Data driven decision making has become a critical aspect of every business function, and human resources is no exception.
HR teams are expected to harness the power of data to make informed decisions that impact all aspects from recruitment and retention to employee engagement and productivity. But there’s a real problem with data that every HR team forgets.
All data comes from the past. It doesn’t necessarily show you where things are heading.
So HR can’t use it to predict the future, you can only use it to get a snapshot of what’s going on with an employee presently and use that to measure the results and make predictions.
What’s more beneficial to you in 2025 is employing a value driven decision making approach to predict employee success.
Too many HR teams trust data alone and overlook the deeper motivations that keep employees around—like shared values, personal growth, or a sense of belonging. And by looking at whether an employee’s values align with your organisation’s, you gain insights that data might miss.
This blog explores the difference between data and value driven decision making, the power and pitfalls of data-driven decision-making in HR and offers insights into why HR teams should use value driven decision making, or at least a balance of the two to overcome the pitfalls of data driven decision making.
What is data driven decision making?
At its core, it’s using data to inform decisions.
It involves collecting and analysing data to identify patterns, trends, and insights that can be used to inform decisions about employees. It’s objective and systematic, ensuring that decisions are based on factual information and not on personal biases or opinions.
Let’s take a look at the power and pitfalls of data driven decision making.
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Power |
Pitfalls |
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Objective and unbiased—reduces personal biases, ensuring fairness and equity in decisions. |
Limited human insights—data may not capture values and emotions like morale, cultural shifts, or future aspirations which are critical to balanced decision-making. |
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Accurate—relies on data, reducing the risk of errors or assumptions. |
Past—data comes from the past reflecting historical trends rather than predicting the future. |
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Consistent—ensures decisions follow a systematic repeatable process. |
Simplification—overreliance on data can reduce people to profit, ignoring nuanced human factors and context. |
Let’s take an example. A common data use for HR teams is assessing employee retention and recruitment. So imagine an organisation is experiencing high retention rates in the new year, and the HR team can’t figure out why.
HR would traditionally use data from exit interviews, employee satisfaction surveys, and performance metrics to decide how to improve it. After analysing the data, they discovered that employees were leaving because they were not receiving adequate training and development opportunities. As a result, the HR team implemented a training and development program, and turnover rates decreased significantly.
While that’s a positive outcome, HR teams could have resolved the issue sooner by placing their core values front and centre. A value-focused approach would have signalled the need for better training quicker, aligning everyone around growth and shortening the time it took to solve the retention problem.
What is value driven decision making?
Value driven decision making focuses on aligning decisions with the core values, beliefs and long-term objectives of an organisation. It’s a systematic approach that combines ethical considerations, stakeholder perspectives, employees, customers, and the community at large.
Rather than relying solely on data, it involves considering the broader impact of decisions on stakeholders and culture. It’s more subjective and can be influenced by personal biases and emotions, but it’s useful in situations where there is limited or no data available, or when decisions need to be made quickly.
Let’s take a look at the power and pitfalls of value driven decision making.
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Power |
Pitfalls |
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Quick decisions—faster decisions without extensive data analysis. |
Subjective and biased—decisions may be swayed by personal interpretations. |
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Creativity—encourages innovative and purposeful solutions unrestricted by data. |
Lack of evidence—without supporting data, decisions can be harder to justify. |
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Experience—leverages wisdom and leadership intuition for guidance. |
Emotional influence—can over prioritise emotions, leading to impractical outcomes. |
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Human factors—prioritise people in the decision process. |
Lack of consistency—differences in interpretation that can lead to disparities. |
A common problem for HR teams this year will be to decide whether they should implement a policy to increase productivity, like mandating a return to work policy, noting it will affect employee work-life balance.
Because employees are working at home, the current data would suggest the policy will boost performance. But that doesn’t mean productivity will stay the same or get better.
A value-driven approach considers the importance of employee well-being as a core organisational value. In this case, the HR team might decide to adapt the policy to balance productivity gains with preserving employee satisfaction and mental health.
A value-driven approach goes beyond the numbers. It considers employee well-being a core organisational priority and leverages leadership intuition, experience, and empathy in the decision-making process. By factoring in human elements, like mental health, satisfaction, and long-term engagement, the HR team might decide to adapt the policy to balance productivity gains with preserving employee satisfaction and mental health.
So what’s the right mix?
Balancing Data and Intuition
While both data-driven and value-driven decision-making approaches have their pitfalls and powerplays, a balanced approach will lead to the best outcome. When making HR decisions, it's important to consider both the data available and any personal feelings or instincts. By combining objective data with subjective intuition, HR leaders can make informed decisions that consider both the needs of the organisation and the people involved.
Take the clothing company Patagonia as an example.
In 2011, Patagonia made a value-based decision to encourage customers to send in their damaged clothes for repair rather than buying new ones. This decision aligned with the company's values of reducing waste and promoting responsible consumption, even though it impacted profits.
Conclusion
When HR pairs data with core value beliefs, decisions become more forward-thinking and people-centric. Stats might show what happened yesterday, but values often drive what happens tomorrow. If you want to build a team that thrives, consider weaving both methods into your decision-making process.
About Martian Logic
Martian Logic has helped businesses refine their HR strategies for years by offering simple, scalable solutions that let teams thrive. Our current and intuitive HRIS captures real-time data while prioritising employees' values—so you can hire smarter, nurture growth, and keep employees motivated. Ready to transform your HR approach? Contact us today to see how our all-in-one system can boost engagement, retention, and growth.