How to build HR dashboards that actually drive decisions

HR dashboards are visual reporting tools that aggregate workforce data into real-time insights, allowing People leaders to track key performance indicators (KPIs) and make evidence-based decisions about their talent strategy.

Key takeaways

• Effective HR dashboards prioritise actionable insights over raw data volume to ensure leadership can make quick, informed decisions.
• Integrating behavioural data with traditional metrics provides a holistic view of organisational health and team performance.
• Real-time visibility into recruitment and engagement helps HR teams move from a reactive to a proactive strategic partner.
• Customising views for different stakeholders ensures that data remains relevant and impactful across the entire business.

We have all been there – staring at a mountain of spreadsheets, trying to figure out why turnover is spiking in one department or why a recent recruitment drive didn't hit the mark. For a long time, HR was seen as the 'gut feel' department, relying on intuition and anecdotal evidence to manage people. But in today's workplace, intuition isn't enough to secure a seat at the executive table. You need data that tells a story, and more importantly, data that prompts action.

The problem isn't a lack of information. Most modern businesses are swimming in data. The real challenge is centralising that information into a format that doesn't require a PhD in statistics to understand. This is where well-designed HR dashboards become your most valuable asset. They bridge the gap between having 'people data' and having 'people intelligence'.

Moving from basic reporting to people intelligence

Traditional HR reporting often looks backward. It tells you what happened last month or last quarter – how many people left, how much you spent on training, or how many roles you filled. While this is necessary for compliance and budgeting, it doesn't help you predict future challenges. A modern HR dashboard should act as a GPS for your organisation, showing you where you are now and highlighting the roadblocks ahead.

To move toward true people intelligence, your dashboards need to include more than just headcounts. You should be looking at the intersection of performance, engagement, and culture. At Compono, we believe that understanding the 'why' behind the numbers is just as important as the numbers themselves. By tracking how teams interact and where natural work preferences lie, you can start to see patterns that traditional spreadsheets miss.

For example, if your HR dashboard shows high turnover in a specific department, basic reporting might suggest a compensation issue. But a more sophisticated view that includes engagement data might reveal a cultural disconnect or a leadership style that doesn't match the team's needs. This is the difference between simply reporting a problem and providing a data-driven solution.

The five pillars of a high-impact HR dashboard

When you sit down to build or refine your HR dashboards, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of metrics you *could* track. The key is to focus on the ones that actually move the needle for your business. We recommend focusing on five core pillars: recruitment efficiency, employee engagement, team performance, diversity and inclusion, and retention risk.

Recruitment efficiency is often the first place HR teams look to improve. Tracking time-to-hire and cost-per-hire is standard, but you should also be looking at quality-of-hire. How many of your new hires are still with the company after 12 months? How long does it take for a new team member to reach full productivity? When you use a platform like Compono Hire, these metrics are baked into your workflow, making it simple to track how well your talent acquisition strategy aligns with your long-term goals.

Engagement and culture are the next critical pillars. These metrics are often seen as 'soft', but they have a direct impact on your bottom line. How often are you checking in with your people? Are you tracking sentiment over time? By visualising engagement data alongside performance metrics, you can see a clearer picture of organisational health. Our research at Compono shows that high-performing teams consistently score better on engagement and cultural alignment.

Tailoring your data for different stakeholders

One of the biggest mistakes we see HR leaders make is presenting the same HR dashboard to everyone. Your CEO doesn't need to know the granular details of your recruitment funnel, and your team managers don't need to see the high-level turnover costs for the entire global business. To make your data impactful, you have to tailor the view to the audience.

For the C-suite, focus on the big-picture metrics that link people to profit. This includes total headcount costs, revenue per employee, and overall engagement scores. They want to see how the people strategy is supporting the business strategy. If you can show that a 5% increase in engagement correlates with a 10% decrease in turnover costs, you've already won the argument for your next initiative.

For team managers, the focus should be on practical, day-to-day insights. They need to know how their specific team is performing, where the skill gaps are, and who might be at risk of burnout. When managers have access to tools like Compono Engage, they can see real-time data on team dynamics and work personality. This allows them to lead with more empathy and precision, rather than waiting for an annual review to address issues.

Overcoming the 'dirty data' hurdle

The most beautiful HR dashboard in the world is useless if the data behind it is incomplete or inaccurate. This is a common hurdle for many mid-market organisations that have grown quickly and now find their people data scattered across multiple systems – from payroll and ATS to performance management tools and engagement surveys.

To build a reliable HR dashboard, you first need to centralise your source of truth. This doesn't mean you need to replace every tool you own, but you do need to find a way to let them talk to each other. At Compono, we have spent over a decade researching how to integrate these data points to create a seamless view of the employee lifecycle. When your data is clean and centralised, you spend less time questioning the numbers and more time acting on them.

Cleaning your data often involves a one-time audit of your current systems. Check for duplicate records, inconsistent job titles, and missing demographic information. Once you have a clean baseline, focus on automating as much of the data entry as possible. The more manual the process, the higher the chance of error. A robust People Intelligence Platform like Compono helps automate these insights, so your dashboards stay updated without constant manual intervention.

Using dashboards to predict and prevent turnover

Retention is the holy grail of HR, and your dashboards should be your early warning system. Rather than just reporting on who has left, use your data to identify who *might* leave. This proactive approach can save your business thousands of dollars in recruitment and lost productivity costs.

Predictive metrics might include a drop in engagement scores, a sudden decrease in performance ratings, or even a lack of participation in training and development programmes. When these indicators are visualised on an HR dashboard, they stand out as red flags that require immediate attention. You can then arm your managers with the insights they need to have meaningful stay conversations before it's too late.

By looking at The Compono Culture, Engagement & Performance Model, you can see how these different elements feed into each other. A healthy culture drives engagement, which in turn drives performance and retention. Your dashboards should reflect this interconnectedness, showing how a change in one area impacts the others. This is how you move from being a reactive HR function to a strategic leader in the business.

Key insights

Effective HR dashboards are the foundation of modern people intelligence, transforming raw data into strategic business value. By prioritising actionable metrics and tailoring insights for specific stakeholders, HR leaders can move from descriptive reporting to predictive strategy. High-impact dashboards must integrate performance, engagement, and culture to provide a holistic view of organisational health. Ultimately, the goal is to use these visual tools to lead with evidence, reduce retention risk, and drive long-term business performance through better people decisions.

Where to from here?

Building effective HR dashboards is a journey, not a destination. Start small by identifying the three most critical questions your leadership team asks about people, and build your first views around those answers. As you gain confidence and cleaner data, you can expand into more complex predictive analytics.

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Frequently asked questions

What are the most important metrics for HR dashboards?

The most important metrics depend on your business goals, but typically include turnover rates, time-to-hire, employee engagement scores, diversity statistics, and performance ratings. Focus on metrics that lead to action rather than just observation.

How often should HR dashboards be updated?

Ideally, HR dashboards should update in real-time or at least weekly. Real-time data allows you to identify trends as they happen, whereas monthly reporting often means you are reacting to issues that have already impacted the business.

Who should have access to HR dashboards?

Access should be tiered based on the role. Senior leaders need high-level strategic data, while managers need specific insights into their direct reports. Maintaining data privacy and security is essential when sharing sensitive people information.

Why is my HR dashboard not being used by leadership?

Usually, this happens because the dashboard is too complex or doesn't answer the questions that matter to the business. Ensure your dashboards are visually simple and directly link people data to business outcomes like cost savings or productivity gains.

Can HR dashboards help with diversity and inclusion?

Yes, dashboards are excellent for tracking D&I progress. They can highlight gaps in representation across different levels of the business and show whether your recruitment and promotion processes are truly equitable over time.