7 Examples of Common HR Metrics to Track

Companies are becoming increasingly eager to measure and analyse their employee data to gain visibility on the direction of their business, but what metrics should your business be focusing on?

The answer can vary depending on the size and objectives of your company, but nonetheless, a well-rounded set of HR metrics paired with HR analytics can help you optimise your workforce for the long term.

Here are seven common HR metrics to track that are essential to any business.

Recruitment  

Measuring the average time that it takes for your company to hire a new employee is a metric that helps to keep tabs on how your recruitment team is performing.

HR recruitment metrics give you information on the average length of time it takes to find and hire a new employee – right from the time the job is posted to the time that the new employee accepts the job offer. This can be calculated by adding up the recruitment time for each hire and dividing that sum by the number of new hires in a set period.

Learning how much time it takes to hire a new employee also helps to narrow down the cost of hiring each new employee. This metric includes the recruiter’s time, the potential cost of any job listings on third-party sites, time spent interviewing, and so on.

When your company has these insights, they can make decisions on how to improve processes moving forward, saving everyone time and money.

Turnover Rates

When employees leave a company, whether voluntary or otherwise, employers need to evaluate whether they’re still maintaining turnover at a sustainable level in the workplace.

Your business can confirm if they have high turnover by comparing their turnover rate to the standard industry rates.

If you find that your company does, in fact, have high turnover rates, it’s important to be able to first  spot the key indicators that an employee is looking to leave your business. Examples include:

• A decrease in employee workplace productivity
• An increase in workplace negativity
• The employee often leaves work early
• The employee has more frequent absences
• The employee does the minimum work required  

Being aware of this information gives employers the opportunity to intervene, find out what can be done to turn things around, and potentially avoid any unnecessary costs in employee losses.

If, on the other hand, employee turnover is low, your company knows that they’re doing something right by way of keeping its employees around for the long haul.

Employee Satisfaction & Retention

When your organisation looks at turnover rates, you’re undoubtedly also going to look at retention rates as they relate to your business.

The difference between the two is that employee turnover relates to the number of people in your organisation who leave during a certain period whereas retention specifically speaks to the number of those who stay.

Employee retention is a strategy that is aimed at optimising your workplace to make sure that employees are happy, qualified, and willing to excel in their current roles – so much so that they won’t be looking to leave the company for a different position.

Since this metric is one that is directly influenced by the rate of an employee’s satisfaction within the company, this metric is an incredibly valuable one as it’s proven that happy employees are often the most productive, efficient, and committed.

Employee satisfaction should be a top priority for any organisation. If employees aren’t happy, then you won’t retain them, and that makes for bad business.

By tracking the right employee retention metrics (i.e. talent turnover, retention rate per manager, etc.) your organisation can keep employees satisfied, reducing the probability that they’ll leave the company, which ultimately reduces cost and disruption for your business.

Time Tracking

Keeping records of your employees’ working hours and attendance can be important when analysing how efficiently your business is running.  

It can provide insight into the areas that have higher rates of absenteeism, for example, or high rates of overtime. These can be measured by calculating the average number of overtime hours or days absent and breaking it down by each individual employee.  

When organisations keep track of these patterns, they can greatly improve the decision-making process of reallocating workloads and help identify any weak areas so that they can be addressed immediately.

Employee Performance & Productivity

The traditional 9 to 5 working day in the office is no longer the norm. With more and more people working flexible hours or working from home, companies are shifting and adapting accordingly.

Unconventional hours mean that performance and productivity can no longer be measured simply by looking at who shows up for work. What matters in many cases is what employees are actually achieving versus the number of hours they’re putting in.

While it’s difficult to define productivity depending on the business and job role, there are five main categories that organisations should focus on when looking at employee performance and productivity metrics:

• The employee’s quality of work
• The quantity of work they’re producing
• How efficiently the employee works
• The objectives of the organisation
• The employee’s goals and growth potential 

Keeping track of employee performance and productivity gives organisations a way to focus on the areas and employees that they should be investing the most time in, empowering employees to work towards aligned business objectives and personal development.

Training and Development

It can be difficult to see whether your company’s training and development is providing the right amount of value to your business because, unlike marketing or sales, there aren’t as many easily-trackable numbers to confirm that your investment is working.

So, unless you know exactly what you’re looking for, it’s easy to get lost in training and development metrics. However, aside from company-specific distinctions, your HR metrics as they relate to the measurement of training and development will likely revolve around:  

• Employee feedback on training
• The cost of training and developing your employees
• The productivity and output of your employees before and after training 
• The effect on the efficiency of your organisation as a whole

These metrics will help you show how much your organisation benefits from investing in employee training, helping you keep track of and improve your training and development processes.

Employee Engagement

Perhaps the most important HR metric to focus on is employee engagement, primarily because it ties in each metric we’ve covered so far (and then some).

Employee engagement is a workplace approach that aims to ensure that employees are working under the right conditions within an organisation so that they can work effectively each day.

If an employee’s engagement is high, they’ll be committed to your company’s goals and values, and they’ll be motivated to contribute to its success, resulting in an improved sense of their own well-being if they’re properly supported.  

Measuring employee engagement can entail tracking productivity, retention rates, recognition rates, and/or sending out pulse surveys and easy-click polls.

Data uncovered by Gallup found that engaged employees are up to 20% more productive, proving that actively keeping tabs on and consistently improving employee engagement increases efficiency and profits within the workplace, making for one heck of a return on investment.

An employee’s experience is influenced by their physical workspace, work-life balance, and whether a company provides the technology that enables productivity and growth.

HR metrics matter because the insights they provide help you make better decisions, having a significant effect on your employees’ experience as well as your overall business strategy. When analysed and used effectively, HR metrics help create happier employees, ultimately resulting in a successful and thriving work environment.

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