Over the last year, the consortium's members have been focusing their efforts on defining standardized metrics in the recruitment and staffing arena.
ith
Jac Fitz-enz leading the charge, there is now widespread acceptance that human
resources activities have economic value and, consequently, can and should be
measured. In practice, however, the lack of uniform metrics has made it
difficult for companies to put effective measurement systems in place.
To address this lack of standardization, the Human Capital
Metrics Consortium was established last year. The group is an independent
nonprofit membership organization composed of human-capital specialists,
academics, researchers and industry associations. Members also include companies
such as Exult, Manpower, PeopleSoft, State Farm, Eli Lilly and Starbucks.
Over the last year, the consortium’s members have been
focusing their efforts on defining standardized metrics in the recruitment and
staffing arena. Heather Hartmann, executive director, says that volunteer
committees have been working to define metrics for new-hire quality, customer
satisfaction, time to fill and recruiting efficiencies. "These committees are
discussing what they think the standard definition of the metric ought to be,"
Hartmann says. "For recruiting efficiency, for example, they are working to
determine such things as the formula that should be used to calculate recruiting
efficiency, who the customer is and how companies determine recruiting outcomes.
We are specifically focused on outcome metrics--what the C-level folks are
interested in. We’re not focused on process metrics."
Once the committees create a working definition of a
metric, that definition will be published on the consortium’s Web site for
public comment. "We will then take public comments and tweak the metric if
needed," Hartmann says. "Once that is done, the committee and members vote to
accept the metric."
What this means is that if a human resources executive is
just starting to measure the effectiveness of his company’s human-capital
practices, the consortium’s standards will help him understand exactly what
needs to be measured and how. And if an executive has been gathering outcome
data for a while, the consortium’s benchmark survey also can help her measure
her outcomes against those of other organizations in a more accurate
apples-to-apples comparison. "Our data will give companies something reliable to
benchmark against," Hartmann says.
Other activities planned by the consortium include
developing a metrics dictionary, standardizing traditional human resources
measurements, developing outcome metrics from an outsourcing perspective and
certifying organizations that are using standardized metrics.
How fast the consortium accomplishes these goals will
depend on how quickly the membership grows. "Human resources executives who want
to change the world in which they work are invited to get involved," Hartmann
says. To learn more about the consortium and how to participate, visit its Web
site at www.hcmetrics.org.
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