C-suite executives reveal the top HR metrics they need

New research from Sage outlines the metrics that corporate leaders want - but often are not getting from their HR teams

What are the top HR metrics business leaders want? What are the vital data points they need? How are they using people analytics to drive business decision-making today?

During the past 12 months at Sage, we’ve been listening to both HR leaders and c-suite executives to understand what they think about HR’s leadership and how HR and people leaders can increase business impact and value in organisations today.  

Delivering impact through HR insights

The feedback has been fascinating. We discovered that HR leaders are in prime position to play a greater leadership role in their organisations than ever before, if they can harness the power of people analytics to create bigger business impact.

However, despite an abundance of people data and a growing demand for HR tech, there seems to be a shortfall in the number of HR leaders turning this data potential into real world impact to drive business decision-making in organisations today. We also found a discrepancy between the amount of data being provided by HR, and this data being turned into actionable advice.

In fact, there’s a notable gap between the people data the c-suite say they want from HR, and the data they are receiving. For example, only a third of c-suite leaders say HR are providing basic metrics like headcount, even though an overwhelming majority (94%) want this data.

These are just some of the findings in the second report in our HR in the moment research series, Impact through insights. In this report, we spoke to more than 500 HR and business leaders from across the UK, US, Canada, and Australia in traditionally high-growth high-skill sectors, such as technology and business services, to find out more about HR leaders are delivering business impact in organisations today.

Here’s what we found.

The c-suite’s most wanted HR metrics

What HR data does the c-suite want? When we asked business execs what information they would find most valuable for informing their decision making we saw overwhelming demand for the following metrics. These were the top 15 metrics that business leaders said they want from HR.  

1. Headcount – 94% of c-suite execs said they wanted this
2. Employee productivity rate – 94% of c-suite execs said they wanted this
3. Cost per hire (93%)
4. HR to FTE ratio (93%)
5. Training rates (93%)
6. Employee satisfaction (93%)
7. Revenue per FTE (91%)
8. Turnover rates (91%)
9. Labour cost per FTE (91%)
10. Cost per employee (91%)
11. Promotion rate (91%)
12. Average tenure (91%)
13. Diversity percentage (91%)
14. New hire failure rate (90%)
15. External time to fill (90%)

Yet when we ask whether they are receiving this type of data from HR, major gaps appear. For example, while 90% of the c-suite say hire failure rate data would be useful, only 14% say HR is providing this data.

Similarly, 93% of the c-suite would find employee satisfaction rate data helpful, but only 25% are being given access to it by HR and people teams.

 

Jessica Fuhl is one of the authors of the research report HR in the moment: Impact through insights. Previously a full-time journalist and former head of digital for the UK Treasury, Jessica has a keen interest in macroeconomics and productivity, and has had work published in the Financial Times, Forbes, and several HR trade publications.