Thomas Otter

I’d been meaning to write this for a while, but Jason’s post prompted me to stop surfing the interwebs and jot it down.

Data has three sources.

1. It is interfaced or integrated in from somewhere else.

2. It is derived from other data. For example net pay is derived from gross pay via some sort of tax calculation.

3. Someone types it in

I use a metaphor to describe this in an HR context. It is 1790. You want to build a factory. The first thing you do is seek out a consistent stream of strong flowing water. And that is where you build your factory.

flickr cc attribution license. thanks to LaoWai Kevin.

Too many HR systems, especially talent management systems are deployed without any real thought about how the data will get into these systems. The value has to exceed the effort of maintaining the data otherwise they end up empty. So when you deploy that system to track employee goals, look at yourself in the mirror and ask the question. How will the data get into this system?  Think carefully about transaction data, but think even more carefully about organization data.

if you don’t have a plan, that system will gradually fall into disrepair.

flickr cc attribution license thanks to Andre Mercier. (many excellent pictures, so hard to choose one.)