Big Data Isn't a Human Capital Strategy Posted on : Jul 03 - 2015

Welcome to the XQ age of hiring. According to a recent Time cover story, "Questions to Answer in the Age of Optimized Hiring," the term "XQ" refers to "X quotient," and it is the indispensable -- and pretty much indescribable -- factor that employers are looking to pinpoint in today's job candidates. In their pursuit of this mysterious metric, companies are increasingly turning to personality tests, or -- as Gallup likes to call them -- "talent-based assessments," to find the best fit.

While personality testing is nothing new, the latest push has been fueled largely by the emergence of big data and predictive analytics. Many companies believe data science can do a better job of finding their next great salesperson, accountant or manager than a traditional face-to-face interview. I tend to agree with them. Day in and day out, I work with companies to help them hire top talent for a wide variety of roles. I believe in the value of predictive analytics and using assessments to identify the right fit. An assessment can be a powerful tool in raising an organization's level of talent and, therefore, its performance.

But I also believe companies are losing sight of the bigger picture. Analytics in and of itself is not the cure-all for workplace woes. The Time article brought to mind three common traps I see companies falling into when they embrace a data-driven hiring strategy:

Getting caught up in the data movement. There is growing interest in the use of big data to inform hiring decisions. This enthusiasm makes sense -- it's easier these days to collect, store and analyze large amounts of data from a variety of sources. Analytics is no longer a niche occupation, and if a company doesn't have someone in-house who understands how to interact with data, it can certainly outsource the job.  View more