As the CHRO forms and determines the shape of an organization’s workforce strategy, there are various key metrics to be watched over so that informed decisions can be taken and business success will follow. While being able to track these metrics, the CHRO can ensure HR practices are all focused on organizational goals, improve employee engagement, and contribute toward long-term growth. Here are some of the key metrics every CHRO needs to keep an eye on:
- Employee Engagement and Satisfaction
Why It Matters: Employee engagement has always been seen as an essential measure of organizational health. Analyses of this research show that the following attitudes of employees are improved in the case of engaged employees: productivity, commitment, and turnover. Another way is to assess engagement as frequently as possible by surveys or feedback mechanisms that show how connected employees are to the work and the organization’s mission.
Key Metrics: Engagement scores, satisfaction ratings, pulse survey results. Looking out for job satisfaction, leadership effectiveness, and alignment with company values is highly relevant.
- Turnover and Retention Rates
Why It Matters: A high turnover rate usually leads to increased recruitment and training costs besides loss of productivity. Retention metrics give the CHRO an understanding of employee loyalty and retention strategy effectiveness.
Key Metrics: Voluntary and involuntary turnover rates, the retention rate of key talent or high performers, average tenure, and understanding the reasons for turnover through exit interviews.
- Talent Acquisition and Recruitment Metrics
Why It Matters: Talent acquisition is critical if an organization is to have a healthy pipeline of employee talent. Evaluation of the supply and demand of people and the processes involved ensures that the organization acquires the best employees.
Key Metrics: Time to hire, the cost per hire, hire quality and the offer acceptance rate. Further, measurement of the rate of diversity may be also relevant as the rates of diversity hiring are key for ensuring that everyone has a fair opportunity to get a job.
- Learning and Development (L&D) Effectiveness
Why It Matters: Ongoing learning is critical to the development and long-term success of employees. A CHRO should track metrics that indicate the effectiveness of learning and how the programs are being utilized to support individual and organizational performance.
Key Metrics: Training completion rates, participation in development programs, and employee feedback on L&D programs. In addition, how learning affects performance (e.g., acquired skills, promotion levels) will also be essential in measuring.
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Metrics
Why It Matters: Following the rhetoric, sustaining diversity and inclusion in the workplace is crucial for managing innovation, satisfaction, and turnover. DEI metrics are necessary so that the company will have a diverse and inclusive workforce and begin to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion at all organizational levels.
Key Metrics: Include measurements on diverse groups recruited to different departments and leadership positions; the gender pay gap analysis; and employee perception through a survey or focus group.
- Absenteeism and Health Metrics
Why It Matters: Frequent absenteeism often is an indication of problems related to employee well-being, job dissatisfaction, or burnout. This keeps the CHRO informed of possible issues so that proactive measures can be initiated toward ensuring health and well-being at work.
Key Metrics: Rate of absence, number of sick leaves, and average number of days off per employee. Participation in other wellness programs or EAP can also be monitored to gauge trends relating to employee health.
- Succession Planning and Internal Mobility
Why It Matters: A good succession plan will ensure an organization is ready for leadership transitions and promotes internal mobility, instead of relying on external hires for key jobs.
Percentage of key leadership positions internally filled, number of high potential candidates identified, and percentage of leadership development programs with successful placement. Understanding the flow of movement of employees within the company can help a business grasp the success or failure of its talent mobility initiatives.
Conclusion
In general, for a CHRO, the right metrics are a very important tool to foster a productive, engaged, and sustainable workforce. Observing employee engagement, turnover, effectiveness in recruitment, learning and development outcomes, DEI progress, absenteeism, and succession planning, CHROs become better equipped to detect weaknesses, drive connected HR strategies with business goals, and consequently contribute to successful long-term periods for their organizations. These metrics are not only indicative of the current state of the workforce but also act as a compass for reshaping the future of the organization’s human capital strategy.
