What Is the People Impact Gap?

What is the People Impact Gap?

The People Impact Gap is a term coined by the People Intelligence Alliance that refers to the gap between workforce data and optimized decision-making. The failure to leverage data to make sound business decisions based on staffing levels and staff competencies results in companies leaving money on the table. Human resources tend to be the greatest of business expenses for many companies—especially service companies. 

Why does the People Impact Gap exist?

The People Impact Gap exists in most organizations because, although people data exists, businesses have not been using those insights to make better decisions. People data has traditionally been captured and stored to manage transactions or meet regulatory requirements—not to draw conclusions about how people resources can best be used, where opportunities or challenges might exist, or how to predict future performance.

What kinds of decisions can be made with people data?

A wide range of decisions can be made—and made more effective—through the use of people data. For instance:

• Do we have the capacity to meet our strategic objectives?

• Who among our high-potential employees is most at risk of resigning?

• What is the impact of our training programs?

• What impacts might resignations and wage inflation have on our operating costs?

These are questions that companies and their leaders have on an ongoing basis. And, often, they have the answers to those questions at their fingertips, but may simply not be using their readily available data in that way.

How can companies close the People Impact Gap?

Closing the People Impact Gap requires a technology infrastructure and operating model that is designed to produce and leverage insights from data. Putting business outcomes at the center of your analytics strategy can help you position your leaders and management staff to use human resources more effectively. The result: better business decisions based on data.

Read more on the People Impact Gap:

• The Future of Management Depends on Access to People Data

• The Future of People Management: Closing the People Impact Gap for better business outcomes

• The Top 10 Strategic Talent Acquisition and HR Metrics That CEOs Want to See