VISIER UNIVERSITY
People Analytics 101: Headcount & Movement
1. Intro and welcome 0:00
2. What is headcount? 0:50
3. Why is the headcount metric so hard to accurately track? 03:57
4. What are the risks of getting headcount wrong? 08:36
5. Beyond number of employees, what else can headcount tell us? 11:17
7. How does headcount inform employee movement? 17:29
8. ANALYTICS IN ACTION: How to look at headcount over time 23:50
9. ANALYTICS IN ACTION: Analyzing headcount trends by performance group 26:06
10. Conclusion 31:13
About this course
One of the most basic HR metrics is also one of the trickiest to get right. Learn why headcount is foundational to a people analytics practice, how headcount and employee movement go together, and why understanding headcount changes over time is transformational to business success.
Who is this course for?
This course is for learners new to HR metrics, or for anyone who wants to refresh or expand their existing knowledge of headcount and movement.
Take this course if you want to better understand what headcount is (and isn't), how it can inform on business financial health, and why tracking movement is wholly dependent on accurate headcount.
What will you learn?
- The value of an accurate headcount measure
- The steps to producing an accurate measure of headcount
- How employee movement impacts business performance
- The steps to analyzing employee movement
Course resource materials
- Download as: PDF or PPTX
- The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started With People Analytics (PDF)
- What Is People Analytics and How Do I Get Started? (article)
- 10 HR Metrics Every Business Should Track (PDF)
- 3 Ways to Present Headcount Data to Your CEO (article)
- 4 Data-Driven Steps to Increase Headcount on a Budget (article)
- Why Internal Mobility is Key to Building a Diverse Workforce (article)
- HR Glossary
Meet the instructor
Ian Cook
Vice President, People Analytics
Ian has spent his 20+ year career building business success through people. He started and scaled three companies and a not-for-profit as well as consulted to a host of Fortune 100 companies.
What distinguishes Ian and makes him sought-after as a speaker, adviser and executive leader is his ability to link the human side of business to the core drivers of operations and finance. His expertise is accessed daily by thousands of executives who are working to build business success through their people. Ian’s insights have been featured in the Harvard Business Review, Economist, Business Insider, CNBC, and more.
"Looking at headcount is interesting, but it's not necessarily insightful. But headcount through the lens of motivation and satisfaction, or a D&I lens, or a sales lens? That's what starts to get interesting. And you can start to make connections that can help you in the business think about doing things in a slightly different way, or challenging the status quo to help improve."
Melissa Kantor
VP of People Analytics, The LEGO Group
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About Visier
Visier gives organizations a Workforce AI Edge: A set of AI-powered capabilities that help leaders understand the relationship between people and work, elevate employee productivity, and win by adapting to change faster. The company is the global leader in AI-powered people analytics, workforce planning, and compensation allocation. All Visier technology is underpinned by its Real-time People Data Platform, which uses AI to unlock the business-transforming potential of people data, work data, and the fusion of both. Founded in 2010 by the pioneers of business intelligence, Visier has over 60,000 customers in 75 countries—including enterprises like BASF, Panasonic, Experian, Amgen, eBay, Ford Motor Company, and more.
For more information, visit visier.com