Analytics · HR glossary

Data Quality

Data quality describes how suitable information is for its intended use. Relevant dimensions include accuracy, completeness, consistency, timeliness and validity.

Example

A headcount report is unreliable because some departed employees remain active and several current workers have missing location fields, affecting totals by office.

What to keep in mind

Quality is purpose-dependent: data adequate for a broad trend may be unsuitable for an individual pay decision. Fix errors at their source and record known limitations rather than only cleaning each report.

Further reading

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