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Using metrics to drive value through people - podcast 51

 
 
 
 
 
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Date: 01 February 2011
 
Duration: 00:21:24
 
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Philippa Lamb introduces Max Blumberg, Research Fellow at Goldsmiths, University of London. He explains the concept and rationale of human capital, and traces some crucial changes that have taken place over the years.  In answer to the question of what data should be collected, Max’s says there is no simple answer, but he does give some pointers to consider.

Angela Baron says that although organisations have improved their data collection and are using it at a basic level, organisations need to be able to collect and read data and compare it to key indicators to change and improve their contribution to the bottom line.

Alison Hilton, Director of HR Service Delivery at Openreach – part of the BT, says HR takes weekly measurements which they submit to the Board, also weekly. These figures go into strategy and business planning. Openreach looks carefully at their absence figures which tell them a great deal. See if you could use this information to give an insight into your business and managing change as Alison does.

Nationwide no longer delivers a bewildering amount of data to managers. Listen to Andrea Cartwright, Head of HR explain what information they collect and how they use it. The data has come up with some really surprising results that have meant taking swift and radical action.

Providing data for investors - external privision - is not, Angela feels, well done at all. Hear her explain why and how it could be improved.

Associate Director, SRI Research at Henderson Global Investors, My-Linh Ngo, is responsible for sustainable and responsible investment. My-Linh explains what she is looking for when considering investing in a company. The information collected must show how actions are taken which will have, as a consequence, direct bearing on competitiveness and the all-important bottom line. My-Linh has a dreaded phrase: 'employees are our greatest asset'. Perhaps your organisation has used this wording. Listen to her explain why she dislikes it so much.

Max doesn’t completely agree with My-Linh. He says there is a fine line to be drawn by giving away sensitive information and telling the investor what he needs to know. He explains how he thinks this will all go in the future.

Useful links


We commissioned Dr Zella King of Henley Business School to interview investors, senior HR practitioners and representatives from the financial sector to find out what sort of information they are looking for, what they find most useful and how they will use the data available to them to inform decisions about performance. This research insight – View from the City: how can human capital management reporting inform investment decisions? can be view by following the link below: CIPD has produced a human capital factsheet . It defines ‘human capital’, considers the relationships between human capital and other forms of capital. It also looks at human capital measures, reporting and identifying business drivers and includes the CIPD viewpoint. Human Capital Management: an analysis of disclosure in UK reports, produced in partnership with the ACCA, looks at the role of human capital reporting in sustainability reports and the extent to which sustainability reporting recognises the impact of people as drivers of sustainable performance. Join us again next month, we’ll be looking at how HR can attract the brightest and the best talent. In the meantime, why not take a look at our library of podcasts. We cover a huge range of subjects and you can find all of them at: http://www.cipd.co.uk/podcasts.

Thanks for listening.