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What’s in a Name?

“The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name.”

—Confucius

There are almost as many names for the workforce-focused analytics function as there are functions that perform workforce analytics. This itself is indicative of a discipline in its formative years. Getting the name right is important; without a common language, practitioners risk confusion about exactly what the function does.

This chapter explains why we recommend using the term workforce analytics to accurately describe the function. The focus of analysis is the workforce, and the activities of the function involve applying an analytical approach.

Focus of the Function

Numerous articles cover the topic of analytics in the “people space.” These ...

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