5 Key HR Metrics to Track

Solo HR practitioners in small companies often have an abundance of people data that could help their organizations. But they may not know how to make sense of it all.

Experts advise focusing on key metrics that will help the organization achieve its business goals. 

“It is not the best use of time or resources to track certain metrics just for the sake of tracking them or because you see other organizations doing the same,” says Lindsey Garito, SHRM-SCP, former director of human capital management and total rewards at Summit Health, a national health care organization with 13,000 employees based in Rye Brook, N.Y. 

HR metrics are a specific set of figures that measure the performance of an organization’s HR function. Once produced, those metrics can be analyzed and compared against the organization’s historical performance or against the performances of other companies of a similar size and industry. 

Here are five key metrics that every HR professional should track. 

Employee Turnover Rate

Few HR metrics are better than turnover rate at showing whether a company is delivering a positive employee experience. 

Looking at the historical pattern of employee turnover can also be helpful for resource planning, such as budgeting for hiring and training, says Kendra Davis-Roberts, a people insights strategist and founder of KDR Analytics in Philadelphia.

Calculate the rate by dividing the number of employees who departed by the total number of employees over the same time…