HR Metrics

Absence Rate [(# days absent in

month)

(Ave. # of employees
during mo.) x (# of
wordays)!
x "##
$easures absenteeism. %ee BNA Job Absence Report for
benchmar and survey data. &etermine if your company has an
absenteeism problem. Analy'e why and how to address issue.
Analy'e further for effectiveness of attendance policy and
effectiveness of management in applying policy. %ee white paper
entitled Absenteeism: Analyzing Work Absences .
(ost per )ire (Advertising * Agency
+ees * ,mployee
Referrals * -ravel cost
of applicants and staff
* Relocation costs *
Recruiter pay and
benefits)

.umber of )ires
(osts involved with a new hire. /se EMA/Cost per Hire
Staffing Metrics Survey as a benchmar for your organi'ation.
(an be used as a measurement to show any substantial
improvements to savings in recruitment0retention costs.
&etermine what your recruiting function can do to increase
savings0reduce costs1 etc.
)ealth (are (osts
per ,mployee
-otal cost of health
care

-otal ,mployees
2er capita cost of employee benefits. 3ndicates cost of health care
per employee. Click here for benefit data from the 4ureau of
5abor %tatistics (45%). %ee 45%6s publications entitled Employer
Costs for Employee Compensation and Measuring trends in
the structure and levels of employer costs for employee
compensation for additional information on this topic.
)R expense
factor
)R expense

-otal operating
expense
)R expenses in relation to the total operating expenses of
organi'ation. 3n addition1 determine if expenditures exceeded1
met or fell below budget. Analy'e )R practices that contributed
to savings1 if any. %ee BNA !!" HR #epart$ent
Bench$arks an% Analysis
)uman (apital
R73
Revenue 8 (7perating
,xpense 8
[(ompensation cost *
4enefit cost!)

((ompensation cost *
4enefit cost)
Return on investment ratio for employees. &id organi'ation get a
return on their investment9 Analy'e causes of positive0negative
R73 metric. /se analysis as opportunity to optimi'e investment
with )R practices such as recruitment1 motivation1 training and
development. ,valuate if )R practices are having a causal
relationship in positive changes to improving metric.
)uman (apital
:alue Added
Revenue 8 (7perating
,xpense 8
[(ompensation cost *
4enefit (ost!)

-otal .umber of +-,

:alue of worforce6s nowledge1 sill1 and performance. -his
measurement illustrates how employees add value to
organi'ation.
2rorating $erit
3ncreases
.umber of months
actually wored
-he basic steps to calculating an employees; pay increase
appropriate to the period of time wored.

number of months
under the current
increase policy
x
increase percentage
the person would
otherwise be entitled
to
Revenue +actor Revenue

-otal .umber of +-,

4enchmar to indicate effectiveness of company and to show
employees as capital rather than as an expense. )uman (apital
can be viewed as an investment.
-ime to fill -otal days elapsed to
fill re<uisitions

.umber hired
.umber of days from which =ob re<uisition was approved to new
hire start date. )ow efficient0productive is recruiting function9
-his is also a process measurement. %ee EMA/Cost per Hire
Staffing Metrics Survey for more information.
-raining
3nvestment
+actor
-otal training cost

)eadcount
-raining cost per employee. Analy'e training function further for
effectiveness of training (i.e. )as productivity increased as a
result of ac<uiring new sills and nowledge9 )ave accidents
decreased9). 3f not1 evaluate causes.
-urnover (osts -otal of the costs of
separation * vacancy
* replacement *
training
-he separation1 vacancy1 replacement and training costs resulting
from employee turnover. -his formula can be used to calculate
the turnover cost for one position1 a class code1 a division or the
entire organi'ation. E&it intervie's are a useful tool in
determining why employees are leaving your organi'ation (see
white paper Employee Turnover Hurts mall And !arge
Company "rofitability for more information on this topic).
3mplement retention efforts. ,valuate if )R practices are having a
causal relationship in positive changes to improving cost of
turnover.
-urnover Rate [# of separations
during mo.

Ave. # of employees
during mo.!
x "##
(alculate and compare metric to national average using 4ureau
of .ational Affairs BNA (urnover Report or
''')bls)gov/*lt/ho$e)ht$. -his measures the rate for which
employees leave a company. 3s there a trend9 )as metric
increased0decreased9 Analy'e what has caused
increase0decrease to metric. &etermine what organi'ation can do
to improve retention efforts. ,valuate if )R practices has a causal
relationship in positive changes to improving metric (%ee white
paper entitled Employee Turnover: Analyzing Employee
Movement #ut of the #rganization).
:acancy (osts -otal of the costs of
temporary worers *
independent
contractors * other
outsourcing * overtime
8 wages and benefits
not paid to vacant
position(s)
-he cost for having wor completed that would have been
performed by the former employee or employees less the wages
and benefits that would have been paid to the vacant position(s).
-his formula may be used to calculate the vacancy cost for one
position1 a group1 a division or the entire organi'ation.
:acancy Rate -otal number of :acant $easures the organi'ations vacancy rates resulting from
positions as of today

-otal number of
positions as of today
x "##
employee turnover. -his formula can be used to calculate the
vacancy rate for one position1 a class code1 a division or the
entire organi'ation
>orers6
(ompensation
(ost per
,mployee
-otal >( cost for ?ear

Average number of
employees
Analy'e and compare (i.e. year " to year @1 etc.) on a regular
basis. ?ou can also analy'e worers compensation further to
determine trends in types of in=uries1 in=uries by department1
=obs1 etc. )R practices such as safety training1 %isability
$anage$ent1 and incentives can reduce costs. /se metric as
benchmar to show causal relationship between )R practices and
reduced worers compensation accidents0costs.
>orers6
(ompensation
3ncident rate
(.umber of in=uries
and0or illnesses per
"## +-, A -otal hours
wored by all
employees during the
calendar year)
x
@##1###
-he Bincident rateC is the number of injuries and/or illnesses per
"## full8time worers. @##1### is the base for "## full8time
e<uivalent worers (woring D# hours per wee1 E# wees per
year.)
-he calculated rate can be modified depending on the nature of
the in=uries and0or illnesses. +or example1 if you wished to
determine the lost worday case rate1 you would include only the
cases that involved days away from work.
>orers6
(ompensation
%everity rate
(-he number of days
away from wor per
"## +-,A -otal hours
wored by all
employees during the
calendar year)
F
@##1###
-he Bseverity rateC is the number of days away from wor per
"## +-,. -o calculate the severity rate1 replace the number of
in=uries and0or illnesses per "## +-, from the incident rate
calculation with the number of days away from wor per "## +-,.
$ore information is available regarding the types of in=uries1
incident rates1 and comparison to other %3( codes are available
at the following websiteG
http+//''')bls)gov/iif/osh%ef)ht$,inci%ence
(ompare your metrics against other organi'ation6s metric1 survey data1 etc. to
evaluate your performance. $etrics can show the benefit of your )R practices and
it6s contribution to your organi'ation6s profit.
4enchmar data and designate time frame (plan year1 fiscal year1 etc.). (ompare
data going forward using same time frame (year "1 year @1 year H1 etc.) to show
improvement0decline.

Abstract
Turnover and attrition of online faculty and adjunct faculty is a reality. While there are no reported
national statistics or data on annual turnover/attrition for online faculty/adjunct, the overall costs of
recruiting, training, and replacing faculty/adjunct can be staggering. Moreover, the short and long term
effects of online faculty/adjunct who are not properly trained through recruitment and retention plans
can result in faculty/adjunct attrition, student attrition, low graduation rates, legal action, and
negatively affect the reputation of an institution. Therefore, online programs administrators must be
cognizant of costs associated with faculty/adjunct turnover/attrition and understand the inherent
importance of recruitment, retention and incentive plans related to program sustainability.
Introduction
!nline education is one of the fastest growing enterprises in the "nited #tates. #tatistics reveal that in
$%%& there were '.( million students enrolled in online courses. This represents a )% percent increase
from $%%( *#loan, $%%+,. !nline enrollment is not slowing down nor has it reached a plateau. With
the proliferation of new online degrees and certificate programs, online enrollment is on the rise.
-ccording to the Online Nation: Five Years of Growth in Online Learning &. percent of academic
leaders believe that student demand for online education is still growing *#loan, $%%+,.
While an increasing number of for/profit and non/profit institutions vie for their share of this growing
multi/billion dollar/a/year industry, it is critical that institutional leaders strategically develop
recruitment, retention and incentive plans for online faculty and adjuncts. Moreover, administrators
must proactively prepare for national and global economic shifts by building a dedicated team of
online faculty and adjuncts who can fully adapt to changing mar0et conditions and flu1uations in
institutional enrollment. 2irect, opportunity, and indirect costs can negatively affect the financial
bottom line and sustainability of online programs 3 and can devastate fledging programs.
4iterature on financial costs relating to attrition often focuses on employees within corporations
*5or0, $%%67 2ooney, $%%(7 8odgers, $%%$, and not higher education. Moreover, the financial costs
associated with employee attrition are often described in general terms and do not provide specific line
item costs that are critical to annual budgets. While there is more e1tensive literature on reasons as to
why faculty/adjunct leave higher education *9agow0si, $%%&7 -mey, )..&,, the line item costs related
to turnover/attrition are not readily available.
The costs related to turnover/attrition of online faculty/adjunct should be based on predetermined
metrics related to costs established by an institution. These metrics provide the necessary integers to
calculate the overall cost of turnover/attrition based on three categories typically associated with
employee turnover/attrition: ), direct costs, $, opportunity costs, and ', indirect costs *8odgers, $%%(7
2ooney, $%%$,. ;owever, some of the costs may not apply across all online programs.
The line items listed under direct, opportunity, and indirect costs are e1tensive. ;owever, each line
item represents a cost for an online program. Therefore, online program administrators need to fully
understand the overall costs of online faculty/adjunct turnover/attrition.
Direct Costs
2irect costs refer to fi1ed and variable costs related to hiring, salary/benefits, training, and support.
These costs are essential for the recruitment and retention of employees. 5onversely, direct costs also
include separation costs related to attrition/turnover. 2irect costs include, but are not limited to:
<. 8ecruitment
-. Mar0eting *ad placement online, newspapers, journals, radio, television, etc.,
=. 8ecruitment/#earch agencies
i. >ees for identifying potential candidates with specialized s0ill sets
ii. ?ercentage of the employee@s annual salary as a fee
iii. >aculty incentives for finding Aualified faculty/adjuncts to teach in areas of
areas specialization
<<. -pplication ?rocess
-. Time *staff or temp agency to assist with application process,
i. >iling applications with resumes/cover letters *paper and electronic,
ii. <dentifying final candidate pool to interview from list of applicants
iii. 5orresponding with applicants and search committees *email/phone/fa1/in
person,
iv. 8eference chec0s
=. <nterview process
i. !nsite visit/s *travel accommodations, etc.,
ii. Birtual interview/s *teleconferences, video conferences, etc.,
<<<. ;iring
-. Time *staff or temp agency to assist with hiring process,
i. ?rocessing internal paperwor0
ii. 5orrespondence *email/phone/fa1/in person,
=. #alary and benefits pac0age *discussions, negotiation,
5. >inancial incentives for teaching ma1imum/overload student enrollments
2. 8elocation costs, may include spouse job search assistance within the community
C. =ac0ground chec0s and pre/employment drug testing *if applicable,
<B. !rientation and Training
-. 5ost of orientation *institutional orientation through ;uman 8esources and possible
additional orientation session/s provided by a division, school/college, and/or
program,
=. 5ost of training *institutional and programmatic training / 0nowledge and s0ills
reAuired for position such as software, hardware, web, pedagogy, evaluation, etc.,
5. 5ost of travel for orientation and/or training
2. Time off tas0
i. Time away from job for orientation/s *introductory wor0shops/sessions
about institution/division/school/college/program on policies, regulations,
etc.,
ii. Time away from job for training *introductory wor0shops/sessions about
reAuired software, hardware, web, pedagogy, evaluation, etc.,
iii. 4earning curve *even after training has been completed, on/the/job training
effectively continues until the new faculty/adjunct fully masters how to
apply necessary s0ills and 0nowledge to the position,
iv. 2ecreased office productivity until mastery of new position
B. ?rofessional 2evelopment and !ngoing #upport
-. Mentoring/coaching
i. Time that faculty/adjunct spend mentoring new hires
ii. Time that new hires spend being mentored/coached by faculty/adjunct
=. >aculty 2evelopment
i. !n campus
ii. !ff campus
Travel, lodging, meals
Technical costs *e.g., <nternet, cell/phone, camera/video,
Time away from office/institution
iii. !nline
5. Technology support and training
i. 5omputer
ii. #oftware
iii. <nternet
iv. Telephone/cell phone/i?hone/i?od
v. 5ourse management systems *i.e., =lac0board, Bista, Web5T, -ngel,
CduTool, etc.,
vi. 4earning management systems *i.e., #a0ai, Moodle, #aba, #umTotal, etc.,
B<. #eparation 5osts *for faculty/adjunct who decide to leave the institution, if applicable,
-. #everance pay
i. - lump sum or continuation of pay for a specified period of time
=. =enefits
i. May continue benefits for a specified period of time or until the individual
attain another job
5. "nemployment insurance rates
i. 8ates may increase since institutions/organizations/companies are penalized
with a higher ta1 if there are high percentages of former employees drawing
benefits from the unemployment insurance fund
2. -dvising
i. Time spent spea0ing with program director, administrators, and/or staff by
phone, email, or in person to finalize internal paperwor0
C. C1it interview
i. Time spent collecting Auantitative and/or Aualitative data related to
faculty/adjunct attrition *i.e., e1it surveys, e1it interviews, etc.,
>. !utplacement
i. -ssistance from ;8 in finding a new position for the faculty/adjunct
ii. 5osts associated with an e1ecutive search firm or headhunter
D. 4egal action by faculty/adjunct or student
i. ?otential that dismissed faculty/adjuncts may elect to file a grievance against
the institution
ii. ?otential that students who withdraw from the institution based on a
negative e1perience with an online program or faculty/adjunct may file a
grievance against the institution
B<<. #eparation 5osts *related to students who leave the institution as a result of faculty/adjunct
turnover,
-. -dvising
i. #tudents with a negative faculty/adjunct e1perience may leave under
negative auspices or see0 e1tensive academic counseling from advisors
and/or program directors as to stay in the program or leave
=. C1it <nterview
i. Time spent collecting Auantitative and/or Aualitative data related to student
attrition *i.e., e1it surveys, e1it interviews, etc.,
5. ?rogram Transition
i. -ssistance from academic advisors and/or faculty to assist students
enroll/transition to another program within the institution or at a competing
institution.
2. 4egal action by students
i. ?otential that students who withdraw from online courses or programs due to
negative e1perience/s lin0ed to faculty/adjunct turnover/attrition may elect
to file a grievance against the institution.
B<<<. !vertime
-. >aculty/adjuncts teach additional courses to replace faculty/adjunct
=. #taff/advisors wor0 additional hours to meet program/operating goals
5. ?rogram 2irectors wor0 additional hours to meet program/operating goals
Opportunity Costs
!pportunity costs refer to loss of business and loss of students resulting from diminished resources
and/or decreased service Auality due to faculty/adjunct turnover/attrition. !pportunity costs are more
difficult to Auantify than direct costs since inference is reAuired to calculate these costs. !pportunity
costs include, but are not limited to:
<. 4oss of business
-. >ailure to start a new cohort for a semester/Auarter due to faculty/adjunct
turnover/attrition
=. >ailure to offer a new or specialized course/s
5. 4imiting course offerings due to faculty/adjunct turnover/attrition
2. 9ew/fledgling programs not meeting baseline operating costs
C. 4oss of established mar0et sector to competitors due to decreasing value of degree
<<. 4oss of students
-. 4oss of current students to competitors
=. 4oss of potential students to competitors
5. 4oss of potential business/educational partnerships
<<<. 4oss of faculty/adjuncts
-. >aculty/adjunct defect to competitors due to faculty/adjunct turnover
=. 8ipple effect in which staff, administrators, managers, and academic advising
personnel begin to defect to competitors as faculty/adjuncts leave
5. ?otential faculty/adjunct do not apply for vacant positions due to poor/declining
program reputation
<B. 4oss of 8eputation
-. 2ecrease in student enrollment
=. 2ecrease in recruitment
i. #tudent
ii. >aculty/adjunct
iii. #taff
5. 2ecrease in research, publishing, presenting
2. ?ossible loss accreditation or probation
C. 2ecrease in sense of community
>. 2ecrease in donations, contributions, and partnerships
Indirect Costs
<ndirect costs are the most difficult to Auantify since these costs relate to productivity, morale, and
ultimately the climate of the wor0place. While these costs are challenging to calculate, they are
important to e1amine since they can have short/ and long/term repercussions on an online program.
<ndirect costs include, but are not limited to:
<. ?roductivity
-. 4oss of intellectual capital *0nowledge, e1perience, and contacts,
=. 4ower staff productivity due to ta0ing on additional responsibilities and burnout
5. 8educed productivity of ?rogram 2irector due to ta0ing on additional
responsibilities, recruiting new hires, and wor0ing with new hires
2. <nability to design new courses, concentrations, etc. due to limited staffing
C. <nability to secure grants or funding due to limited staffing
>. <nability for faculty/adjuncts to present at conferences due to limited staffing as part
of mar0eting/outreach
D. <nability of faculty/adjuncts to publish due to limited staffing as part of
mar0eting/outreach
;. 5ost of completion or delivery of critical project/grant where the faculty/adjunct who
left was a 0ey participant
<. 5ost and productivity of new hires
i. ?roductivity of new hires is not as high early on as they learn policies,
procedures and assume full responsibilities
ii. Mista0es by new hires during indoctrination period can be costly
iii. ?rogram 2irectors time developing trust and building confidence in new
faculty/adjunct
iv. #taff time in assisting new faculty/adjuncts get up to speed
<<. Morale
-. 9egative climate that reduces productivity
=. 2ecreased sense of professional value
5. 4ow faculty/adjunct motivation
2. 4ow student motivation
The overall costs related to the recruitment and attrition of online faculty/adjuncts is e1tensive. While
the payment for teaching one online course can range from E$,%%% to E(,%%% or higher, the financial
bottom line associated with faculty/adjuncts can be ten times the amount or greater than the actual
payment when calculating direct, opportunity and indirect costs.
-s institutions continue to e1pand their online course offerings, it is strongly encouraged that metrics
and costs be established early on as well as monitored through a balanced scorecard. >urthermore,
strategic recruitment and retention plans need to be developed to optimize meeting program goals and
operating budgets. #trategies that increase faculty retention may include: financial incentives for
teaching on line classes, new pedagogical teaching styles, robust faculty mentoring or coaching
programs, establishing Fcommunities of practice@ for faculty, and conducting live learning laboratories
and thin0 tan0s for course collaboration. -dditional strategies may include: providing increased
technical support systems, developing university policy and procedures that directly address online
courses, and defining standard benchmar0s for Auality online teaching. <n addition to these retention
strategies, a complete set of metrics or a dashboard should be developed to monitor faculty and
student retention and attrition. ?ersonal e1it interviews need to be conducted with terminating faculty
and students to find out why they left the program.
!nline education enrollment is projected to increase *#loan, $%%+,. Therefore, online programs
administrators must be cognizant of costs associated with faculty/adjunct turnover/attrition and
understand the inherent importance of recruitment, retention, and incentive plans. 2ata collection
through defined metrics and cost analysis *direct, opportunity, and indirect, are critical to long/term
program sustainability and future growth.