Fundamentals of BI Tools
To work effectively with HR metrics and dashboards, a strong foundation in business intelligence (BI) tools is essential. The numbers an HR team tracks (recruitment funnels, performance scores, turnover patterns, training hours, compensation distributions) only become decisions when they are visualised in a way that stakeholders can read, compare, and act on at a glance.
Two industry-standard tools dominate this space:
- Microsoft Power BI is tightly integrated with the Microsoft ecosystem, strong on data modelling and DAX-driven calculations, ideal for organisations already running on Excel, SharePoint, or Azure.
- Tableau is renowned for its drag-and-drop visual canvas, fluid exploration, and best-in-class chart aesthetics; widely used in enterprises that prioritise self-service analytics and storytelling.
Each chapter that follows in HR Metrics and Dashboards assumes you can connect to data, build a basic visual, and publish a simple dashboard in at least one of these tools. If you’re new to either, or want a refresher, we’ve published full companion books for each. Use the two pages in this section to jump into them.
- Data Visualization using Power BI: companion book covering data import, Power Query, data modelling, DAX, dashboards, and publishing to the Power BI Service.
- Data Visualization using Tableau: companion book covering data connections, visualisations, dashboards, stories, and sharing via Tableau Public / Server.
Both companion books are published as separate sites and open in a new tab so you can keep your place here in HR Metrics and Dashboards.