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Running head: OBJECTIVE TWO – DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS 1
Objective Two – Data Collection and Analysis – Professional
Human Resources Metrics and Organizational Success
Kayla Conklin
McDaniel College
OBJECTIVE TWO – DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS 2
Objective Two – Data Collection and Analysis – Professional
Human Resources Metrics and Organizational Success
The first course I took in the Human Resources Development (HRD) program at
McDaniel was Introduction to Human Resources Management (HRM). I was transferring into
HRD from the Counseling Education program. The artifact I chose to demonstrate my ability to
identify, evaluate, and summarize relevant data to assist organizations was a group paper I
completed in the HRM course. The topic of this paper was human resources metrics, and how
they can be used in strategic planning for organizations. The section of the artifact paper that will
be analyzed in this entry is entitled “HRM Metrics at Sales Focus, Inc.” which runs from page 7
through 13. By the time I started the HRM course, I had only been working in a human resources
role for roughly three months. I was very inexperienced in both my work and school roles at this
time. The HRM course, and the artifact paper, gave me my first experience using HR metrics to
analyze my own organization. The skills, and knowledge, gained from the group project have
assisted me in my practicum project, as well as enhancing various processes at my organization.
For this reason, I have chosen this to be a professional entry to demonstrate my mastery of
objective two.
When I initially collected data for the HR metrics paper, I simply created new hire and
termination tables that were updated weekly. These tables included the employee’s name, client
they worked for, their start date, and their termination date. I used this information to determine
the average number of days an employee worked at Sales Focus, Inc. for my group project. The
number of days an employee worked was reached by subtracting their termination date from
their start date. I researched how to determine an organization’s turnover rate, and was able to
complete this percentage for my own organization by using a basic turnover formula. The data
OBJECTIVE TWO – DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS 3
yielded a very high turnover percentage for Sales Focus Inc. I consider the data collection used
for the group project to be elementary. As previously stated, I was new to the field of human
resources and this project provided little time to do a proper turnover analysis for my
organization. While I had little experience, I was able to recognize that the data presented was
not a representative sample to draw conclusions from (“Research basics,” 2011). I suggested that
I would need to gather the information for one year to get the most accurate turnover percentage.
Regardless, I still believed that turnover at my organization was high, and I decided to create
additional data collection processes to determine potential causes. My theory was if I could
narrow down some underlying causes, and make organizational changes based on these causes,
then employee retention and satisfaction would be increased.
Since the HRM course, I have created an exit interview/survey for employees to complete
when they are separating from the company. This survey includes ranking questions (i.e. poor,
fair, great, and excellent), short answer questions, and sections to “check all that apply.” The
focus of the exit survey is on reasons the employee is leaving, what Sales Focus, Inc. could have
done to retain the employee, what the organization does well, and what the new position offers
that Sales Focus, Inc. does not. I chose to collect data using a survey for a few reasons. The main
reason was due to a geographical barrier that my organization faces. We are headquartered in
Maryland; however, we have offices all over the United States. The survey was created on our
corporate Survey Monkey account and can easily be sent out to employees via email. There is a
paper version of this survey that can be completed by employees at headquarters (HQ) as they
are easily accessible. The benefits of a survey are that they are relatively inexpensive, easy to
administer, anonymous, and the data can easily be put into graphical representations (Fowler,
2009, p. 2-3).
OBJECTIVE TWO – DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS 4
As with most things, there are cons to using surveys as well. Questions on a survey can
be worded in a way so that employees interpret their meaning differently, which may result in
unreliable data (Fowler, 2009, p. 11-12). While it is stressed to employees that the exit surveys
are anonymous, another downside to using a survey is that participants may not be entirely
truthful in their responses (Fowler, 2009, p. 15). This could also create unreliable information for
the Human Resources department. If organizational changes are going to be made based on data
collected with the surveys, it would be important to ensure that the data is as reliable as possible
to eliminate efforts being focused on irrelevant topics.
Once a month, the Human Resources department at Sales Focus, Inc. goes on to the
Survey Monkey account to collect the data from any exit surveys that have come in since the last
collection. Any data from the paper surveys for the month are added in with the electronic data. I
chose to use a standard bar graph to summarize the monthly data so that it is easier for upper
management to digest. On a quarterly basis, I incorporate all of the data for the quarter, and
compare it to the previous quarter data using clustered bar and stacked line graphs. A summary
of employee statements is also included in the quarterly report as it is difficult to show written
accounts in a graphical format (“Research basics,” 2011). These quarterly reports are used to
look for recurring themes among employee opinions, as well as create new ways to combat the
turnover and retain employees.
Two things that were commonly reported in the exit surveys were a lack of formal
training during on-boarding, and the expectation to reach unattainable/unrealistic goals. Since the
initial group project, I have used this data to bring these issues to our corporate decision makers.
At Sales Focus, Inc. all new employees now go through a one week training period. This training
incorporates a history of the organization, overview of company policies and procedures, a tour
OBJECTIVE TWO – DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS 5
of relevant facilities, a quick introduction to all HQ departments and employees, and a thorough
introduction to the products and services of a designated client for sales representatives. Sales
representatives also participate in several role-playing activities during their training to give them
practice opportunities. In addition to the training, we now incorporate a “ramp-up” period, which
is typically the first two weeks an employee is actively working (i.e. two weeks after training).
During this time period, an employee is not held to any production standard, and it is geared
towards job acclimation.
The actions I have demonstrated after the HRM group project show my knowledge of
research methods procedures gained during the program. I formulated a research problem when I
noticed that employees were not staying with the company long, which forced us to repeat the
recruiting, on-boarding, process over and over (“Research basics,” 2011). After I gathered
turnover data for the group project, a hypothesis was developed (“Research basics,” 2011). I
proposed that turnover was in fact due to underlying issues like a lack of employee recognition,
training, and benefits. This hypothesis led me to create additional data collection methods like
the exit survey, as well as the design of an employee recognition program for my practicum
project. I am now able to gather information, analyze it, and create reports for company
executives. These skills are very important for HR professionals in today’s workforce because it
has provided them with opportunities to advance in to the executive realm (IBM Corporation,
2009). No longer is the field of Human Resources simply viewed as lower-level, administrative
work (IBM Corporation, 2009). Data collection and analysis has allowed me to show bottom-line
significance to executives at my organization, which has resulted in company-wide changes.
OBJECTIVE TWO – DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS 6
References
Fowler, F. J. (2009). Survey research methods. (4 ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE
Publications, Inc. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=2Enm
9gWeH2IC&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=survey research methods&ots=y3n_PbJaxM&sig
=Wv7ntPgIxh4Cfe0s3_2WdVsVJKg.
IBM Corporation. (2009). A seat at the table: How smart HR departments win with business
intelligence [White paper]. Retrieved September 10, 2013, from http://public.dhe.ibm
.com/software/data/sw-library/cognos/pdfs/whitepapers/wp_a_seat_at_the_table.pdf.
Research basics. (2011, November 06). Retrieved from http://explorable.com/research-basics.