NINE STEPS TO STAFFING METRICS EXCELLENCE

 

Metrics are the key for HR to become more visible in the organization. In either a centralized or decentralized staffing structure, the requirements for metrics are the same: do not measure for the sake of measurement; keep metrics to a minimum; and measure output and what is in alignment with the strategic goals of the organization.  Here's some guidance:

 

1. Re-examine your business objectives

Before doing anything else, revisit your organization's strategic business objectives with an overriding priority of supporting the satisfaction of the end-customer.

 

2. Take the 'CUP' test

Avoid accumulating reams of data!  Give staffing data the 'CUP' test. Will it make a contribution to overall organizational business objectives?   Will it provide insight into whether organizational resources are being utilized at their optimum levels?  Will it assess staffing productivity (which could lead to efficiency gains and ultimately a better customer experience)?

 

3. Keep it simple

Hone in on the priority areas and limit your staffing measures.  Five key metrics is a good place to start.

 

4. Decide what types of staffing metrics to capture

Generally, metrics fall into three principal categories: historical, real-time and forward-looking.

Your chosen metrics should ideally contain all three in order to present a comprehensive staffing and recruiting picture based on your business strategies.

 

5. Establish a benchmark

Your current state of recruitment and staffing should be measured so that the future impact of any changes can be assessed.

 

6. Integrate data collection into existing workflows

Don't burden your recruitment staff with extra workloads.  Collect data automatically and use your HRIS to data mine. 

 

7. Allocate resources for analysis

Don't' capture what you can't analyze, and don't overanalyze what you capture.  Concise, focused information is more powerful and more easily understood.

 

8. Have the power to act

Collecting metrics is futile if you can't act on the results.  If your staffing analysis shows a need for remedial action that you can't act on, then a potentially valuable tool may have been wasted.

 

9. Close the loop

The gathering of staffing metrics should be subject to periodic review. For seasonal cycles (for example, graduate recruitment), it would be advisable to build up statistics over a number of years. 

  

For more information on staffing metrics, contact E. K. Ward & Associates at 716-626-1188 or please click here.

 

-- Lateyfa Ali, General Manager, E. K. Ward and Associates                                     

                                       

OI Partners - E.K. Ward and Associates 
October 2004 Newsletter
 

This issue of our newsletter delves into the subject of HR metrics: measuring human resource functions to effectively assess their impact on company performance. While most U.S. corporations have claimed their biggest asset is their human resource asset, the ability to show that with defensible statistics has been elusive and piecemeal.  HR metrics is the systematic and global approach to measuring the impact of human capital on corporate results.

 

While measuring the impact of retention on profitability may be relatively straightforward, making a decision whether to outsource certain HR functions may be less clear.  Here's where HR metrics come into play; making better HR decisions by gathering meaningful and valid data to make informed and predictable outcomes.  So before asking to "show me the money," perhaps the first step should be to "show me the data!"

 

As a final thought to this month's newsletter, we've included an article on the "state" of the U.S. economy which seems to be, in effect, holding steady.  No major job losses - or hiring spurts - are being reported.

 

Enjoy the reading. Hope you find some useful thoughts.

 

Sincerely,

Anne Mahoney Glose

OI Partners (Williamsville, NY)

Please click on the links below to read the complete articles.
THE CASE FOR HR METRICS: AN INTERVIEW WITH NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED EXPERT MILTON J. PERKINS
OI Partners interviews Society for Human Resource Management North Central Director Milton Perkins about the importance of HR metrics and its impact on a company's bottom line. Perkins states that as a tool, HR metrics provides data to help determine the best practices to achieve company-wide strategic goals. He also offers 10 tips to mind when implementing an HR metrics program.

From Cost Center to Profit Maker
Human resources ... human assets ... human capital. Call it what you will, the collected "people power" or workforce value of an organization is an asset that is difficult to measure. Similar to measuring physical assets, such as the cost of machinery and equipment, HR measurements have focused on "tangible" items, such as cost of salaries and benefits, training expenses, etc.

Using Benchmarking Metrics to Uncover Best Practices
For companies, embracing change means seeking out and adopting best practices. Benchmarkingthe research and analysis of quantitative, empirical data-is a way to isolate weaknesses and strengths and to make connections between best practices and performances. Once these connections have been made, determining which practices are appropriate for an organization to adopt becomes a competitive ...

Does your team measure up to the challenge?; Benchmarking has fast become a corporate catchphrase and if you get the strategy right you gain the edge
The famous Dilbert cartoon strip once memorably lampooned the cut- throat corporation's attitude to staff. It depicted a team meeting at which the chief executive reveals the results of a benchmarking exercise to bewildered staff. According to the report staff are not, after all, the company's greatest asset. In fact, he says, they come ninth after paper-clips.

U.S. economy has solid case of the blahs
Sep. 26--Much of the U.S. business world, it seems, is in a bit of a funk. Suffering from a good old-fashioned case of the blahs. Consumers are wary, careful with their spending. The job market is hardly on a tear. The stock market is flat. The economic recovery has slowed. Corporate profit growth has, too. To be sure, things aren't terrible: Payrolls aren't shrinking.

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E. K. Ward and Associates, Inc.
Anne Mahoney Glose
VP, Principal
4455 Transit Road, Suite 3B
Williamsville, NY 14221
(716) 626-1188
Enquiries: aglose@ekward.com