Data has become the invisible infrastructure of HR performance. Without a solid architecture, clear governance, and the ability to derive value, no transformation can be sustained over time.
Clémence Levinson, HR Data & Core HR Leader at Althéa, shares her perspective on the challenges and explains why data now constitutes the foundation of the HR Transformation model.
Why is data a central topic in the transformation of HR Departments?
The importance of HR data is not new—but its role is changing: it is moving from a reporting and process-feeding support to a key element that must structure organizational decisions: workforce planning, restructuring, skills allocation, and more.
Large organizations have now equipped themselves with tools capable of centralizing HR data on a global scale. This technological foundation exists. The real challenge no longer lies solely in collection, but in mastering quality and the ability to derive value from this data.
The question is no longer “do we have data?” but “how can we rely on it to make decisions?”.
Today, HR data is becoming a lever for strategic contribution. It must enable HR Departments to participate fully in the organization’s decision-making, provided it is reliable, consolidated, and used with discernment. Data is no longer a technical subject: it has become a governance subject.
Why do organizations still struggle to fully exploit their HR data?
There is a double challenge.
The first concerns the quality of HR data. Even when a centralization foundation is in place, long-term monitoring remains complex, particularly at the local level. Data must be made reliable continuously, not just through one-off milestones.
The second challenge relates to value creation. The goal is not to multiply reports or KPIs. Too many indicators dilute decision-making. The challenge for our clients is to precisely define the information needed for steering, at both strategic and operational levels, locally as well as centrally.
It is necessary to successfully reconcile two scales: field proximity and global vision. It is this balance that allows information to be transformed into decisions.
What role does Core HR play in this architecture?
Core HR is not an additional tool. It constitutes the architecture that determines the stability of the entire HR model.
It centralizes reliable data on a global scale and allows its distribution across the entire ecosystem: HR tools, payroll, training, but also Finance and Business Intelligence.
Without this foundation, data remains fragmented. With it, it becomes shareable, consolidatable, and actionable. Core HR is the foundation upon which all other transformation building blocks rest.
Ultimately, its primary function should not be data “storage” but the structuring of a common organizational model. As an organizational data architecture, it must enable HRDs tomorrow to highlight their organizational model, specifically for the HR function, but also at the core business level.
How do you intervene concretely with your clients?
The challenge is therefore not to have HR data, but to have a consistent data model across systems and decision levels.
Our approach here covers the entire value chain.
Upstream, we support architecture and governance choices: centralization or decentralization, data sovereignty, and aligning data visibility with corporate culture and strategic objectives. Data governance is not universal; it must be aligned with the organizational model.
Next, we intervene in the implementation of foundations, whether it is a Core HR or other structuring architectures.
But the true differentiator lies in the long term. A data solution is only as good as its ability to maintain impeccable quality over time. We therefore support our clients in continuous improvement, quality monitoring, and the progressive enhancement of use cases.
Finally, we integrate a forward-looking vision, particularly regarding AI: automation of input controls, assisted analysis, and facilitated interpretation. The challenge is not technological; it is decisional.
How is HR Data & Core HR a pillar of the HR Transformation model?
All HR Transformation offerings are interconnected. However, HR Data & Core HR plays a structuring role.
It is the foundation that helps fuel the Skill-Based Organization, time management, and workforce planning. Without reliable data, there is neither robust planning nor credible skills management.
It is also a compliance issue. Payroll regulations (e.g., Pay Transparency Act), T&A, GDPR, and data sovereignty impose high requirements. The foundation must be auditable and compliant.
Once these foundations are stabilized, it becomes possible to add complementary blocks, such as EPM, to strengthen steering and self-service.
Data links all the blocks of transformation. It ensures their consistency.
How does mastered data governance change the posture of HR Departments?
An HR Department cannot claim to influence a strategic decision if it is not certain of its figures.
Headcount, payroll costs, increase budgets: this data structures the credibility of the function.
But beyond financial reliability, HR data directly feeds the business: resource planning, skills allocation, and work organization.
Mastering data means moving from a declarative posture to a steering posture. Typically: this mastery allows for in-depth and projective reflection on the Target Operating Model for the HRDs we support.
How do you see HR Data challenges evolving in the coming years?
AI will accelerate two dynamics.
The first concerns reliability at the source: automation of controls, reduction of errors, and securing data entry at the source.
The second relates to value creation: the ability to interpret complex volumes of data, produce more accessible analyses, and strengthen self-service, including within said analyses.
The challenge will also be to make data and Core HR more useful in the daily lives of employees. It is not always the most visible subject, but equipped with robust self-service, it can become a real lever for ownership and information updates.
Tomorrow, HR data will not only be structuring. It will be operational, accessible, and actionable.
Mastering data does not consist of multiplying indicators.
It is about structuring the conditions for a credible and strategic HR decision.
