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May 27, 2025 | Case Study | 3 minutes

From silos to strategy: How a manufacturer unlocked real-time HR insights

Swati Chouksey

Background 

A Leading manufacturing company faced challenges in HR analytics and business leadership decision-making. The organization needed a centralized and scalable solution to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and drive strategic HR decisions. 

The company aimed to develop a real-time view of people performance, the impact of people development schemes, and performance across various plants and multiple work shifts. In response to this need, Navikenz identified and refined an HR Analytics Platform using AWS cloud services, with Amazon QuickSight as the primary technology stack. This platform provides a collection of dashboards that reflect trends across multiple KPIs and generate insights by correlating them. These dashboards enable the client’s business leaders to access the right information at the right time, facilitating better decision-making and driving higher performance. 
 

Challenges within the existing HR reporting framework

  • Fragmented Data Sources: HR data was distributed across multiple systems, which made it challenging to gain a unified view of the workforce.

  • Limited Timeliness of Insights: Access to real-time workforce metrics was constrained, impacting the speed of strategic decision-making.

  • Infrastructure Constraints: The existing setup had limited capacity to scale for advanced analytics or support evolving business needs.

  • Unstructured Data Utilization: While rich in potential, HR data lacked a standardized approach for analysis and actionable insights.

  • High IT Dependency: Business and HR teams relied heavily on IT for reporting needs, creating bottlenecks and slowing responsiveness.

 

Solution 

The company, in collaboration with Navikenz, adopted a cloud-first HR analytics strategy leveraging AWS and Amazon QuickSight. The solution comprised three key components: 

HR Data Lake (AWS S3 & AWS Glue)

  • Centralized storage for structured and unstructured HR data. 
  • Automated ingestion from HR systems like payroll, recruitment, and performance management. 
  • AWS Glue for data cataloging and transformation. 

Data Consumption Layer (AWS Redshift & AWS Lambda)

  • Optimized querying and analytics with AWS Redshift. 
  • AWS Lambda for automated data processing. 

Amazon QuickSight Dashboards

  • HR KPI Dashboard: Tracks attrition, hiring trends, and workforce diversity. 
  • Business Leadership Dashboard: Provides insights on employee performance, engagement, and productivity. 
  • Embedded AI/ML for predictive analytics (e.g., attrition forecasting). 

 

Implementation 

The solution was deployed in phases to ensure minimal disruption: 

Phase 1: Data Lake Setup 

  • Established an AWS S3-based HR Data Lake. 
  • Configured AWS Glue for data cataloging. 

Phase 2: Data Pipeline Development 

  • Integrated HR data sources with AWS Redshift. 
  • Deployed AWS Lambda functions for automation. 

Phase 3: Dashboard Development 

  • Designed and deployed interactive dashboards with Amazon QuickSight. 
  • Enabled real-time data refresh and AI-driven insights. 

 

Outcome 

The HR analytics transformation resulted in: 

  • Centralized & Scalable Data Storage: Eliminated data silos and provided a unified data repository 
  • Enhanced Decision-Making: Business leaders gained real-time workforce insights for strategic planning 
  • Improved Efficiency: Automated processes reduced manual effort in report generation 
  • Self-Service Analytics: HR teams could generate reports without IT dependency 
  • Future-Ready Architecture: Supported real-time analytics and additional data integrations. 

 

Future Plans 

Building on its success, the company plans to further enhance its analytics capabilities by: 

  • Expanding Real-Time Analytics with AWS Kinesis. 
  • Developing Advanced AI/ML Models for workforce planning. 
  • Integrating Additional HR Data Sources for more comprehensive insights. 
  • Embedding Dashboards in HR Portals for direct access to analytics. 

 

Conclusion 

By leveraging AWS and Amazon QuickSight, the company successfully transformed its HR analytics ecosystem. The centralized data lake, structured consumption layer, and interactive dashboards empowered HR and leadership teams with actionable insights. This future-ready solution positions the company for continued innovation in HR analytics and workforce management.