Use these HR KPI examples to measure if your HR goals!

Make the success of HR and your organisation visible with the HR KPI examples below

In one of our other blogs, we already mentioned how important it is to to work in a data-driven way as an HR professional. This applies to every department and organisation, but certainly to HR. Not only because automation can make life so much easier. The right data also provides important input for your HR strategy, underpins the added value of the HR department and shows which buttons you can turn to improve business operations.

Of course, you can make haphazard use of what the various systems deliver. However, it makes more sense to invest a little more time and deliberately formulate HR KPIs (Quality and Performance Indicators) and make sure they are easy to remove from the systems. That investment pays off twice over and over again.

What makes it HR KPIs so interesting? First of all, these are metrics a good point of reference; based on the KPIs, you can measure how you are doing to achieve your HR goals. Is everything going according to plan, or does it need to be stepped up to achieve your targets?

Second, the KPIs show how effective and stable your workforce is. You can tell whether there is sufficient talent, knowledge and skills in-house, or whether the recruiter needs to work hard to bring the workforce back in order qualitatively and quantitatively. And, perhaps more importantly, how to ensure that your valued strengths also stay in the house.

There are all kinds metrics that you could use to HR strategy to help shape. We'd love to share our favorite HR KPIs with you!

5 HR KPI examples for HR professionals

1. Return on investment (ROI) from HR

It may sound a bit businesslike for a usually warm department like HR, but it is very interesting to see what the euros invested in HR have actually yielded. The ROI indicates the added value of your provider bow, the quality of your HR department and strategic policy. What should you think about then?

• What is the cost per hire? In other words: how much has been invested in recruiting, selecting and onboarding new employees? You can see this quite broadly: from advertising costs to travel allowances, social media, but also the internal hours spent on it.
• How often did the invested recruitment costs actually result in the right match? And we don't just mean a talented applicant lured into an interview. The right match is especially the employee who passes the probationary period with flying colors to remain productive in the organisation for a long time to come.
• What did the courses and courses offered provide? Do the costs outweigh the profit achieved? Are there demonstrably better qualified staff, and have there been more promotions, for example? Has there been a wider range of products or services or a stronger competitive position in the market?
• What has been invested in working conditions, interventions and training courses? And has it indeed led to lower absenteeism, fewer incidents or more sustainable employability of employees?

2. How happy are the (former) employees?

Let's be honest: after all, the employee is the customer of every HR department. So the results of an employee satisfaction survey should not be missing in your HR-metrics. There are several indicators you could use:

• The employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) - it shows the employees' enthusiasm about the organisation, and how much they recommend the company as an employer. This is an important indicator of the employee experience. The employee scores his employer on a scale of 0 to 10. The results fall into three categories: promoter (score 9-10), the passive (score 7-8) and the detractor (score 0-6). The difference in percentages between promoters and detractors is the eNPS. By zooming in on the background of the given score, important input can be obtained for developing HR policies. In 2021, the average ENPS score was +12, with top employers scoring between 50 and 70.
  
  
• Employee Satisfaction - this measurement is fairly common among most companies. This usually involves initiatives from the organisation, such as salary and facilities offered, working conditions and the functioning of the Works Council.
  
  
• Happiness at work - here things are measured that exceed the facets of employee satisfaction. Think of meaning, pride, experienced appreciation, autonomy, growth, inclusion, cooperation with colleagues and the relationship with the manager. The happiness questions are based on active engagement and shared responsibility.
  
  
• Review scores - As an employer, you have little direct influence on this score, because they are on external websites. Nevertheless, this category is quite important, because it influences the influx of new employees. Many potential applicants first check how the intended employer scores on review sites such as Indeed or Jobsome. The experiences of (former) employees are extensively exhibited there. What about the company culture, work-life balance and growth opportunities? As an HR department, keep an eye on these kinds of scores as well; it provides a nice insight into the experiences of your employees and thus tools for your personnel policy.

3. Absenteeism

Absenteeism has an enormous impact on operating results. If absenteeism is high, you will immediately notice this in productivity and costs. A lot of absenteeism means that work is left behind and processes are ramping up. In addition, high absenteeism reduces the working atmosphere enormously. Colleagues become overburdened and annoyed, happiness at work and employee satisfaction go down. Then we haven't even talked about the absent employee, who would probably have preferred to work too.

So keep a close eye on the absenteeism rate. Make sure you always check the values below:

• The default absenteeism rate - the number of absenteeism days divided by FTE times calendar days
• The frequency of absenteeism - how many times does someone call in sick in a year?
• The duration of absenteeism - is there short, medium or long absenteeism?
• The absenteeism costs per day

The absenteeism costs per day are often alarmingly high and are sure to ring alarm bells for managers and the employees themselves.

Also zoom in on the background of the absenteeism reports. In the context of privacy, an Occupational Health Service may of course not share personal medical information, but an anonymised report containing the reasons for absenteeism can be an eye opener. If you have the trends in mind, don't hesitate to take (preventive) measures.

4. Gradient

Low turnover ensures the stability of an organisation. You don't have to recruit and onboard new people over and over again. Employees who leave voluntarily often bring a lot of knowledge and experience with them. That is why turnover is also an important KPI to keep an eye on.

On average, how long does an employee work at the organisation? What is the reason for leaving? What is the average age of the outgoing colleagues? This type of information can give you an incredible amount of input for your HR policy. For example, is there a reason to deepen onboarding or adjust employment conditions? Should more attention be paid to training and internal growth opportunities? Work for you offboarding. After receiving the letter of resignation, send an exit survey to the departing employee, supplement it with a personal interview if you wish.

Forced leavers also provide interesting information if you look beyond the numbers. How did the process go and what was the background of the dismissal? Could the dysfunction or conflict have been prevented, and if so, how?

5. Competences and Skills

Do you know exactly what competencies and skills are present in the organisation? By making smart use of a Learning Management System keep a close eye on the pulse when it comes to the level of knowledge within your organisation. And if a vacancy occurs, it is much easier for you to get the idea of that internal candidate. When assessing training needs, look beyond internal data: also compare internal data with market trends and developments. Then you stay just that step ahead of the competition!

If you notice that knowledge is missing in specific areas, provide new modules in the system that you promote to employees in a positive way. An easy registration process is important and prevents people from dropping out before they even start. And of course, you make the training sessions attractive and light.

Better ten great knowledge snacks than one tedious module that you can't keep your attention on!

Need help measuring your HR goals?

When it comes to dealing smartly with data or easily sharing information, Pluvo is the place to be. We are happy to think along with you about identifying the right one KPIs and the actions to take. So don't hesitate to contact us!