Employee Benefits Reset 2020: Josephina Smith, head of reward at YouGov, discussed how the organisation used data analytics to improve reward strategies for its 1,032 employees.
In her session titled 'Reward to drive success in dynamic workplaces', Smith explained how important it is for organisations to understand what they intend to use the data for. She explained YouGov visualises the best insights that it gains from data:"The employer gathers data and breaks it into different segments, then looks at the connecting parts of the data, and looks at what this data is actually saying. This can help employers to prevent [them] reaching a point where they have so much data but do not know what to do with it all.
"Data can be used to draw out the key aspects of work that employers need to improve upon as part of an overall reward strategy. It can be useful to find out more about employees, how they are paid, or find out about the benefits to offer."
To offer the most effective reward strategies, organisations must know what employees value. Smith added that employers must have strong data, analyse it and draw the right insights to reap the benefits of data collection. She said: "I have been in board meetings where I have been able to show key insights to push forward an action plan. When employers receive these insights, they are able to introduce new initiatives rather than let the data support decisions. Data can be crucial in influencing board decisions and improve reward strategies."
Smith concluded by explaining how important it is for employers to get comfortable with data. She said: "Data, in itself, is useless without any rhyme or reason. It is important to find reasonable insights to push employers to take action."
