75% of global HR leaders are struggling to fill job vacancies. This challenge isn’t arising because there is a lack of talent. It is the result of rigid hiring models filtering skilled candidates (due to narrow job descriptions, experience benchmarks, etc) and limiting access to untapped talent pools.
People analytics – the practice of using data-driven insights to understand workforce trends, employee behaviour, and skill gaps – is changing that. By extending beyond internal data to include insights from the external labor market – such as talent supply-demand trends and skills mapping – HR leaders gain a clearer view of where talent lies and how to access it.
With this Talent Intelligence, HR leaders can get expanded visibility, break free from traditional hiring constraints, uncover overlooked talent, and build stronger, future-ready teams.
Which Hiring Roadblocks Is People Analytics Breaking Down?
Let’s explore three key hiring roadblocks that HR leaders can break down by combining people analytics with talent intelligence:
1. Talent Supply-Demand Heatmaps: Identifying Where to Hire and How to Stay Competitive
Companies looking to expand their workforce often focus on traditional talent hubs, overlooking regions that offer both skilled candidates and cost advantages. This narrow focus leads to longer hiring cycles, higher costs, and missed opportunities to secure top talent.
People analytics solves this by offering data-driven insights into:
- Emerging talent hubs with a strong supply of skilled professionals.
- Regions with talent shortages to manage hiring expectations.
- Location-based salary benchmarks to build competitive compensation strategies.
For example, a semiconductor company faced hiring challenges for chip design engineers in Silicon Valley due to high competition and rising salaries. Talent Intelligence identified Toronto as a cost-effective alternative with a strong talent pool. By opening a new office in Toronto, the company reduced hiring costs, improved time-to-fill, and gained access to a rich talent pool to support its growth.
2. Strategic Workforce Planning: Preparing for Future Hiring Needs
Many enterprise businesses struggle with last-minute hiring, rushing to fill roles only when employees leave, or new projects demand it. This reactive approach often results in missed opportunities, higher costs, and talent gaps.
People analytics combined with Talent Intelligence helps HR leaders shift to a proactive strategy by providing insights into:
- Predicting future hiring needs based on industry trends and business growth plans.
- Identifying at-risk skills that may become outdated, allowing businesses to focus on upskilling.
- Developing succession pipelines by assessing internal talent readiness for leadership roles.
For example, a global pharmaceutical company using Talent Intelligence forecasted emerging demand for biostatisticians and AI specialists. By investing in university partnerships and internal training, they filled key roles efficiently while strengthening their talent pipeline and being prepared in advance.
3. Skills Adjacency Mapping: Unlocking Hidden Talent Pools for Better Role Fit
Many skilled professionals are overlooked simply because their job titles don’t match traditional hiring criteria. However, roles evolve, and skills often transfer across industries and functions – meaning enterprise businesses could be missing out on high-potential talent just because they aren’t looking in the right places.
Talent Intelligence helps HR leaders uncover skills adjacency by providing insights into:
- Which roles have overlapping skills and where hidden talent pools exist.
- How employees from adjacent roles have successfully transitioned into new positions.
- Which internal employees can be reskilled based on their current capabilities.
For example, a manufacturing company struggling to hire data analysts discovers through talent intelligence that quality control specialists within their workforce already use data visualization and predictive modelling – key analytics skills required for the role. By identifying this overlap, they create personalized upskilling paths, improving retention while reducing hiring costs and time-to-fill.
Unlock the Power of Talent Intelligence with People Analytics
The future of hiring lies in adaptability. As industries evolve, businesses must move beyond reactive hiring and embrace talent intelligence that anticipate workforce needs.
Combining people analytics with talent intelligence is enabling HR leaders to make smarter decisions – not just about where to hire, but how to build resilient, future-ready teams. By focusing on skills, emerging talent hubs, and workforce agility, organizations can stay competitive in a rapidly shifting landscape.
Looking ahead, the most successful companies will embrace flexible hiring models, prioritize continuous learning, and invest in internal mobility. Those that leverage talent intelligence to guide these efforts won’t just fill roles – they’ll create a workforce capable of driving innovation and long-term success.
Draup helps companies like Pepsico, Randstad, Vodafone, Paypal, Pfizer, Intuit and many more to understand such trends and plan early – factoring in the futuristic software engineering roles required to drive Gen AI led innovation and growth.
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