HR Metrics

Welcome to the HR Metrics Blog.

(administrator) — Fri, 16 May 2008 11:22:30 GMT

Thank you for visiting the new HRMetrics.org Blog. Featuring news, links and details about updates to our metrics or upcoming events.

The HR Metrics Performance Center has been modified to provide your organization with the information needed to support performance measurement. Select a metric to display the usage, benefits, limitations and examples that will aid in more meaningful assessments.

One of our goals is to make this blog an interactive exchange for the HR community.

About Our Blogger

Tracy Ryan:
Tracy, a life long Philadelphian, joined the HRMetrics team in 2007. She is currently working on a degree from The Pennsylvania State University. Her favorite function of HR is diversity. She feels that respecting and incorporating enriching variations into organizations will influence their overall success.

Simple, yet Valuable

(administrator) — Mon, 19 May 2008 15:50:50 GMT

HR metrics measure HR performance and HR performance may be divided into three over lapping categories:

The HR Function
Group Performance
Individual Performance

Of these, individual performance is the most critical and the one that is responsible for the greatest frustrations, if not problems.

The simplest measure of individual performance, and yet of incredible and multiple value, is to at least annually collect simple performance and potential data on all employees. If a simple 0 – 3 scale is used for each there is no basis for any employees to be missed.

Performance
0 – Very poor
1 – Adequate
2 – Good
3 – Excellent

Potential
0 – None, terminate expeditiously
1 – Do not consider for additional/great responsibilities
2 – Capable of assuming additional/greater responsibilities with time/development
3 – Capable of assuming additional/greater responsibilities now

This simple system also fosters development and succession planning.

Is The Most Common always The Best

(administrator) — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:38:33 GMT

Ask your HR associates, “What is the most common HR metrics?” (HR – not recruiting – cost per hire and time-to-fill are the most common recruiting metrics. More on them later.) Over three quarters of HR professionals will respond with the ratio of HR staff to total employment.

And if you ask them “What is the least favorite HR metric and why?” over 80% reply “The ratio of HR staff to total employment – because it is unfair.”

What does that tell you about HR metrics?

Ask HR Leaders

(administrator) — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:03:26 GMT

Q: The CFO has casually noted several times, “I’d sure like to start seeing some reporting from HR.” I’m just one of six HR directors reporting to a Senior Director HR. What can I do – what should I do?

A: You can and should lead the effort to start HR reporting. Tell the Senior director you’re volunteering to do so:

To start, identify only about 10 “numbers” to report every month. Here’s a sample ten:

Total HR Expenses/Total revenues
Compensation budget variance
Benefits budget variance
New openings
Filled positions
Total open positions
Recruiting efficiency/Recruiting cost ratio
Average hiring manager satisfaction
Positions open over target start date
Average new hire quality
Critical HR issues (explain)

If the Senior Director hobbles the initiative let the CFO know, business needs trump any HR loyalty. Invite feedback. Once you start reporting, don’t stop. Distribute the same format, day/date and time, overtime. Let the CFO and other executives draw their own conclusions.

Vendor Selection and Management

(administrator) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:58:05 GMT

Q: Provider or vendor selection and management is consistently a top five priority of decision makers and it becomes increasingly critical as the economy tightens and organizations pay closer attention to spending. How can I be sure I am making the right decisions?

A: No one wants to be responsible for a bad selection. Here are ten tips to help you make better purchasing decisions:

1. The more important the decision, the more important that it be based on performance.
2. The people who do the work are more important than the organization that employs them.
3. Establish your budget-spending parameters.
4. Define the range of requirements—from necessities to aspirations—and ascertain the differences.
5. Be honest about your buying time frame.
6. Be considerate of your sales professionals. They can offer a great deal of knowledge.
7. Work with organizations that reward superior performers and/or terminate poor performers
8. Some things are not negotiable, but you can always ask.
9. Poor purchasing decisions are never solely the seller’s fault.
10. No purchase can be a complete success without the commitment of the buyer.

Please tell us if you are interested in more detailed information.

IT is leading the way

(Administrator) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:13:46 GMT

According to an article in this month’s CIO magazine, one of the major goals of an IT function during a merger or acquisition is to prove the value of IT to the organization. HR is in a constant state of trying to prove their value to the organization. There’s a lot HR can learn from IT on this front.

One of the major goals is proper planning. When merging to IT teams, a great deal of planning is required to make sure the business is running smoothly through the transition. Metrics require proper planning. If well planned, and executed, they can demonstrate a significant value to the C-suite.

Retention is also essential to the smooth transition. This is one piece that HR will understand without further explanation.

Communication of expectations is another essential part of IT’s responsibilities during a merger. It’s also an essential part of HR’s responsibilities, especially the responsibilities of a recruiter when communicating with a hiring manager for things like time to start or the requirements of a position.

The point of all of this is simple, HR needs to build themselves a chair if they want to have a seat at the table and thanks to the efforts of other business functions, we’ve got all of the blueprints we need.

http://www.cio.com/article/386013/How_CIOs_Can_Make_
Mergers_Acquisitions_and_Divestitures_Work_for_Them

HR and the Country Music Industry

(Administrator) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:57:56 GMT

I’m a fan of country music. I listen to it while I write most of the posts on this blog. Anastasia Brown has a new book out called "Make me a Star," which is all about the tricks and tips necessary to turn talent into performance when it comes to being a successful music entertainer.

This is relevant to anyone in HR who has heard endless speeches about talent. Talent is an ability, and an amazing singing voice is certainly a marketable talent. However, that voice is nothing without the personality and charm to catch the eye of a scout.

Brown goes on to use her experience as a scout to bring essential feedback to prospective musicians, which can really be used by anyone trying to get their skills noticed.

For an HR professional, there are certain qualities you look for when you’re filling a given position. The combination of those qualities can make or break a new hire.

Check out the book here:
http://www.kimbooks.org/IngramProduct.aspx?BN=9781401604042

Recruiting Cost Ratio

(Administrator) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:49:17 GMT

The Staffing Institute recently released their first Index of Leading Staffing Indicators. Among the metrics in the report, recruiting cost ratio, is detailed in various forms. As a stand alone number, it probably doesn’t make much sense to most people.

A detailed definition can be found at:
http://www.hrleaders.org/MetricsCenter.aspx?m=148

The real meaning behind the metric is that the result you get, for example 14%, is the percentage of salary spent on recruiting expenses. So, if you’re planning to hire someone who will earn $100,000 per year, you can budget for $14,000 in expenses.

The national average this year is 14.96% across all industries. To learn more about this number, see the average for your industry, organization size or geographic region, you can find the Index of Leading Staffing Indicators at:
http://www.staffinginstitute.org/Research-list.aspx