Helping HR to measure up: arming the “soft” function with hard metrics
| Pages | 28-33 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14754390810847531 |
| Published date | 17 December 2007 |
| Date | 17 December 2007 |
| Author | Kate Feather |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
Helping HR to measure up: arming the
‘‘soft’’ function with hard metrics
Kate Feather
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this article is to highlight the more strategic role HR departments can play in
their organizations. By prioritizing the measurement strategy in organizations, HR leaders can
demonstrate to leadership the impact employees have on the business and how an investment in
internal processes and programs can boost engagement – and ultimately business results.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper outlines a four-step process for effective employee
engagement measurement: use behavioral and emotional outcomes; correlate employee engagement
survey results to meaningful outcomes; focus improvement efforts and investments on the high
impact/low performing areas; and re-measure to assess success. A series of de-identified examples
from PeopleMetrics clients illustrate the importance of following each step in the process.
Findings – By measuring employee engagement, tying the results to other HR and business metrics
and using the findings to target improvement efforts, organizations are demonstrating to leadership the
impact employees have on the business and how an investment in internal processesand programs can
boost engagement – and ultimately business results. As more organizations recognize the value of
using rigorous metrics to evaluate and optimize their workforces, the HR function will benefit because it
will be serving a more strategic function than it has traditionally been associated with in the past.
Research limitations/implications – These findings are based on the fieldwork experience of
PeopleMetrics.
Originality/value – The paper provides a very useful perspective for HR managers to consider,
particularly within organizations with extensive measurement systems.
Keywords Employee development, Human resource management,
Human resource management research
Paper type Case study
Introduction
HR professionals looking to overcome the view that HR is a ‘‘soft’’ function for which there are
few hard metrics should focus on employee engagement as a measurement that can be
linked to other HR and business metrics and deliver improved business results. Kate
Feather, a director at PeopleMetrics, outlines the path to effective measurement and
demonstrates the theory in practice in a range of organizations.
Successful businesses function around a set of core metrics supporting the view that what
gets measured gets managed. For a long time metrics such as revenue, costs, profits, units
shipped and defects have been closely monitored, analyzed and researched. During this
time, however, HR was dubbed a ‘‘soft’’ function, with the typical view being that people and
metrics do not mix. While HR has always known the value of its role, the problem has been in
quantifying return on investment for senior management.
Today, there is little doubt in the board room that people make a difference to business
success; they are often labeled the company’s greatest asset. Whether you are a
service-based business that generates revenue through talent that has the ability to create a
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STRATEGIC HR REVIEW
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VOL. 7 NO. 1 2008, pp. 28-33, QEmerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 1475-4398 DOI 10.1108/14754390810847531
Kate Feather is based at
PeopleMetrics,
Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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