From Predictive Modelling to Prescriptive Strategy: The Evolving Role of Analytics in HR and Marketing

In a volatile business environment defined by talent shortages, shifting consumer expectations, and digital acceleration, the role of analytics in organisational strategy has undergone a fundamental transformation. Once confined to descriptive reporting, analytics has advanced into predictive modelling and, more recently, into prescriptive strategy formulation. This study explores the evolving role of analytics across human resource management (HRM) and marketing, investigating how predictive insights can be systematically converted into prescriptive interventions that enhance workforce stability and customer engagement simultaneously. Drawing on a primary dataset of 360 respondents—including employees and customers from the technology, retail, and financial services sectors—the research applies a combination of statistical and machine learning techniques to forecast critical outcomes such as employee turnover risk and customer churn probability. Logistic regression, Random Forest, and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) models are employed, with performance compared through accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, and ROC-AUC metrics. Complementary analyses, including correlation, chi-square testing, and t-tests, provide interpretive depth. The findings reveal that skill adaptability, workload flexibility, and digital proficiency significantly influence HR-related outcomes, while campaign responsiveness, cross-channel engagement, and segmentation alignment emerge as the strongest predictors of marketing success. Random Forest achieved the highest predictive accuracy (AUC = 0.88), while SHAP-based feature importance analysis highlighted the centrality of both structural flexibility in HR and personalised engagement in marketing. This research demonstrates that predictive analytics, when embedded within a prescriptive framework, enables organisations to not only anticipate risks but also design targeted interventions— ranging from reskilling programmes to personalised marketing strategies. The study contributes to academic discourse by integrating HR and marketing analytics within a unified predictive–prescriptive framework and offers practitioners actionable pathways for fostering workforce resilience and customer loyalty.