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. 

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.

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.

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.

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.