How Analytics Can Lead to Employee Success

“The problem we’re trying to solve is that there are rich teams and there are poor teams, then there’s 50 feet of crap, and then there’s us. It’s an unfair game … Like we’re looking for Fabio. We’ve got to think differently!”

The central lesson from the above quote, voiced by Billy Beane in the movie “Moneyball,” is that analytics can be used to level the playing field and gain competitive advantage. In a competitive market, the ability to identify, retain and develop talent can make or break an organization.

Prior to the 2002 Oakland Athletics and team General Manager Billy Beane, the conventional wisdom in identifying talent in baseball accepted a misleading set of metrics — stolen bases, runs batted in and batting average. By employing new metrics based on validated statistics instead of tradition, the Athletics went from being cellar dwellers to contenders. “Sabermetrics,” a form of analytics, is now common practice in baseball for talent identification and management.

The science of predictive analytics also has the potential to revolutionize talent identification and development in a business environment. When combined with next-generation learning platforms, predictive analytics can go further by providing firms with new opportunities for enhancing teamwork, collaborative learning and organizational development.

Traditional business intelligence provides data after the fact. Predictive analytics provides a lens into the future by uncovering hidden patterns and forecasting future outcomes. This ability opens up an entire dimension for optimizing organizational capability and competitiveness.

Predictive modeling starts with a set of machine-learning algorithms. To put it simply, machine learning takes an existing data set as a starting point, sifts through it for hidden patterns, then uses the patterns to generate predictions about the future. But instead of relying on HR-related systems for data, learning platforms represent an untapped source for deriving insights into employee strengths and weaknesses.

Leading companies already provide their employees with opportunities for online training and professional development. Organizations that leverage predictive analytics within their learning programs have the opportunity to take talent management to the next level.