Where can you learn how to collect and measure HR metrics? What industries are using HR metrics the most?
These were among the addressed by Ronald Adler and Jennifer Burdick in a recent BLR webinar titled "HR by the Numbers: Use HR Metrics to Measure and Maximize Your Workforce's Strategic Value."
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Q. Is there a central place to find out how to do HR metrics?
A. There are a number of books out from SHRM that will provide information on doing HR metrics. However, some of them are quite extensive and it's easy to get lost in all of the detail. Think about what is important to your organization first, and try to find the metric that is relevant to that, rather than looking at everything that is available from a book and picking a metric from there. With so many metrics out there, it's easy to get lost.
Another option is that if you have a good HRIS system, the developer of your system may have some suggestions on how their software can generate metrics for you. While these will be more general, it can also be a starting place.
Overall, find out what items are strategically important to your organization and research which metrics will be most useful.
Q. I've heard for over 10 years that HR professionals should provide and use HR metrics. Please name a few industries truly using HR metrics to assist in driving their business.
A. There are individual companies in many industries that are using HR metrics to drive their strategy. High tech companies come to mind, like Google. Some other companies with HR professionals are using HR metrics for their decision-making. High-tech industry employers are probably using HR metrics very significantly.
Other groups may use metrics to help make better decisions as well, such as retailers. Some retailers have a business model that dictates paying as little as possible, and that may limit the metrics they can use. (As opposed to companies with higher salaries who need to track how individual employees are performing and what each individual is selling and what they are contributing).
To be successful, HR metrics need to be geared around what the organization is trying to do. Companies need HR analytics that allow the company to make decisions from that. Some smaller companies use HR metrics to gain a competitive advantage over their competition. However, many companies try to use them and are not doing so in a way that helps the company strategically because they're not using metrics that provide the detail they need. It's important to test metrics to see which ones provide the best strategic information.
Q. At what point is it necessary to have a full-time HR employee in an international office to help with international reporting and HR metrics?
A. That's a difficult question. Some of it depends on the organization itself, and on the nature of the business. The organization should look at this from a broader perspective. For example, the answer may change depending on whether the organization is growing slowly or quite quickly in that country. It may be more a function of how you're doing and how well you can manage all of your requirements without it.
That said, even without a full-time person in each international location, someone on staff should be familiar with how all employment laws will impact the organization from each country you have employees in. You may not have to have a full-time HR person, but someone still needs to be familiar with the requirements in that country.
For more information on HR metrics, order the webinar recording of "HR by the Numbers: Use HR Metrics to Measure and Maximize Your Workforce's Strategic Value." To register for a future webinar, visit http://store.blr.com/events/webinars.
Ronald Adler is the president and CEO of Laurdan Associates, Inc., a veteran-owned human resources management consulting firm specializing in HR audits, employment practices risk management, HR metrics and benchmarking, strategic HR, and unemployment insurance cost management issues.
Jennifer Burdick the president of CMK Associates, LLC, and is a human resources consultant and trainer specializing in customer service, equal employment opportunity compliance, and investigations and training for small, developing companies, non-profit organizations, and human relations commissions.