People Analytics vs HR Analytics:

I looked at the data and examined job titles that had the terms "HR, Workforce, People, Human," and "Analytics or Analyst," being an analytical person at heart. The evidence doesn't support the notion that people analytics is the most popular, as you can see in the table below (which has been condensed for space). In fact, you have to go all the way down to row 25 to see a title for people analytics. The clear volume leaders in this category are titles relating to HR Analytics and Workforce Analytics. It's important to keep in mind that titles, particularly for less senior responsibilities, can take some time to adapt, especially in larger organizations with more inflexible position structures. Numerous of these junior roles probably have a reporting focus that is more basic than an analytics focus.

Starting with Workforce Analytics Evolution

Early on, we only offered worker Analytics to a small number of progressive companies with the resources to treat worker reporting seriously. I mention reporting precisely because, for the most part, that's what it was: executives and directors weren't getting data at scale, so even the most basic facts would astound them. It's incredible how frequently, 20 years later, the same fundamental information still astounds people. Like now, there weren't as many teams conducting project-focused analysis.

The phrase "HR Analytics" is by far the most prevalent and has coexisted with "Workforce Analytics" for a very long period. You are in HR and are thus an HR Analyst because you are looking at HR data in our Human Resources Information System (HRIS), which is a logical extension of the name of the human resources department.?

If we were to analyze the effectiveness and efficiency of the HR function, for example, HR Staffing ratios and everything else that goes along with it, we would be more in line with the term.?This kind of HR Analyst would be more in line with the Talent Acquisition Analyst roles that are now on the rise in the industry.?

??In terms of the work that we do, I don't think there is a big distinction between people analytics, HR analytics, and workforce analytics.

The evolution of the phrases, in my opinion, has more to do with how we regard people in our businesses as unique individuals rather than as a large-scale collective known as a workforce or, worse yet, as "human resources." As a discipline, we've come to understand the need of treating each person with respect and treating them fairly, of providing for their basic needs such as food and shelter, and of emphasizing the value of taking vacations. It involves treating people with respect and not just as machines producing widgets.?