Human resource $($HR$)$ analytics or people analytics are terms used for the use of analytics to manage a company's workforce. Google, Microsoft, and Walmart, for example, use people analytics to help retain their best people, ensure a diverse workforce, and better understand the strengths and areas needing improvement.

$($a$)$

One application of people analytics is to build a model that estimates the probability of an employee departing the company within the next six months. Inputs to the model could be market demand for the skills the person possesses, how long the person has been with the company, and a major life event recently occurring for the person $($e$.$g$.,$ divorce$).$ Is this type of model descriptive, predictive, or prescriptive? Explain.

This is an example of

Correct: Your answer is correct. analytics because the model's purpose is to

Correct: Your answer is correct. $.$

$($b$)$

How could you use the model described in part $($a$)$ to help improve the workforce?

The company could refine the model in order to make it predictive, giving the company the ability to know for sure if an employee will depart in the next six months, rather than only having a vague probability. By applying a rule to the model to make it prescriptive, the company could identify high$-$performing employees who are at risk of departing and offer incentives to encourage them to stay. Data mining techniques could be performed on the data set used to create the model in order to gain a better understanding of how the model estimates the probability of an employee departing. The data set used to create the model could be organized into a data dashboard that allows the company to monitor employee performance and how many are likely to depart within the next six months.