What Is Data Management?

Data management is the process of gathering and using data in efficient, effective, and reliable ways. In HR or people analytics, data management ensures that people decisions are made based on accurate, reliable, and high quality data.  

What is involved in data management?

The core processes of data management are collecting, processing, validating, and storing data. 

Data is typically gathered from multiple areas in an organization. For instance, from a people analytics perspective, data may exist in HR, in payroll, in learning and development, and within individual divisions or departments. As data is collected, it must be processed to make it ready to be included in organizational data systems. It must also be validated to ensure high quality and reliability. And, of course, data must be stored in a safe, secure, and user-friendly way to ensure its effective use.

Why is data management important?

Data management is important because it ensures that the data your organization is using to make people decisions is recent, relevant, and reliable. As the old saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out.” If you aren’t sure that the data you’re using is of high quality you risk making erroneous and potentially damaging people-related decisions.

Effective data management not only ensures that data is reliable, but also that it is safe from loss, theft, or breaches. 

How can HR professionals effectively manage their data?

Effective data management in HR involves several steps:

1. Data needs to be collected from a variety of sources, ensuring they gather all necessary information for their goals. 

2. Data should be stored in a secure, centralized location that is accessible to all relevant personnel. 

3. Procedures should be in place for data recovery in case of a cyberattack. 

4. Policies and guidelines should be established to ensure consistency and compliance when analyzing and transferring data.

What tools can be used to analyze data?

Visier is one tool that HR professionals can use to analyze their data. It gives you access to advanced people analytics, helping HR and management teams make better, and more informed, people decisions.

Read more on data management:    

• Turns Complex Source HR Data Into Meaningful Insights

• The 10 Essential HR Metrics You Absolutely Need to Watch

• The Importance of Data-Driven HR and How To Get Started