Is there any difference between human resource metrics and human capital metrics? Both types of metrics sound nearly the same, so it is rather easy to confuse them. No wonder, lots of people use these terms interchangeably. Meanwhile, they are used to identify quite different things, so it makes sense to learn more about them.
HR metrics have always been implemented to describe the way the human resource department performs its functions. Human capital metrics, in their turn, come into play when there is the need to get information about employees who work for the company. This info may include not only workforce performance, but also their special rewards, characteristics, organizational capabilities and negative features that may prevent them from getting the most out of their talents and knowledge. Unlike HR metrics, human capital indicators have not been analyzed and tracked systematically. The situation has changed recently, due to the fact that company managers have started thinking not only about their profits, but, what is much more important, about their human assets.
Let us find out more about both types of metrics so that you could understand the difference between them. It is not a secret that human resource metrics are valuable quantitative tools that enable the managers of a company to assess the work of the HR department and functions it is accountable for. They help track the efficacy of the human resource segment as well as that of measures it undertakes. HR metrics can be helpful or not, dynamic or static, sub-function or full function, soft or hard. How is it better to evaluate them then? The truth is that only several of them can be benchmarked easily. Others, on the contrary, are not that simple to assess. So, it takes time to choose the required measurement strategy. The best examples of HR metrics are: recruiting and retention, turnover expenses, ratio of non-HR workers to HR personnel, training costs as well as time to fill a vacant position.
Human capital (HC) metrics are not associated with functions performed by the human resource department. They are all about the workforce and their impact upon the business success in general. Examples of these indicators comprise: employee engagement, overall rate of turnover, control spans etc.
Whereas HR metrics are important for the effective management of the functions and performance of the human resource department, HC metrics matter a lot when it comes to managing your business in general. They focus not on expenses, but on value.