Talent Tectonics

CHAPTER 9Using Employee Data to Guide Business Decisions

Talent Pipelines and Oil Refineries

An oil company was struggling to achieve production objectives due to work stoppages in its refineries caused by a series of safety incidents. No one had been injured, but each incident resulted in a delay in production. The initial reaction was to increase safety training and reinforce the importance of following safety protocol. But analysis of employee experience data indicated the problems were due to operator error resulting from fatigue. A staff shortage combined with high production targets had resulted in operators working large amounts of overtime. Plant operators wanted to hire more employees, but there was a lack of qualified job candidates. Analysis of labor market data showed a shortage of qualified candidates in the local community. Further analysis of candidate experience data revealed the pay offered by the company was not high enough to draw qualified candidates from other regions of the country. When the company used data to calculate the cost of paying higher wages to attract qualified candidates against the loss in revenue caused by work stoppages in refineries, it became apparent the best way to keep the oil flowing was to invest in building a stronger talent pipeline of qualified candidates.

Many business leaders have a limited appreciation toward the value of employee data. These leaders pay attention to salary costs, attendance, and productivity metrics that ...