital assistant that uses a conversational interface for people leaders to get immediate and accurate insights about their workforce simply by asking questions, rather than having to create pivot tables and advanced queries. This type of interface puts the power of advanced people analytics in the hands of those who need that information readily accessible to make informed decisions that will impact their workforce and their business.

In addition to Vee, Visier has also entered the field of compensation management with the release of Visier Smart Compensation. Extending the themes of accessibility and usability by business users, this system provides managers, not just HR and compensation teams, the ability to understand and apply the enterprise's compensation philosophy, see how different compensation allocation decisions will impact their team and how those decisions relate to rest of the enterprise, and apply advanced analytics to help remove bias and ensure pay equity. And with the use of prescriptive analytics and guided insights, Visier helps managers hold better compensation-related conversations with their employees, something that has long been expected of them but for which they have never been trained. People analytics are commonly used in compensation management all the time, and with their level of expertise in that arena, Visier is well-positioned to quickly make an impact in the category.

Visier's expertise and capabilities in people analytics can make it an indispensable partner for organizations looking to make the power of people analytics and insights more accessible to non-data scientists. This is particularly true now with the addition of Vee and Smart Compensation. Visier’s data-driven insights, derived from a rich and diverse set of data points, provide the kind of foundational knowledge that can drive not just incremental improvements but transformative changes. In a world where data is king, partnering with a people analytics provider like Visier is akin to securing a royal advisor, providing the wisdom and insights needed for ruling wisely and effectively. I strongly recommend that enterprises consider Visier as part of their HCM technology stack.

Regards,

Mark Smith