This document provides guidance on various human resource metrics that can be tracked to help businesses better accomplish their strategic goals. It lists several key metrics related to benefits, compensation, employee relations, finance, hiring and recruitment, HR administration, leaves of absence, training and development. For each metric, it provides the calculation and explains why it is important to track. Tracking these metrics can help businesses evaluate performance, identify issues, and measure progress towards goals.

1. HUMAN RESOURCE METRICS GUIDE
There are a variety of human resources and business focused metrics that can be analyzed or tracked.
Metrics should not be viewed in a vacuum and should be considered with other factors in mind. For
example, a higher than average turnover rate for one company might be an industry standard at
another business. When a business tracks these data points it can better accomplish its key strategic
goals.
The metrics below are generally intended for a non-specific time period. Most of these metrics could
be tracked over a week, month, year or other time period. Some of the metrics will provide more
insight if tracked over an extended time period. Parentheses indicate that the calculation should be
completed before the next operation. Some ratios or metrics will result in a decimal format and can be
multiplied by 100 to get a percentage value. Metrics related to employee count can incorporate only
full-time employees, all employees or employees expressed in values proportional to the percentage of
a workweek worked (e.g. Full Time Equivalent Employees). However different employment laws may
dictate other terms for employee count and employee classifications.
When a business has a problem in a key performance indicator, one of the first steps in addressing it is
to evaluate the impact of the issues or progress towards the goal. Organizations that track and
evaluate metrics like these are more successful in achieving their strategic goals or vision.
Metric Topic How to calculate it Why it is important
Benefits Cost per
employee
Benefits
Cost of all, one type or some
employer provided benefits
divided by the number of
employees
This can show the total value
of various benefits provided
to employees
Benefits
Utilization Rate
Benefits
Number of employees who
report having utilized an
employer offered benefit
divided by the number of
employees offered that
benefit
Knowing the usage of a
benefits can help evaluate
whether the particular
benefit is valuable to
employees
Paid Time Off
Utilization
Benefits
Total Amount of paid leave
used divided by the amount
of paid leave granted during
that period
This ratio tells how much
employees are using the time
off that is offered
Paid Time Off
Liability
Benefits
Total dollar value of all paid
leave accrued by employees
Excess accrued time off banks
can present a significant
liability to an organization

2. Employee Benefits
as a percent of
payroll
Benefits
Value of total benefit costs
made by an employer divided
by total gross payroll
Examines the cost of benefits
as a percentage of the payroll
Individual
Compra-Ratio
Compensation
A e ployee’s ages di ided
by the market rate for their
role
This is a standard metric that
shows how an e ployee’s
wages compare to the
marketplace
Average Compra-
Ratio
Compensation
Sum of all compra-ratios for a
group divided by the number
of individuals
This gives a broader picture
of the organization or a group
of employees pay rates
relative to the overall
marketplace
Pay Range Compensation
Difference between
maximum and minimum pay
rates for a specific role or set
of jobs
The pay range is important as
it needs to be tied to the type
of job, skill level and
compensation strategy
Range Penetration Compensation
(Salary – range minimum)
divided by (range maximum-
range minimum)
The degree to which an
e ployee’s pay rate has
expanded in their current pay
range
Prorating Merit
Increases
Compensation
(Number of months actually
worked divided by the
number of months under the
current increase policy) times
the increase percentage the
person would otherwise be
entitled to receive
Way to calculate an
e ployee’s pay i crease
appropriate to the period of
time the employee worked
Total number of
separations
Employee
Relations
Total number of
terminations, layoffs and
resignations for a specified
time period
This is important mainly
because it is used in other
calculations.
Average number
of employees
Employee
Relations
(Number of employees at
start of period plus number of
employees at end period)
divided by 2
This can also be calculated
over multiple periods
increasing the 2 to the
number of periods included
Turnover Rate
Employee
Relations
Number of separations
divided by the average
number of employees in the
period being analyzed
This is a metric that can be
critical to the success of a
business and one that HR
may have the ability to
greatly influence

3. Employee
Engagement
Employee
Relations
Percentage of employees
who report positively or
highly to employee
engagement surveys or
questionnaires
There are many ways to
calculate this metric with no
established formula
Revenue Per
Employee
Finance
Total Revenue of the
organization divided by the
total number of employees
This can be a measure of
profitability or efficiency of
the organization
Return on
Investment (ROI)
Finance
(The total gain from an
investment minus the cost of
the investment) divided by
the cost of the investment
A high ROI shows the
efficiency of an investment in
the workforce or business
Total Employee
Cost per Hour
Finance
Total cost of all payroll,
benefits and other personal
costs for a time period
divided by the hours worked
in that time period
This gives the business a
better idea of its total
average hourly labor costs
Human Capital ROI Finance
[Company revenue minus
(operations expense minus
{cost of compensation plus
benefit cost})] divided by
(compensation plus benefits
costs)
The return on investment for
workforce costs is a human
resources focused way to
look at profitability
Cost Per Hire
Hiring and
Recruitment
(Add together advertising,
agency fees, employee
referral fees, travel costs
from applicants and staff,
relocation costs, recruiter pay
and benefits) divided by
number of hires
Provides the total cost of a
new hire
Time to fill
Hiring and
Recruitment
Number of days spent to fill
job requisitions divided by
numbered of people hired
This calculates the efficiency,
time periods and productivity
of the co pa y’s recruit e t
process.
Turnover Cost
Hiring and
Recruitment
Total costs of separation plus
the cost per hire plus training
and the cost of vacancy
Provides the total costs from
employee turnover
Yield Ratio
Hiring and
Recruitment
Percentage of job applicants
from a specific source that
proceed to the next stage of
the hiring process
This compares the number of
applicants among different
stages of the hiring process

4. Legal Disclaimer: This document is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal information or advice. This
information and all HR Support Center materials are provided in consultation with federal and state statutes and do not encompass other
regulations that may exist, such as local ordinances. Transmission of documents or information through the HR Support Center does not create
an attorney-client relationship. If you are seeking legal advice, you are encouraged to consult an attorney.
HR to Employee
Ratio
HR
Administration
Number of HR employees or
roles divided by total number
of employees in company
Provides a way to compare
the amount of HR staffing
between organizations
HR Expense Factor
HR
Administration
Total HR expenses divided by
total operating expenses
This supplies where the HR
budget falls in relation to
other operating expenses of
the company
Attendance Rate
Leaves of
absence
Total days actually worked by
employee divided by the total
workdays in that period
A business should understand
its overall attendance picture,
having a baseline average can
help assess employee
attendance
Training hours per
hours worked
Training and
Development
Total number of training
hours divided by the number
of hours worked in that
period
An organization should
understand how much time is
spent on training
Training
Investment Factor
Training and
Development
Total cost of training divided
by total headcount of
employees
This looks at the efficiency of
training in conjunction with
the product output and
functionality
Training ROI
Training and
Development
(Total amount of training
benefit minus total training
costs) divided by training cost
Determines the amount of
financial benefit and
efficiency accrued from a
specific training program
Career Path Ratio
Training and
Development
Total number of promotions
divided by (total promotions
plus total number of
transfers)
This calculates employee
mobility and total of
promotions within the
company juxtaposed with
lateral transfers