Background
PricewaterhouseCoopers is a Big Four Accounting firm that was facing high turnover in a key employee
segment—senior associates. This is the second stage in a career ladder that starts at the entry-level and
ends when one becomes a partner in the firm. One possible solution was thought to be deferred
compensation or delaying the salary of some employees so that those who stayed longer would receive
more than those who left earlier.
The firm could also see that those who stayed longer before they left were more successful in their
careers (such as becoming CFO somewhere else). Would deferred compensation keep people there
longer? Would people be convinced to stay longer if they knew it was good for their careers?
A survey collected data from current and former employees who had left. This required finding former
employees who had had a relationship with PwC and appealing to their ongoing goodwill toward the
firm to get them to respond. The final sample focused on those former employees who had left the firm
more recently (in the last 15 years rather than those who had left earlier than 15 years or more). Their
response rates were better because they remembered their experiences at the firm better than the
group that had left before them. The study specifically looked at the career outcomes of those who had
left, the comparison of work–life balance between current employees and those who had left, and
drivers of retention for current employees.
The findings and the actions taken by the firm to deal with what they found had a clear and positive
impact on the problem. The study showed that adding deferred compensation would have had a very
small impact on people’s willingness to stay. However, work–life balance (avoiding problems of work
obligation negatively affecting things at home) and career development/career progression issues did
have a large influence on the problem of people leaving. Work–life balance solutions are frequently
manifested as more flexible work schedules, flexible time off, and even child care and elder care to help
the employee manage both work and family obligations better.
The actions the firm took reduced voluntary turnover to the goals it had set. One such action was to
provide new tools for managers and Human Resources to deal with the workload balance issues that
existed. Another successful action was to strengthen the relationship between partners and associates.
Finally, the company focused on coaching and development, including training for the partners in these
areas. The analytics study showed that the initial offering of defined compensation was not going to
solve the problem, but problems flying below management’s radar were causing the high turnover.
Management was, therefore, able to solve the true cause of turnover.
You must research the topic of HR analytics and other companies that have used it. Then
write an essay that answers the following five questions (support your arguments with
related sources, citations, AND examples):
1. As an HR manager, how would you present to your company the case for using
analytics in an old-line HR department?
2,. What resources could an HR professional consult to begin building expertise in this area of
analytics?
3. How can HR analytics help to improve an organization’s overall performance?
4.Why don’t more companies use analytics to solve HR problems?
5.How can HR analytics help with strategic planning relating to HR management?
