Phylla Jele, HR & Transformation Executive at e4

In today’s hybrid, hyper-connected workplaces, data is no longer just a business tool – it’s a human one. Every engagement survey, wellness check-in, and learning platform interaction produces insight into the health of an organisation’s most valuable asset: its people. Yet, many businesses stop short of transforming these insights into tangible actions that drive both individual fulfilment and business outcomes.

To remain competitive, HR leaders must move from intuition-led management to insight-driven strategy – using people data not just to describe what’s happening, but to predict, prescribe, and improve the employee experience in real time.

From feedback to foresight

Traditional HR practices often rely on retrospective data – exit interviews, annual surveys, or performance reviews that look backward. A data-driven HR function, on the other hand, views these insights as part of a continuous loop.

Real value lies in connecting the dots between engagement scores, absenteeism, learning participation, and retention rates to uncover underlying trends and act early. For example, predictive analytics can flag patterns of disengagement or flight risk, allowing leaders to intervene before productivity dips or key talent walks out the door.

At e4, we’ve embedded employee listening into our operational rhythm. Pulse surveys, one-on-one check-ins, and culture audits feed into a central insights dashboard. The goal isn’t to monitor – it’s to understand. When employees see their feedback translated into visible changes, trust deepens and participation increases, fuelling a virtuous cycle of improvement.

Insights in action: From data to decision

Employee insights only matter when they lead to action. Several recent examples at e4 illustrate how data-driven HR can transform organisational wellbeing and performance.

When analysis of our salary advance feature revealed that many employees were using the benefit to pay for medical expenses, it highlighted a deeper need. The insight led to the introduction of compulsory medical aid for all employees – an especially important step given our young workforce and a noted uptick in dreaded disease. For us, this was more than a compliance exercise; it was an investment in the long-term wellbeing and financial security of our people.

Similarly, our approach to exit and stay interviews gives us both hindsight and foresight. Exit interviews help us understand why people leave, while stay interviews – conducted around the six-month mark – focus on what will make them stay. This early intervention allows us to adjust roles, management styles, or team dynamics before issues become resignation letters.

We are also introducing “coffee sessions” where employees can book an informal conversation with business heads they want to connect with. These open forums create direct access to leadership and provide invaluable qualitative data that helps us reroute, rather than lose, talent.

Continuous learning is another area where insights inform strategy. By partnering with Udemy and LinkedIn Learning, we can see which skills are trending, where engagement is high, and which areas need reinforcement. This allows us to tailor development initiatives and ensure that skills growth aligns with both employee aspirations and business needs.

Because e4 adopted the agile methodology, with multiple value streams headed by leaders, tracking development needs is critical. Insights from performance reviews and learning data help us identify emerging leaders early and ensure that they receive targeted development to manage teams effectively.

Our HR system gives us another layer of visibility — allowing us to monitor patterns of absenteeism and flag early signs of burnout. These data points are especially valuable during peak periods, when fatigue levels rise, enabling proactive wellness interventions.

And to strengthen our position as an employer of choice for women, feedback from our diverse talent pool prompted us to improve our maternity policy from 40% to 75% pay, making it far more inclusive. Listening to our workforce ensured that we weren’t simply offering benefits but building policies that support real-life needs and reflect the inclusive culture we strive for.

The human layer in a data world

But data without empathy is just noise. Algorithms can flag concerns, but they cannot interpret emotional nuance or organisational context. That’s why the future of HR lies in human-led, data-augmented decision-making. Leaders must pair analytics with emotional intelligence, reading not only dashboards but also the room.

As we’ve seen in our own transformation journey at e4, the numbers tell us what is happening; conversations tell us why. When HR and leadership teams combine these two perspectives, action plans become more authentic, targeted, and sustainable.

From measurement to movement

The final, and often missing, link is execution. Collecting feedback is easy. Acting on it consistently is the real differentiator. Organisations must design feedback-to-action frameworks where insights automatically trigger workflows, from new learning programmes and leadership training to policy changes and wellness interventions.

At e4, our approach aligns with this principle: employee feedback doesn’t sit in reports; it informs our people strategy. Whether redesigning hybrid policies, adapting office spaces for collaboration, or shaping wellness initiatives, we treat data as a compass for culture.

The future of work is quantitatively human

Employees always give you data, it’s what you do with it that matters most. For me, it’s about ensuring that inclusion, diversity, and belonging are not just initiatives but part of the fabric of e4.

Data-driven HR isn’t about replacing people with metrics, it’s about making better decisions for them. By using insight to inform empathy, businesses can bridge the gap between knowing what their employees need and actually delivering on it.

When employees feel heard, understood, and acted upon, engagement becomes a competitive advantage, and culture becomes a catalyst for performance. In the end, turning insight into action isn’t just good HR, it’s good business.

ENDS