First Reference Talks

The standards challenge

Thursday, October 13th, 2011

How do you measure turnover? Most people think they understand turnover. It is a simple and useful concept when it comes to understanding the flow of people through your organization. It is an important marker for determining overall organizational health and likely productivity impacts. If turnover is too high, your business stalls due to constant re-training; if turnover is too low, it can stagnate, leading to mediocre performance.

Tags: employment contract, headcount, HR metrics, HRMS, productivity, resignation, retirement, stagnation, standards, termination, turnover
Posted in HR Analytics, HRMS, Human Resources | Make a Comment »

Absenteeism is on the rise

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

We have just reported our Q2 2011 results. We have gone through the time consuming and detailed process of auditing and are now in the process of letting folks know what happened in Q2 2011 on a range of metrics. One measure that we have been keeping a close eye on is absenteeism. Absenteeism keeps going up and the Q2 results are continuing that trend.

Tags: Absenteeism, absenteeism rate, aging workforce, Analytics, Attendance management programs, Attendance policy, costs of absenteeism, Disability management programs, duty to accommodate, employment opportunities, HR metrics, labour market opportunity, people costs, productivity, Time and attendance, unemployment, voluntary turnover
Posted in Employee Relations, Health and Safety, HR Analytics, HRMS, Human Resources | Make a Comment »

Is three a magic number?

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

The joy of numbers and tracking activity through a consistent and repeatable system is that it gets past the biases of perception and limits of cognition which can skew the decisions we make about people and organizational practices.

Tags: budget, database, HR metrics, limited cognitive capabilities, median labour costs, organizational practices, perception and limits of cognition, tracking activity, turnover costs
Posted in HR Analytics, HRMS, Human Resources | Make a Comment »

Let me compare thee…

Thursday, July 14th, 2011

To achieve the best of both worlds it is important to align your data with common standards that are most likely to provide the opportunity for like with like comparison and like with unlike comparison. This creates the capability to compare in a way that confirms your performance or compare in a way that pushes your performance. As with all data and analytic practices the right thing to do is the one which moves the performance needle for your organization. The more HR can do this AND demonstrate this the better.

Tags: absence, absenteeism rate, benchmarking, Business, Data, data is used to bring value to the HR function, days lost, detailed analysis of data, HR metrics, HR Metrics Service, HR practices, performance, Public and Private Sectors, staff productivity
Posted in Finance and Accounting, HR Analytics, HRMS, Human Resources, Internal Controls, Union Relations | Make a Comment »

Why measure HR?

Thursday, May 12th, 2011

The most frequently used analogy when it comes to measuring HR is that of driving a car without a speedometer: how would you drive if you did not know your speed?

The deeper we look into HR measurement the less satisfying this analogy becomes. The basic premise that you need information to perform well is correct. However, when you have a speedometer and you are going too fast, your actions are obvious – you take your foot of the gas pedal.

This direct link between information and action is not the case for HR.

Tags: Analytics, dashboard, Data, exit interview data, HR Metric Service, HR metrics, HR profession, HR professionals, measurement, measuring HR, turnover, Why measure HR
Posted in HR Analytics, HRMS, Human Resources | 2 Comments »

Automated human resources management – is it time?

Monday, April 25th, 2011

One software industry analyst has been watching the human resources management system market for some time and has discerned some trends. With the economy recovering from recession, organizations are focusing on core HR concerns, such as strategic hiring and productivity. As a result, they’ll invest in technologies that help in these areas, particularly if they “offer an immediate return on investment or meet some compelling management or regulatory need”.

Tags: HR metrics, HR technology, HRIS, HRMS, human resources management, human resources management system, market trends, productivity, record keeping, software, strategy
Posted in HR Analytics, HRMS, Human Resources, Internal Controls | Make a Comment »

Does your company use a human resources management system?

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

Human resources management systems (also known as human resources information systems) exist “at the intersection between human resource management and information technology.” Usually, this means taking previously disparate HR information and automatically integrating it in such a way that users can gain a clearer picture of what is happening in the company—in a more efficient way than if HR had to gather all of the information from its various sources, and analyze it manually.

This diverse information includes payroll, work hours and overtime, benefits administration, recruiting and development, training and learning, performance records and more. You’ve probably already automated one or more of these services, either internally or via an external service provider; companies commonly outsource payroll and benefits functions, for example. But even so, can you imagine what you could do if all of those functions were integrated and all of that information could be compared with little effort? That’s the promise of human resources management systems.

Read the whole story on HRinfodesk.com.

Tags: automation, business intelligence, HR metrics, HRIS, HRMS, Human Resources Information System, human resources management, human resources management system, information management, information technology, IT, IT controls, record keeping, tracking employee absences
Posted in HR Analytics, HRMS, Human Resources, Internal Controls | Make a Comment »