When It Comes to Data, HR Has a Clarity Problem

HR professionals have more data at their fingertips than ever, but information overload (partially propagated by HR) is driving a majority of corporate executives to rely on gut instinct, according to a Korn Ferry study.

The consulting firm’s 2026 Global Talent Analytics Survey report pooled responses from 1,600 C-suite and senior HR leaders across 10 countries, and found overload of fragmented workforce data continues to undermine decision making and cut into profits. This data is supposed to improve succession, promotion, compensation and workforce skills, but when there’s too much, spread across too many platforms, an average of 71% of top leaders rely on gut instinct instead.

Key findings from the survey included:

• 84% of surveyed leaders said their organization operates between three and 10 different talent platforms, yet just 5% have fully connected systems; 26% said it can take weeks to access connected talent insights.
• Only 34% of corporate leaders trust their organization’s talent insights. Leaders whose organizations have more than 10 workforce intelligence platforms are twice as likely to make intuition-led calls on promotions and succession, adding financial risk to every talent decision.
• Fragmented data can quickly become a credibility gap for HR leaders. For example, 55% of corporate leaders said that rely less on HR for decisions when they don’t trust the data.
• Confidence in workforce decision-making jumps from just 4% among those without integrated data systems to 55% among those with integrated insights. Organizations with connected talent data also report increased productivity (68%), faster time to hire (60%), stronger employee engagement (60%) and reduced costs (43%).

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A Disconnected Puzzle

“Poor workforce intelligence is rarely caused by a lack of data. The challenge is that the data often sits across multiple systems, was created for different purposes and uses inconsistent definitions,” said Roger Philby, Korn Ferry’s global lead of people strategy and performance practice.

For example, performance, skills, pay, potential, succession readiness and learning data all may exist within the organization, but he stated if those data sources are disconnected, corporate leaders struggle to build a coherent picture of workforce capability.

“Another challenge is that organizations frequently focus on collecting data rather than designing decisions,” Philby said. “The most effective workforce intelligence starts with the business questions leaders need to answer and then aligns data accordingly.”

The current state makes for a data-rich, insight-poor environment, agreed Sue Holloway, a content director at WorldatWork.

“There are too many siloed platforms,” she said. “Fragmentation leads to incomplete insights.”

An average HR team today may use a human resources information system (HRIS), applicant tracking system (ATS), learning management system (LMS), payroll system, benefits platform, etc. These solutions can collect and generate an overwhelming amount of valuable data, but Holloway said they typically reside within disconnected tech structures.

“Leaders are often looking at pieces of the puzzle instead of a single, trusted view,” she said.

The Credibility Conundrum

Data complexity is only increasing. The experts interviewed for this article commented that HR leaders must learn to integrate it effectively, or the function’s credibility will take a hit.

“When workforce data is fragmented, inconsistent or difficult to interpret, leaders often revert to experience and intuition,” Philby said.

In many cases, he said, this is a rational response to low-confidence data rather than resistance to analytics, but over time, it creates a perception that HR is providing reports rather than actionable intelligence.

And according to Holloway, if the data is questioned, the recommendations are questioned — and HR’s credibility suffers.

“Without solid data, decisions like pay or promotions can feel arbitrary and subjective,” she said. “Eventually, HR loses their influence, and they’re sidelined, shut out, not consulted and sometimes excluded from key decisions altogether.”

Integration can change the equation.

“When data is connected and reliable, HR operates more efficiently, delivers stronger insights and drives better decisions,” Holloway said. “This reduces risks, lowers costs and improves returns on human capital investments.”

Editor’s Note: Additional Content

For more information and resources related to this article, see the pages below, which offer quick access to all WorldatWork content on these topics:

• Organizational Performance
• People Analytics