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<p>On the upside, seven percent more companies are paying attention to HR metrics this year than last year - a good sign since as the adage goes, "You can´t manage what you don´t measure." However, our survey panel of senior business executives also tells us that HR and labor-related metrics aren´t a top priority and lag behind other business metrics such as the rankings of how well vendors perform. That may be a function of our respondents lacking an understanding of which department within their organizations is responsible for creating HR metrics and linking them to key business objectives enterprise-wide. </p>
<p><img src="/portals/hrcom/story_images/Articles_2006/veri_apr_3_1.jpg"></p>
<p>An outgrowth of the development of strategic HR is the measurement of HR´s effect on the bottom line. In the past year, there´s been a slight increase in the number of companies that examine the link between HR and overall business performance.</p>
<p><img src="/portals/hrcom/story_images/Articles_2006/veri_apr_3_2.jpg"></p>
<p>While more firms are quantifying HR´s value to the business (see above), HR and other labor-related metrics don´t get nearly as much attention as sales figures or even the performance ratings of vendors, some of which may provide HR services.</p>
<p><img src="/portals/hrcom/story_images/Articles_2006/veri_apr_3_3.jpg"></p>
<p>Most companies that track HR-related metrics do so on a quarterly or monthly basis. Only 19 percent watch their numbers more frequently - and thereby benefit from early indications of troubling trends that need attention sooner rather than later.</p>
<p><img src="/portals/hrcom/story_images/Articles_2006/veri_apr_3_4.jpg"></p>
<p>There´s no one department charged with ownership of keeping track of labor-related metrics. While 15 percent of our respondents say they just don´t know whose job it is, the rest of our panel selected more than one choice. That multiple selection reveals either shared responsibility or confusion - and an opportunity for a strategic HR initiative.</p>
