We all know the importance of data not only but especially in the area of human resources. Information of various kinds is stored for each employee. This can reach from name and personnel number to department, vacation days and special qualifications.

However, due to the large amounts of information, it can sometimes be challenging to filter the most important KPIs and to grasp what is actually going on in an organization. The visualization of HR data helps to quickly get an overview of your data – no matter how complex or extensive – and to identify potential issues within the company.

HR data visualization – dos and don’ts

While the visualization of data can be useful in many situations, it does not always make sense. There are some things to consider before jumping into it.

• Don’t overdo it: It is not necessary to picture very simple circumstances. Leave it for data that is too complex or too much to handle in the form of a spread sheet. Putting it, for instance, in a graph can help get a quick overview and understand what is happening.
• Draw the right conclusions: When things happen at the same time, they still do not necessarily have to be interconnected. Keep that in mind when you visualize data and make sure the aspects you are trying to present actually have a correlation to prevent harmful conclusions.
• Don’t overcomplicate it: Keep your visualizations as simple as possible. Do not try to make it look extra fancy by adding more colors, shapes, or axis than necessary. After all, the whole point of visualizing the data is to make it more understandable and provide the possibility to get a quick overview. This is hard to do when you first have to spend minutes trying to understand what all the different elements actually mean.

Org charts – more than just the organizational structure?

Org charts are already a form of HR data visualization. Usually, they depict the hierarchical structure of an organization. This often includes names, departments, positions and maybe a picture of the respective colleague. But why not use the org chart for more than just the organizational structure?

In many cases, HR systems contain an overwhelming amount of data that goes far beyond the just mentioned information. Be it the span of control for each manager, open positions as well as how long a position has already been vacant, retirement eligibility across the workforce, or information about the employees’ performance.

Of course, there is always the possibility to simply export a report from the HR system to get all the relevant numbers, but how much time will you have to invest afterwards to really get the insight you are looking for?

Turn your org chart into a strategic tool

Why not add the visualization of these KPIs directly to the organigram. This allows for more efficient HR controlling and workforce planning as you have all the information in one place providing you directly with valuable HR insights.

With the help of relevant software getting this kind of overview is fairly simple. Connected to your HR system it uses the information directly from there but it is also possible to import data from other sources, such as flat files. This way, organizational structures along with relevant KPIs can be displayed in real-time.

The implementation of visualization rules provides an even faster overview of critical topics and points out where there is urgent need for actions. Options can be, for example, to highlight departments with positions which have been vacant for more than 30 days or positions that exceed their allocated budget. This provides quick insights into potential problems and allows for a fast response. 

If you have not already done so, think about your org chart and about how much value you get out of it. Does it provide you with all the information you need in an easy and uncomplicated way or do you think there would be room for improvement regarding the visualization of your HR data?