Book excerpt: PROVE THE VALUE OF YOUR HR PROGRAM WITH HARD DATA While corporate leaders may well know the value of human capital, they don’t always understand the extent to which the HR function contributes to the bottom line. So when times get tough and business budgets get cut, HR departments often take the first hit. In this groundbreaking guide, the cofounders of ROI Institute, Jack Phillips and Patti Phillips, provide the tools and techniques you need to use analytics to show top decision makers the value of HR in your organization. Focusing on three types of analytics--descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive--Making Human Capital Analytics Work shows how you can apply analytics by: Developing relationships between variables Predicting the success of HR programs Determining the cost of intangibles that are otherwise diffi cult to value Showing the business value of particular HR programs Calculating and forecasting the ROI of various HR projects and programs Much more than a guide to using data collection and analysis, Making Human Capital Analytics Work is a template for spearheading large-scale change in your organization by dramatically influencing your department's overall image within the organization. The authors take you step-by-step through the processes of using hard data to drive decisions and demonstrate the tangible value of HR. You know that your department is more than administrative and transactional--that it's an integral player in your company's strategy. Apply the lessons in Making Human Capital Analytics Work and ensure that all other stakeholders know too.