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It’s clear that HR metrics are essential.
In a recent survey of 500 business leaders, over 80% said they could not have operated effectively during the pandemic without HR technology, including data analytics.
But, what are HR metrics, exactly? And how can you track progress in these areas?
When it comes to strategic HR, some examples of foundational HR metrics are more useful than others.
So keep reading for the top 100 HR metrics anyone interested in people analytics should know. You’ll even find our ➗ recommended formulas ➗ and suggested strategies for connecting some of these HR metrics back to bottom-line business goals.
Workforce HR metrics give insight into your entire workforce, including full time employees, part time employees, and contract workers. These metrics are essential for developing a workforce plan that will contribute to your organization’s short and long-term goals.
1. Headcount: Describes the number of employees at an organization. It can be broken down into ‘’initial headcount’’ and ‘’final headcount’’.
As an HR metric, headcount can also be filtered by demographic info like gender, location, etc., to get granular details about your employees. This can be a useful way to examine who leaves the company, when they leave, and garner insights based on these trends.
2. Headcount growth: The percentage increase of employees at an organization during a particular time period.
4. FTE growth: The percentage increase of full time employees at an organization during a particular time period.
5. Average age: Calculated based on the date of birth, the age metric describes the age of an employee or a group of employees. You can also break age out into Maximum, Median, and Minimum ages.
6. Aged 60+ %: This metric describes the number of people aged 60 years and older as a percentage. It can be used as an indicator of workforce aging.
➗ Formula:
7. Average Years in Position: The years an employee has been in the position based on the date in position provided.
8. Average Years in Service (= Tenure): The years in service of an employee based on the date in service provided.
9. % Full-Time Employees: The percentage of your headcount who are full-time employees (FTEs)
10. % Part-Time Employees: The percentage of your headcount who are part-time employees.
11. % Contingent Workers: The percentage of your headcount who are contingent workers.
These metrics help you evaluate recruitment, hiring, and onboarding practices.
Keep in mind that there are numerous ways to evaluate talent acquisition efforts; however, the metrics below are essential to getting a baseline and performing any advanced analysis in the future.
12. Number of Hires: This one is pretty self-explanatory. It’s the number of people your organization hired for a particular time period.
13. Hire Rate: The number of hires as a percentage of the average headcount over the same time period.
14. Failed Hires: The number of hires that left the organization within 12 months after hiring. Failed hires are reported in the month of hiring.
While this metric doesn’t explain why hires leave, it is a useful indicator of how effective recruitment and onboarding strategies are. The higher the number, the more likely it is that something needs to be improved because failed hires are costly to the business.
15. Hire Fail Rate: The number of hires that left the organization within 12 months after hiring as a percentage of all hires over the same time period. (Note: hires within your selected last month can become a Failed Hire 12 months after this month, therefore the metric can still change over time.)
16. Time to hire: The time in days between the candidate’s application date and the offer accepted date.
17. Time to fill: The time to fill gives the time in days between opening the requisition and the offer accepted date.
18. Time to Start: The time to start is the number of days between opening the requisition and the new hire’s starting date.
19. Recruitment costs: Refers to the expenses or costs associated with recruiting qualified candidates for a job opening.
20. Hiring costs: Similar to recruitment costs, hiring costs refer to the total resources used to recruit, hire, onboard, and train a new employee. The total cost of hiring a new employee could also include expenses such as office supplies, referral costs, relocation budget, welcome packages, and more. Another metric to factor in here could be the cost of getting a new employee up to speed, also known as time to productivity.
21. Cost per Hire (CPH): The average amount spent on new hires over a particular period of time.
22. Source channel cost: A fairly straightforward metric that helps you determine which channels perform best in terms of sourcing new hires. To determine your source channel cost, simply add up the total you spent on particular candidate sourcing channel. You can then layer over total recruitment costs, cost per hire, time to fill, and other metrics to determine the overall impact of that channel.
23. Average hire pay: The average salary or mean wage for new employees hired in a particular time period.
24. Average hire age: The average age of new hires in a particular time period.
25. # of vacancies: The total number of open positions for a given time period. Comparing the number of open jobs to the total number of positions during a particular time period can help you gauge the success of your recruitment efforts.
26. Vacancy fill rate: The percentage of vacancies that are filled by candidates in a particular time period. The vacancy fill rate metric can be calculated by dividing the number of jobs filled by the number of vacancies in a particular time period and then multiplying the result by 100.
27. Number of leavers: This is a metric referring to the number of employees who left the organization during a given time period. The number of leavers includes employees who left both voluntarily and those who were terminated.
28. Overall turnover rate (monthly, annually, rolling 12-month turnover, annualized turnover, etc.): The Turnover metric describes the number of employees that left the organization as a percentage. There are quite a few ways to calculate turnover. The most typical method is to divide the number of leavers by the average number of employees in a particular time period.
An example of calculating multiple months looks like this:
Turnover for these two months is then calculated as (20+10) / (90+85)/2 = 17.1% 29. Voluntary turnover rate: The number of employees who left the company voluntarily for a particular period, represented as a percentage.30. Involuntary turnover rate: The number of employees who left the organization because the employer decided to let them go.31. Retention rate: A statistical measurement representing the % of people who remain at a company over a particular time period.
This is an indicator of workforce stability over time. It can also be used to gauge the effectiveness of engagement and retention strategies , such as perks, benefits, employee development, and diversity and inclusion initiatives in a time period being measured. As such, it can be one metric used to decide which strategies are worth investing in and not. Some companies get more granular with this HR metric, looking just at retention rates among high-potentials or other specific groups.
32. Stability Index or the People Stability Index: The percentage of employees who have spent more than one year of service at the organization. An indicator of employee stability. An index below 75% might suggest that you are losing valuable experience, while an index above 85% might indicate the need for new talent in your company. In today’s market, an ideal index lies between these extremities.
33. Average tenure at exit: The average number of years of service of employees who voluntarily or involuntarily left the company over the course of a given time period.
34. % regrettable loss: A subset of turnover that highlights the loss of an employee or employees who had a significant impact on the organization.
35. Cost to replace employees: The average cost to replace an employee over a particular time period. Most industry analysts assume the cost to replace an employee ranges anywhere from 50 – 60% of their annual salary. However, Josh Bersin estimates the total cost of losing an employee can be up to 1.5-2X their annual salary. A modest calculation of the cost to replace employees should factor in the total combined cost of hiring, onboarding, time to fill, and training.
36. Cost of turnover: Arguably, one of the most important HR metrics for any business to establish and track is the cost of turnover. This one is pretty self-explanatory; it’s the annual cost of replacing leavers for the business.
It cannot be understated that the last two metrics we mentioned are essential HR metrics that most businesses wildly underestimate. By understanding the cost of replacing an employee and the cost of turnover, you could be saving your company thousands, if not millions, of dollars.
37. Retention (Flight) Risk Score: A predictive metric that indicates how likely an employee is to leave. There are several factors to consider when calculating a flight risk score including engagement, performance ratings, absenteeism, and pay.
38. Impact of Loss Score: A rating that indicates to what extend your organization will be impacted when a specific employee leaves the organization.
39. Number of Promotions: The number of employees that have made an upward movement into the selected workforce segment.
40. Promotion Rate: The number of employees that have made an upward movement into the selected workforce segment as a percentage of all employees in the segment.
41. Time to Promotion: the average time to an upward movement for all employees that got promoted. The Time to Promotion for an individual employee is equal to the time in position at the moment of this move.
42. Lateral Moves: The number of employees that have made a horizontal movement into the selected workforce segment.
43. Lateral Move Rate: Thenumber of employees that have made a horizontal movement into the selected workforce segment as a percentage of all employees in the segment.
44. Time to lateral move: The average time in years to a horizontal movement for all employees that made a lateral move.
45. Demotions: The number of employees that have made a downward movement into the selected workforce segments.
46. Demotions Rate The number of employees who have been demoted to the selected workforce segment as a percentage of all employees in the segment.
47. Time to Demotion: This describes the average time in years to a downward movement for all employees who were demoted. The Time to Demotion for an individual employee is equal to the time in position at the time of the move.
48. Build rate: Describes the number of positions that have been filled internally as a percentage.
49. Buy Rate: Describes the number of positions that have been filled with external hires as a percentage. Additionally, you can look at the Build v. Buy rate as a ratio to compare how many hires were made internally vs. externally in a given time period.
50. % High Performers: The number of employees with a high-performance score as a percentage of all employees with a performance score.
51. % Low Performers: The number of employees with a low-potential score as a percentage of all employees with a potential score.
52. % High Potentials: The number of employees with a high-potential score as a percentage of all employees with a potential score.
53. % Talent: The number of employees identified as talent as a percentage.
Measuring Learning and Development (L&D) metrics is essential for building organizations where employees can thrive. Get started with these critical metrics.
54. Learning completion rate: The number of trainings or courses completed in a given time frame represented as a percentage.
55. Total training hours: The number of hours of training completed in a given time period multiplied by the number of employees. For example, if 20 employees complete 15 hours of training per person in a given time period, then the total training hours is 300 (20×15).
56. Total training cost: The total amount spent on all training and learning, and development initiatives for an organization.
57. Cost per employee for training: This metric divides the total training cost by the number of employees
58. Time to productivity (also known as average onboarding time): This metric varies depending on the business and each individual role. In a nutshell, it indicates the average time it takes for a new employee to be fully ramped up in their roles.
Short time to productivity can indicate a successful onboarding plan and effective training programs.
59. Skill gap percentage: The number of skills an employer expects their employees to have versus the skills they actually have, represented as a percentage.
60. Reporting Layers: The number of layers in your organization. The CEO is always reporting level 1. Reporting layers provide insights into your organization’s layers.
61. % managers: the number of managers as a percentage. A manager is an employee with at least one direct report.
62. Direct Span of Control: The number of direct reports for managers.
63. Indirect Span of Control: The number of employees in a manager’s total reporting span. Indirect span includes the number of workers in a reporting span who are not direct reports.
64. Total Base Pay: The total amount of compensation provided. This metric is a holistic measurement of the value an employee receives from their employer including base salary, bonus, benefits packages, and other perks.
65. Total Bonus: The total amount of extra money paid to an employee on top of their regular earnings. Typically, you would calculate total bonus by multiplying the bonus percentage by the amount earned during the pre-determined time period.
66. Total Fully Loaded Labor Cost: This represents the total cost a company pays its employees, including base pay, bonuses, benefits, and overhead costs such as building costs, equipment, and taxes.
67. Average Base Pay (full-time): describes the employee Base Pay divided by the part-time percentage and gives the base pay based on a full-time work week.
68. Average Base Pay (part-time): The actual employee’s Base Pay, based on their number of working hours. Commonly, this is the base pay (full-time) multiplied by the part-time percentage.
69. Target Bonus: An incentive goal (or target) set by the company.
70. Actual Bonus: The actual payout bonus an employee received in a particular time period. Depending on company and/or employee performance, this could be more or less than the target bonus.
71. % Bonus Achieved: The actual bonus percentage an employee earned for a given time period.
72. Fully loaded cost per employee: The total cost a company pays each employee inclusive of base pay, bonus, benefits and overhead costs such as building costs, equipment, and taxes.
73. Relative Salary Position: An HR metric that refers to the comparison of an employee’s salary to a particular reference point. Such reference points can include the market rate, midpoint salary grade, or an internal benchmark as defined by the organization.
RSP is used to guide company compensation decisions. In a labor shortage, for instance, employers may have to pay new hires above the midpoint and then consider raising the salaries of existing employees, thus avoiding higher turnover.
74. Compa Ratio: One of the main compensation metrics, compa ratio measures the distance between the midpoint of the salary range and the employee’s current salary. A compa ratio of 1.0 means that the employee is being paid exactly at the midpoint.
Again, this is the most common HR metric for examining an employee’s salary placement within a range (or pay band). It provides a salary benchmark to measure whether employees within the same job family are being paid equitably.
75. Time to Salary Raise: The amount of time it takes an employee to receive a salary bump.
By measuring diversity and inclusion metrics, organizations can gain insights into their cultural dynamics and make informed decisions to foster an inclusive environment. These metrics help track progress, identify areas for improvement, and align DEI initiatives with business goals.
76. # Diverse Employees: The total number of employees in a diverse subgroup within the company. These subgroups could include gender, ethnicity, age, education, disability status, and more.
77. % Diverse Workforce: The percentage of employees out of the total number of employees at a particular organization.
78. % Diverse Managers: Similar to the above, this metric measures the percentage of managers out of the total number of managers at an organization who identify as part of a diverse subgroup within the company.
79. % Diverse Leadership Team: The percentage of the leadership team who identify as part of a diverse subgroup within the company.
80. % Diverse Promotions: The number of diverse individuals at a company who were promoted during a particular time period, represented as a percentage of the total number of promotions.
81. % Diverse Hires: The number of diverse individuals at a company who were hired during a particular time period, represented as a percentage of the total number of new hires.
82. % Diverse Turnover: The number of diverse individuals who left the company during a particular time period, represented as a percentage of the total number of leavers.
83. Inclusion Index: Coined by Gartner in 2021, this complex metric uses statements related to seven key components of inclusion combined with employee sentiment to gauge the level of inclusion employees feel at your organization.
84. Inclusion Net Promotor Score (iNPS): A less labor-intensive metric compared to the inclusion index, the iNPS is a one-item barometer based on established Net Promotor Score surveys. This easy-to-implement survey asks employees, ‘’How likely are you to recommend our organization to a friend or colleague from an underrepresented group as an inclusive place to work?’’ The iNPS shifts the perspective from individual perception towards taking a bird’s eye view 85. Pay Gap Across Diverse Groups: The difference in average salaries between various demographic groups within an organization. This metric is used to identify disparities in compensation based on factors such as gender, race/ethnicity, age, disability status, sexual orientation, and other relevant diversity dimensions. The goal is to ensure equitable pay practices and to address any identified gaps, promoting fairness and inclusivity in the workplace.
🎥Watch: How to Define and Measure Inclusion at Work
Absenteeism costs money – not just in terms of lost productivity but also in terms of the longer-term impact on company culture. That’s why it is essential to track. Ideally, your absenteeism rate should be zero, but a certain amount is normal. The U.S. average across all industries, for example, is 3%. A high or rising level of absenteeism is a red flag requiring action. It can signal high levels of stress, toxic management, and low employee engagement, among other issues.86. Absence Rate: This metric measures the severity of unplanned absences in a given time period. It is calculated by dividing the number of absences by the number of available workdays and multiplying by 100. Absence rate can be calculated for individuals as well as teams and entire organizations.87. Absence Cost: Direct costs of employee absences. This metric is calculated by multiplying the average revenue per employee by the average number of sick days (as a percentage). Then, you’ll multiply the average salary for the team, organization, or salary grade by the average number of sick days (represented as a percentage). Finally, add these two totals together.88. Absence Frequency: This metric measures the pattern of absences. You calculate the absence frequency rate by dividing the total number of periods of absences by the total number of employees and multiplying by 100.89. Absence Duration: the number of days an employee was absent. Depending on how your organization tracks this internally, this can be in either calendar or working days. 90. Bradford Factor: This metric is designed to put a number behind the disruptive potential of ‘one-off’ absences when taken together. The Bradford Factor calculation: S² × D where: S is the total number of spells (instances) of absence of an individual over a set periodD is the total number of days of absence of that individual over the same set period[3]The ‘set period’ is typically set as a rolling 52-week period.
91. Coverage Ratio: Refers to the proportion of key positions within an organization that have identified successors. This metric helps determine how prepared the organization is for future changes in leadership or critical roles.
Tracking coverage ratio can help with succession planning and highlight the effectiveness of talent development and succession planning.92. Listed Successors: The individuals identified as potential replacements for key positions within an organization. This metric indicates the organization’s readiness to fill vacancies and can help you maintain continuity in leadership and critical roles.
To calculate listed successors, simply count the total number of individuals identified as successors for all key positions.
93. Listed Successors Per Positition: This metric measures the average number of successors identified for each key position within an organization. It provides insight into how well each position is covered by potential successors.94. Available Successors per Position: Measures the number of successors who are not only listed but also ready and available to take on a position immediately or within a short timeframe. This metric can help with organizational adaptability. It highlights areas where additional training or development is needed to ensure readiness.
96. Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS): A score based on a survey asking employees how employees would recommend your company as a good place to work on a scale of 1-10.
Taking this one-question survey quarterly gives you insight into the level of employee satisfaction across a particular set of employees or the entire organization. A lower score (or a dropping score over time) indicates that your company may face problems with employee retention, productivity, and company culture.
97. Employee engagement participation rate: Measures the percentage of employees who participate in engagement initiatives, such as surveys, workshops, or other events aimed at assessing and improving employee engagement within an organization. A high participation rate indicates that employees are willing to provide feedback and are interested in the company culture.
98. Average Expenses: The average amount of money spent by the organization on specific categories such as employee benefits, training, or other operational costs per employee or per department over a specific period.99. Average Overtime: The average number of overtime hours worked by employees over a specific period. This metric helps assess workload distribution and employee work-life balance.100. Average Revenue per Employee: The amount of revenue generated by the organization per employee over a specific period. It is a key indicator of productivity and efficiency. This is also a critical metric to look at when benchmarking, so you can see how your organization performance against competitors and industry standards.
As organizations navigate the complexities of workforce management, the value of mastering HR metrics cannot be overstated. This article provides HR, people leaders, HRIT, and others interested in the best HR metrics with a comprehensive overview of the top 100 metrics that are essential to businesses today.
From headcount analysis to employee engagement metrics, each metric plays a crucial role in understanding and optimizing workforce dynamics.
To deepen your understanding and effectively implement these insights, we invite you to download the guide to the Top 21 HR Metrics today. Ready to see how this all plays out in our easy-to-use people analytics tool? Click here to speak with a Crunchr representative!
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