What a people analytics vendor should tell you it cannot do
Author
Gabriel Croitoru
Date Published
Every vendor deck lists what the product does. The more useful page — the one that predicts whether the engagement will succeed — is the one listing what it does not do. Here is ours, and why each boundary exists.
We do not replace your HRIS
Your operational systems remain the source of truth for records. A platform that tries to be both the system of record and the analytics layer ends up mediocre at both and holds your data hostage in between. We transform what your systems produce into decisions — the systems stay yours.
We do not run arbitrary code on your data
Mappings and metrics are declarative rules — validated, versioned and reviewable — not scripts only one consultant understands. That constraint is deliberate: the moment "just this one custom script" enters the pipeline, auditability leaves it.
We do not invent numbers
Where history is incomplete, the platform says "unavailable" — it never fabricates a zero or interpolates silently. A dashboard that always shows a number is comforting; a dashboard that only shows true numbers is useful. Boards eventually learn the difference, usually at the worst moment.
We do not promise compliance as a checkbox
Suppression of small cohorts, dual-approval deletions, hash-chained audit logs — these are shipped features, not a certificate on a slide. "GDPR compliant" is a process your organization runs; we build the parts of it that can be built into software.
Why the boundary list builds trust
A vendor who can say precisely where they stop is a vendor who has thought about where you start. That is also why our diagnostic ends with a go / foundation-first / no-go verdict — a result that sometimes tells you not to buy from us. See how the assessment works.
A four-level people analytics maturity model (L1–L4) — how to score yourself honestly, and why buying above your level is the most expensive mistake.
HRIS says 1,240, payroll says 1,248 — why HR numbers diverge and how a canonical data model, identity resolution and metric lineage create one source of truth.
A people analytics readiness assessment should cover expectations, source inventory, maturity, mapping complexity and current capability — and produce a report that stands alone.
A sustainable people analytics roadmap defines the target state first, then prices two tracks — with a governed platform and without — so every phase defends itself.
Air-gap people analytics explained: no mandatory egress, read-only connectors, verifiable data residency — and what it does not replace inside the perimeter.
Automating the executive board pack: governed metrics computed once, assembled on a cadence, exportable to PDF/PPTX — with the analyst focused on the narrative.