HR Reporting and Analytics
4
Analytics Levels
Descriptive → Prescriptive
1
Source of Truth
One system, one number
90%
Stop at L1-2
Most HR stays at descriptive/diagnostic
four floors of analytics
The Analytics Pyramid
Each level builds on the last. Most HR stays at the base. Real impact lives near the top — and costs more to reach.
L1
Descriptive
L2
Diagnostic
L3
Predictive
L4
Prescriptive
L1 · Descriptive
cost: lowWhat happened?
example
Q3 turnover was 12%
L2 · Diagnostic
cost: mediumWhy did it happen?
example
Engineering manager X had 6 of those exits
L3 · Predictive
cost: highWhat will happen?
example
7 employees scored high flight-risk for Q4
L4 · Prescriptive
cost: highestWhat should we do?
example
Stretch role + comp adjustment for top 3
Common HR Reports
Exam Traps
Single source of truth is the GOAL
Conflicting headcount numbers across HR, finance, and IT systems is a data governance failure. The exam tests this principle.
Predictive models inherit historical bias
Flight risk scores trained on past turnover can systematically disadvantage groups whose past departures were caused by prior bias.
Average pay ≠ pay equity analysis
Pay equity requires comparing similarly situated employees, not raw averages. The exam tests this nuance.
Dashboards must be ROLE-based
Executive dashboards focus on different metrics than line manager dashboards. One-size-fits-all dashboards fail.
Forecasting alone = predictive
If the question describes a model RECOMMENDING an action, that is prescriptive. Forecasting alone is predictive.
One source of truth
Conflicting headcount numbers across HR, finance, and IT is a data governance failure to fix, not a fact of life.
Temperature today is 72 degrees. Just the data.
Temperature is 72 because a warm front moved through.
Tomorrow will be 75 degrees.
Wear short sleeves. Pack an umbrella for the afternoon.
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