The best practices to excel at people analytics

Purpose Given its relative novelty, the field of people analytics remains rather obscure in terms of its success criteria. The purpose of this paper is to unveil some of the hidden secrets of people analytics. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews the common characteristics of those companies who have already been successful with it in their operations to date. Findings These 16 best practices cover the role of the CHRO and the employees as well as HR’s general position within a company. Practical implications While not all of the 16 best practices need to be in place, incorporating a few of them will provide significant benefit to businesses and employees. Social implications While several of the best practices laid out in this paper directly impact personnel policies, they also all empower HR managers to be a force for good through optimised people analytics. Originality/value The paper presents a hitherto scattered set of best practices as forerunners in the novel field of people analytics.