Nobody's Perfect: Overcoming the Limitations of External Labor Data to Drive Better Business Decisions

Companies that have developed sound data and analytics about their workforce are now hungry for external talent data to answer strategic questions. The resources companies can draw upon to answer such questions are expanding—in part, because big data is creating mountains of new labor market-related information and, in part, because vendors are poised to cash in on the growing appetite. To use these resources effectively, however, HR executives and strategic workforce planning executives need to understand the strengths and limitations of three types of external labor data: traditional labor market information, secondary sources, and real-time labor market information.