Ultimate Performance: Measuring Human Resources at Work

Development and Retention Metrics: Getting Started

Assessing retention and development (how do you do it, how much do you assess, where do you begin, how much of the organization do you include, and so on) can be particularly difficult. The questions are endless and the temptation arises to make a declaration that development, of course, is good for people, so it must be good for the organization. However tempting and rational this argument may seem, HR simply must have more accountability today. And, while the idea that development is “good for people” is not enough, the process of assessment cannot be so overwhelming that it often gets pushed aside.

As the preceding discussion illustrates, a variety of metrics are being offered today. As we set out to review existing metrics and draft a useful set of new metrics, we used these key criteria:

• Parsimonious: Limiting the number of key criteria instead of using a lengthy scorecard.

• Usable by all companies: While we endorse creating company-specific metrics and scorecards, for the purposes of this book, the metrics should be applicable to all companies.

• Provide leading and lag indicators: Leading indicators predict future performance while lag indicators report on past performance. Leading indicators are especially important because they provide management with early warning signs of future problems.

• Balance new data with existing data: While it’s easy to create metrics that require entirely new information systems, it’s not practical. ...