How to Use Predictive Analytics for Employee Retention
Mar 25, 2025
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Neeraj Tandon, Head of People Insights and Analytics at Syngenta Group, shares his wealth of experience in people analytics from Novartis and Philips. He discusses how transitioning from PowerPoints to actionable predictive models can significantly enhance employee retention strategies. Neeraj highlights a case study showing a 27% turnover reduction through innovative bonus structures. He also explores the critical role of governance in analytics and the importance of adapting to hybrid work dynamics to foster employee engagement and collaboration.
Transitioning from traditional presentations to actionable analytics enables HR teams to leverage data for improved employee retention.
Understanding cultural change through engagement surveys highlights the connection between employee insights and enhanced business performance outcomes.
Deep dives
The Shift from Traditional Analytics to Productized Insights
Transitioning from traditional presentation formats like PowerPoints to productized insights can significantly enhance the impact of data analytics within organizations. Instead of merely producing impressive slides that gather dust, organizations can create actionable models that serve as tools for HR business partners. For instance, Philips developed about 200 predictive models focused on retention analysis, which helped HR teams understand future exit trends and identified key attributes leading to attrition. This approach not only fosters better engagement with HR teams but also introduces a level of governance around the insights, ensuring they are put into practice.
The Importance of Cultural Change in Business Performance
Understanding the impact of cultural change on business performance is crucial for organizations, particularly in the context of knowledge workers. A notable example comes from a project implemented at Novartis, which involved researching the elements that inspire curiosity and innovation among employees. By conducting regular engagement surveys to measure cultural indices and their effects on key performance indicators such as profitability, the organization could track improvements effectively. This project highlighted that cultural variables alone do not predict business results, emphasizing the need for integrating HR insights into broader business models.
Transforming HR Practices Through Predictive Analytics
Implementing predictive analytics to gauge employee retention has proven successful for organizations dealing with high turnover rates. A compelling case stemmed from a project for a BPO company facing a staggering 57% attrition in call center roles. By recommending a shift in incentive payments to a monthly basis rather than annually, attrition dropped by an impressive 27%. This case emphasizes the significance of tailored solutions rooted in data analysis, demonstrating how small changes in compensation structure can lead to substantial employee retention improvements.
Navigating Organizational Change and Employee Communication
Successfully managing large-scale organizational changes, such as job restructuring, requires a delicate balance of data-driven insights and effective communication strategies. Philips undertook a significant transformation, leading to thousands of employees changing roles, necessitating careful remapping of talent and skills. It was essential to proactively communicate the reasons behind these changes to restore confidence among employees, which often involved leadership visibility in discussions. The outcome illustrates that transparent communication regarding change can mitigate uncertainty, ultimately enhancing employee trust and morale.
In this episode of the HR Leaders Podcast, we sit down with Neeraj Tandon, Head of People Insights and Analytics at Syngenta Group, to discuss how predictive analytics, cultural transformation, and employee insights are reshaping HR strategies.
Neeraj shares impactful stories and practical approaches from his experience at Novartis and Philips, highlighting how analytics can dramatically improve employee retention, business outcomes, and overall organizational effectiveness.
🎓 In this episode, Neeraj discusses:
Moving beyond PowerPoints to actionable analytics
How Novartis measured cultural transformation and its ROI
Using predictive models to improve retention at Philips
How analytics revealed critical sales and marketing connections
Productizing HR analytics to drive tangible results