As a direct indicator of staff engagement and performance, measuring HR data is fundamental to business success, particularly against the backdrop of the ongoing “great resignation”. Alongside this, good quality data will also reinforce HR’s strategic position within their organisation and allow them to demonstrate clearly the value they are adding to business performance.

Absence management data (86.8%), staff turnover data (84.7%), exit interview feedback (83.9%) and results of staff surveys (79.8%), emerged as the most commonly captured measurements by HR teams.

The three least commonly collected metrics were ‘time to fill vacancies data’ (36%), ‘cost per hire data’ (32.20%), and ‘time to competence data’ (9.10%). These metrics are fundamental to an effective recruitment and retention strategy -  more important than ever in the war for talent.

The research found that on average, HR departments spend just 4.1% of their time collecting and analysing data, and 20% of their time on administration – both of these stats will be a cause of much frustration among HR who would prefer to spend more of their time on data that can have a positive impact on the business and far less on administration.

Predictably, the most common barrier to measuring or analysing data is simply a lack of time. The same research showed that unsurprisingly, seven percent of overall HR time is spent on their business’ response to the pandemic – although this has decreased from an average of 13.5% of time. 

XpertHR also found that 60% of organisations do not currently benchmark their HR data against other organisations. Benchmarking allows businesses to measure performance across competitors and sectors and ensure that factors like pay are in line with the rest of the market. The data allows organisations to identify which areas of the business need examination, reallocation of resources, or improvement.

Noelle Murphy, senior HR practice editor at XpertHR, commented: “Collecting and benchmarking against other organisations is vital in creating a better overall employee experience. At a time when there is more pressure than ever to build better, more attractive propositions for current and potential employees, it’s a stark reminder that more companies need to be collecting and leveraging these insights.

“There is a huge opportunity for HR to harness data around the employee experience that feeds directly into the recruitment and retention process – such as time and cost to hire and time to competence – to ensure the challenge of the great resignation can be met head on and employers can position themselves as employers of choice.  Understanding how your business ranks against competitors through data, amidst this period of intense disruption, will not only help retain staff, but also map out the future direction of your organisation.”