It has now become a cliché to say
that, in the present day business
and competitive scenario, the impact of everything that
affects business must be measured. The word `intangible' must be
regarded as `untouchable'. Without measurements, there is no place for a
process, howsoever simple or complex, or relevant or not. The
matured view seems to be that we must attempt to measure most things
that we do, individually as well as in our teams, so that our decisions and
actions are better focused on what we need to get at. In other words,
in order to align HRM with organizational goals, it is imperative
that suitable measure must be found and integrated with business outcome
so that the business manager derives a `value' out of such transactions
in the HR domain. It is pertinent to note that if HRM has to get
its rightful place at the table, and if HRM is to be driven by
`numerator' (and not by denominator), HRM metrics can be definitely used as
a launch vehicle to get there. The following quotation aptly
summarizes the point:
To move to the center of organization, HR must be able to talk in
quantitative, objective terms. Organizations are
managed by data
Before actually instituting metrics, there is a need to
understand the philosophy of such metrics in the overall context of the business
and the organization. The following questions must be answered: |