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Skip to main contentConsumer tech companies collect trillions of consumer data points through their apps and websites. Retailers amass equally vast amounts of data on buyer behavior through tools like rewards points cards.
Companies like these leverage this data to build better products, better customer journeys, and better marketing initiatives.
Wouldn’t it be useful to have similar insights into your workforce so that you could build better teams, better leaders, and better succession pipelines?
It is possible—with people data.
People data—that is, the information and statistics you have about your employees—is a powerful tool when developing and executing your talent development strategy.
It can help you identify key roles in the business, such as significant value creator roles and critical leadership roles, and help you determine any skills gaps among your people. This allows you to tailor your talent development to meet your business objectives.
To get the employee data you need, you’ll have to assess your existing workforce at large using scalable assessments. “An assessment is a signal,” says Jerry Collier of Korn Ferry. “Have I got the capabilities? Have I got the skill fluency? Have I got the leadership capabilities to get my business to the next horizon?”
Here’s the type of people data you can use to gain workforce insights so that you can future-proof your business.
“You’re likely already sitting on a mountain of data,” says Collier. Engagement surveys, rewards information, performance ratings and reviews, and everything captured in your HR information system is all valuable intel.
Add assessments to your tool kit, and you’ll gain a deep understanding of your organization’s workplace competencies.
Talent assessments provide you with a record of the skills and mindsets of your people, allowing you to identify abundant competencies and workforce skills gaps, locate future leaders, and make informed decisions about leadership development.
“Without assessments, your development is blind—or at best, imprecise,” says Collier.
It would be like driving somewhere unknown without a map or GPS. You might be able to get to where you want to go, but you’ll be driving without a guide. The trip will take much longer, and you might never even reach your destination.
Instead, use data to plot out the best route so you’re not driving aimlessly.
And at scale, you can create aggregate data from these various data points to get a broad picture of the talent within your organization.
Depending on your business objectives, the data points you need to focus on will vary.
For example, a life sciences firm planning to open a new market for a new drug would be looking for a “street fighter,” says Collier. “Someone who can open up that market, who can take risks, who’s driven by challenge.” To find them, you’ll want to filter through your people data to identify high potentials for matching skills and competencies.
By identifying the data points that are relevant to you, you’ll be better equipped to design a data-driven leadership development strategy that will help you achieve your business objectives.
Talent assessments give you the data to learn:
When you start to put together data in this way, not only can you see who has leadership potential, you can also forecast who’s at risk of leaving.
You might notice the high-potential employee, for example, who’s sustained great performance over the last three years and is driven to take more accountability—but he’s been in the same role for five years.
“When all that data comes together, you can go, ‘Oh, we’ve got problems here,’” says Collier, who notes that such an individual may be preparing to leave their job. “We’ve under-leveraged this part of the workforce because they have so much more capability.”
In Workforce 2024, Korn Ferry’s Global Insights Report, 67% of respondents say they would stay at a job if it granted them opportunities to progress and upskill quickly, even if they hated the current role. Data is crucial to identifying and managing the development of your top performers so you can retain and grow them, rather than risk having them leave for the competition.
“Start with business impact,” says Collier. “What is your business strategy, and what skills and capabilities do you need to get to that destination?” Assessments can help you identify the gaps in mindsets, skills, leadership roles, and job levels and help you determine your talent development strategy.
The people data gleaned from assessments can help you:
When it comes down to it, you’re looking at three intersecting circles, says Collier. Who do you have today? Who do you need today? And who do you need for tomorrow?
“You hope your people are right in the sweet spot,” he says. “You've got them today, you need them today, and you’ll need them tomorrow.” If you have talent today whom you don’t need today nor will you need in the future, you have a difficult decision to make. “Do you reskill them, or do you reshape?”
Help your people exceed their potential, so they can unlock yours
Understand your people data and you’ll have a detailed picture of your human capital, giving you the ability to locate and grow the best future leaders for your company.
But once you’ve used data to identify your high potential people, how do you prepare them for the next step? Read our guide to learn the five essential ingredients for creating an end-to-end leadership development strategy.
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