Developing an Efficient HR Scorecard

Oftentimes, you would hear about the HR department using certain systems and employing certain procedures to measure the performance of the employees in a company. This is indeed something that is very ordinary. However, have you ever heard of the HR department being measured or examined as to their own efficiency and productivity? Yes, such a process does exist. And this is where the importance of the HR scorecard enters the picture.

Simply put, the HR scorecard is actually comprised of the quantifiable aspects of the HR department, on which the HR department would be graded, in terms of its efficiency and productivity in all its tasks and functions. It is quite difficult to put into context the quantifiable aspects of the HR department, especially when it comes to the functions that it has.

Just how do you quantify, for instance, how effective the HR department is in hiring employees who are efficient at their jobs? This would be a relative concept, and quite fuzzy when it comes to quantifying it. And this is just one of the many aspects that would need to be quantified in the whole process of coming up with an appropriate HR scorecard.

Sure, there are a lot of HR scorecards that you can check online, for guidance and such in coming up with one of your own. There are even websites that offer free downloads of such scorecards! But what is important to remember here is that one company might have a different HR scorecard from that of another company.

This is expected because companies have different goals and purposes; thus, there would be different aspects to measure. However, in a general sense, there would be key elements that just about any HR scorecard you find in the world would have in common.

Workforce Success. The scorecard here would measure just how successful the members in the company’s workforce are in achieving the goals and objectives of the company, as a whole. Are all employees performing well towards the realization of the company’s goals? This is indeed something that the HR scorecard should be made to measure.

Right HR Costs. This is all about the investment the company has made in the workforce that has been hired by the HR department. Is the company having significant returns of such investment? This element is closely associated with Workforce Success.

Right Types of HR Alignment. This pertains to just how effective the practices employed by the HR department are, according to the strategies and policies employed by the company itself. The HR practices should be aligned according to the strategies employed by the company. Otherwise, the HR department would not be performing in such a way where the company as a whole would benefit. This would defeat the purpose of creating such a department in the first place.

Right HR Practices. This pertains to the policies implemented by the HR department in a deeper level. Are the policies developed of world-class quality? Does such quality exist in all facets of the HR department?

Right HR Professionals. Of course, having an HR department would be a useless move if you do not have quality professionals running it. Members of the HR department should have the needed skills and expertise for it to function productively and accordingly.

With these elements included on your HR scorecard, quantifying the aspects that make your company unique from others in the same industry will definitely be made easier.