Employers still rely heavily on survey results and demographicdata, but more insights can be gleaned by also analyzing benefitstake-up, program data and building-generated data. (Image:Shutterstock)

While HR leaders want to be “ahead of the curve” with theirapproach to technology, many lack the data orexpertise needed to measure whether their benefits spend is helpingachieve organizational goals, according to the “Innovation generation—the big HR tech disconnect2019/20 report” by Thomsons Online Benefits.

For example, the study found that more than half of the 380 HRprofessionals in multinational organizations surveyed are not usingemployee data to help forecast potential retirement scenarios andliabilities.

Related: Analytics tools becoming key to HRmanagement

“This, in turn, can have a significant impact on workforceplanning (knowing when employees are likely to retire is vital),learning and development (longer working lives mean more reskillingand upskilling), health care costs (older workforces are moreexpensive to cover), as well as pension provision,” the authorswrite.

Employers still rely heavily on survey results and demographicdata, but more insights can be gleaned by also analyzing benefitstake-up, program data and building-generated data, according to thereport. However, just under half (48 percent) of employerscurrently do not report on benefit take-up levels.

“So even though employee engagement is a top priority fororganizations, it's clear they are missing a trick in not linkingbenefits take-up-among other factors such as employee sentiment andwellbeing-to engagement employee data effectively,” the authorswrite.

The study found that organizations that use employee data toreport on business issues are more than twice as likely to be “verysatisfied” with their return of investment on benefits spend thanthose that don't. A majority of those (64 percent) have used peopledata insights to improve employee engagement; 47 percent haveimproved employee productivity; 59 percent have improved theirbenefits program by looking at employees' interactions with theirbenefits platform.

More employers (68 percent) are building analytics teams withintheir HR department. A third (35 percent) of all of the respondentssurveyed have upskilled existing HR team members and 21 percenthave hired in external talent. Over the next year, 32 percent planto upskill HR team members and 17 percent who plan to hire inexternal talent.

“Ensuring that teams, either within the organization orexternally, can really harness the power of employee data isinevitably the next step,” the authors write. “And it's positive tosee that many organizations are preparing to do this, whether thatbe to outsource these capabilities to third parties or upskillingexisting teams.”

While more than a few employers still lack sufficient HRanalytical capabilities, the authors of Thomsons' report areoptimistic: within the next three years there will be “exponentialgrowth” in the amount of data being collected and analyzed byvirtually every organization.

“From benefit take-up levels to employee well-being, HR andbenefits professionals will (often for the first time) have theinsights and analytics they need to truly transform their benefitsproposition, tailoring it to the individual as a means of drivingand rewarding performance,” the authors write.

However, to be more proactive in spotting issues before theyimpact talent strategies and organizational goals, more employerswill need to develop predictive analytics capabilities – right now,only 12 percent are doing so.

But that could be due to disparate HR systems that don't talk toeach other, many of which have no analytics capabilities, orcapabilities that aren't centralized “to provide a single source oftruth,” according to the report.

“Without a redesign of the technology that underpins the entirebenefits function, the risk is that while new tools and apps anddata analytics will deliver better benefits, better employeeengagement scores and a better return on investment, organizationswill still fail to unlock the true potential of technology totransform the employee experience,” the authors conclude.

Read more: 

• 5 technology and data trends affecting employeebenefits
• How data analytics can help you reposition benefitsofferings
• Maximizing benefits utilization with HRdashboards