Gathering data for a variety of reasons is a big deal for business. In addition, not only are there a variety of areas a business needs to be collecting data in, but there are also a variety of types of analytics producing data such as predictive, descriptive, prescriptive, and causal analytics. Collecting any data can be time consuming and expensive. However, the answers and possible solutions data can bring are well worth the effort.

One area organizations should be collecting data in is Human Capital. While this is a new phenomenon for many, human capital analytics enjoys a long history. However, today there is a better cohesiveness and labeling around analytics. Further, there are new technologies and tools that help facilitate the gathering and interpretation of data as well as cost reduction. Yet, despite this, many organizations struggle with a few questions:

1. Who should be on the analytics gathering team?
2. How much should we budget for analytics?
3. Which projects should we pursue?
4. How should we use the data we collect?
5. How can we sustain the practice of analytics?