Evaluation of human resource performance has become one of the most popular recent trends in business performance assessment. Balanced scorecard is widely used to optimize performance and evaluate efficiency of human resource departments, especially in huge transnational companies and corporations. Business owners came to understand that human resources are worth to invest in, as such investments proved to be the most effective in the long term. One should not underestimate the power of human resources, and the recent financial crisis is the best proof that efficient and dedicated personnel can help company solve problems and even perform better in post crisis economy.
HR scorecard for publishing industry is gaining popularity. There is a tough competition in the market of both online and offline media. Thats why efficient use of human resources is a precondition for success. Publishing business is not an exception here.
Perhaps, the right choice of key performance indicators for HR scorecard in publishing business is the most important stage of BSC implementation. It is very important to find critical success factors for an effective HR policy. Publishing business has its own peculiar features, business environment and specific nature. It should be taken into account when creating key performance indicators in all categories of balanced scorecard.
Lets review a couple of indicators that might be very helpful in assessment of HR efficiency for publishing industry.
Average equipment cost per employee. Such an indicator is truly considered to be very representative. Personnel uses various equipment in publishing business, like printing machines, powerful computers etc. Inefficient use of equipment may result in huge expanses. In order to optimize production expenses per employee, it might be very helpful to keep track on this KPI. On the one hand, an employee should get everything he or she needs to fulfill duties. On the other hand the company should not overpay. Based on the evaluation results, human resource managers may think of the ways to optimize expenses by forming teams of the right size, allocating the right amount of resources, office space and equipment. Employees may share the same equipment without feeling uncomfortable which will decrease average equipment cost per employee, and thus the company may save money which can be used, for example, for training or personnel coaching.
New hire turnover during the first 12 months. Publishing business involves advanced knowledge and experience in working with specialized equipment. Thats why if a company hires and educates new employees it sometimes spends a great amount of money. If the new employee eventually leave the company having worked less than 12 month, the company is more likely to suffer losses. It is very important to create suitable working conditions for freshly hired personnel, so that newcomers can use obtained knowledge to benefit the company. New higher turnover is a very indicative measure that directly evaluates efficiency of human resource department. Logical leap, the lower turnover is, the better for the company.
Finally, it should be mentioned that when evaluating HR performance one needs to keep balance between interests of personnel goals of the company.