Study: Link People Metrics To Corporate Goals

Compiled ByTraci Purdum A recent survey by The Conference Board, a New York-based not-for-profit business consultancy, found that companies are still struggling to mesh people metrics with overall corporate goals. Indeed, only 31% of survey participants say that human resources executives in their companies have a strong understanding of strategic key performance indicators. Even fewer (25%) surveyed consider their HR leaders capable of linking people measures to such indicators and only (16%) believe that HR professionals receive extensive training to connect people measures to strategy. "When determining how best to demonstrate achievement, human resource managers must choose from the hundreds of metrics that are currently available to track every aspect of an HR department's endeavors to recruit, develop and retain employees," says Stephen Gates, principal researcher at The Conference Board and author of the report Measuring More Than Efficiency: The New Role of Human Capital Metrics. "What's imperative for the health of their businesses, however, is that these HR professionals tie these people measures more closely into their efforts to meet their companies' overall strategic targets." However, the study, which queried 104 human resources executives, did find that many surveyed companies are trying to build support for their people metrics efforts, including collaborating with colleagues from finance (54%) and strategy (45%) and employing business managers as champions for people measures (43%).