“Does your organisation have HR Reports that are tabled at Management and Board meetings?” When I ask this question, most organisations say yes. But then my follow up question of “Great! What HR metrics do you report on?” is more often than not met with blank looks.
A lot of organisations provide a detailed narrative of recent Human Resources (HR) issues and observations at both Management and Board meetings but are lacking in key metrics that can be easily understood and analysed to identify trends and assist with decision making. The adage “If you can't measure it, you can't manage it” is popular for a reason. It’s true.
HR metrics are important as they shed light on many aspects of workforce, including workplace culture, employee satisfaction, diversity and inclusion, productivity, and efficiency. When reported well, HR metrics provide a quick snapshot that allow Managers and Board members to make informed business decisions and minimise speculation. They also provide more clarity and direction for HR narrative in reports, as sharp or unexpected changes in data lead to faster and more accurate diagnosis of workplace events.
There are many metrics that can be reported on, but here is a short list of key metrics to assist with decision making:
Headcount
Average age
Gender
Average length of service
Sick leave
Retention
Total hours
Overtime
Depending on the size of your organisation and availability of resources, metrics can be reported as a whole or by individual business units. Once you have a few months of data in your reports you can begin to analyse trends and set goals and targets.
If your organisation has a Human Resources Information System (HRIS) it’s easy to generate reports with a few clicks of a button. However, most of the organisations we work with in the NFP care sectors don’t have a HRIS. That said, it is easy to create a simple spreadsheet to track this data for reporting purposes. If your organisation engages an outsourced HR Support service, like the one offered by CareCFO, your support should include some basic HR metrics reporting.
If your organisation is not measuring HR metrics, getting started can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. Firstly, keep it simple and start small. There’s no need to start reporting on all aspects of HR all at once. Secondly, consider the purpose for each data point and understand what it is telling you about your workforce. Thirdly, you can edit as you go. If you find over time that a key metric isn’t helpful, remove it from the report. Finally, if you are stuck and need help, reach out to us at CareCFO, we are passionate about supporting Australia’s care sectors.
Rebecca Muscat is the Senior Business Partner for CareCFO and specialises in HR Consulting including Recruitment Consulting.
She is an experienced Human Resources Professional, passionate about working with Not-for-Profit organisations.
To talk about your HR or Recruitment needs, contact Rebecca on info@carecfo.com.au or by calling 1300 07 55 11.