Quick look: To grow and compete with larger counterparts, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) must base their decision-making on data. But with so many human resource (HR) metrics available to measure, which ones have the most impact? From turnover rate to revenue per employee, these 14 HR analytics, paired with the support of a professional employer organization (PEO), can empower SMBs with the tools and expertise they need to succeed.
Data-driven insights have become essential to maximizing a company’s HR function and uncovering valuable information about an organization and its workforce.
Every business wants to attract top talent, reduce turnover, and keep employees productive and engaged, and measuring the right key performance indicators (KPIs) can help them achieve those goals. By tracking HR metrics, SMBs can:
- Discover emerging workforce trends
- Address potential concerns before they escalate
- Improve recruiting and retention
- Align talent strategies with business goals
- Measure return on investment (ROI) on training and development initiatives
However, of all the metrics that can be tracked, which are worth investing time, effort, and resources in? Here are the 14 most important HR KPIs to monitor and analyze, and how to calculate them.
1. Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is widely used to determine customer satisfaction, but it can also assess employee engagement and fulfillment.
To calculate eNPS, employers should regularly survey their staff (i.e., biannually or once each quarter). Employees should rate their willingness to refer the company to a friend or colleague on a scale of 1-10.
Results are categorized as follows:
- Ratings from 0-6 are called detractors
- Ratings from 7-8 are called passives
- Ratings from 9-10 are called promoters
How to calculate eNPS:
- Formula: % Promoters – % Detractors
- Analysis: An eNPS between 10 and 30 is considered good, while anything close to 50 is excellent.
2. Turnover rate
Perhaps one of the most commonly reviewed HR metrics, employee turnover rate indicates the percentage of employees who leave a company during a given timeframe, and whose roles the company intends to refill.
Turnover metrics can be beneficial in gauging a company’s culture, recruiting strategy, and potential internal challenges. High turnover rates could signal issues that require immediate attention, from ineffective onboarding processes or mismatched hires.
How to calculate turnover rate:
- Formula: (Number of Separations / Average Headcount) x 100
- Analysis: Generally, retention rates of 90% or higher are considered good, and employers should aim for a turnover rate of 10% or less.
3. New hire or early turnover
New hire/early turnover rate is an important sub-metric of employee turnover rate. This HR KPI looks at the percentage of employees who leave within their first year.
Many HR professionals view this metric as even more critical than general turnover because early departures often point to deeper organizational issues. Common reasons include misaligned job expectations, insufficient onboarding, poor manager relationships, or inadequate training. By tracking this KPI, SMB leaders can uncover patterns and proactively address factors contributing to early exits.
How to calculate new hire turnover:
- Formula: (Number of Employees Who Leave After Less than 1 Year / Total Number of Separations During the Same Period) x 100
- Analysis: A good new hire turnover rate is generally considered to be 10% or lower, meaning that 90% or more of new hires stay with the company for at least a year.
4. Average time to fill
One standard recruiting metric is average time to fill, which measures the number of days between when a job is posted and when an offer is accepted.
Knowing how many days on average positions remain open can help business leaders streamline their hiring process and compete for top talent.
How to calculate average time to fill:
5. Offer acceptance rate
Offer acceptance rate measures the percentage of candidates who accept job offers and is a strong indicator of how appealing your offers are.
A low offer acceptance rate can signal issues with compensation, job title, employee benefits, or other factors that cause candidates to decline an offer. In this case, employers can consider working with a PEO to update their benefits packages, optimize their job descriptions, and hone their employer branding strategy.
How to calculate offer acceptance rate:
- Formula: (Number of Offers Accepted / Number of Offers) x 100
- Analysis: The current average offer acceptance rate is approximately 70%. Outside factors can influence this number. For example, when the economy is strong, candidates may receive multiple job offers, potentially lowering the average acceptance rate. However, employers have a significant influence on many elements affecting this figure.
6. Absence rate
Absenteeism can be a challenge for companies of all sizes. A high absence rate may indicate underlying issues related to company culture, compensation, or employee satisfaction and well-being.
It’s important to note that absence rate measures how often employees call in sick or don’t show up for work. This metric doesn’t include things like paid time off (PTO), jury duty, or other planned absences.
Routinely tracking this metric can help identify workplace patterns, such as seasonal spikes in absenteeism or other trends that may require attention.
How to calculate absence rate:
- Formula: (Total Number of Days Missed / Number of Workdays) x 100
- Analysis: According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of January 2025, the average absence rate is 3.2.
7. Absence rate per manager or department
Businesses can more closely examine their absence rate by measuring it per manager or department. This can pinpoint specific areas of a company where absenteeism is a problem.
How to calculate absence rate per manager or department:
- Formula: (Total Number of Days Missed by a Team or Department / Total Number of Workdays in a Team or Department) x 100
- Analysis: Identifying which departments or managers are experiencing higher absenteeism rates enables leadership to address the issues contributing to increased absences.
8. Employee satisfaction
Research shows that engaged employees lead to better business outcomes. These workers are also much less likely to depart, which lowers turnover rates and saves the company time and money (on average, hiring a new employee costs roughly $4,700).
Employers can gauge employee satisfaction and identify areas of improvement by measuring eNPS, administering surveys and questionnaires, and examining reviews on sites like Glassdoor and Indeed.
9. Training cost per employee
Companies with strong learning cultures experience nearly 60% higher retention rates, and many businesses are making sizable investments in workforce development. On average, U.S. employers spend roughly $1,200 per employee on training each year.
To evaluate the return on investment, business leaders often track the average training cost per employee to assess the financial efficiency of their development programs.
How to calculate training cost per employee:
- Formula: Total Money Spent on Training / Number of Employees Who Participated in Training
- Analysis: While financial efficiency is important, employers should note that there is also a cost associated with not training employees. Inadequately trained staff can cause customer dissatisfaction, and turnover can increase when workers feel stagnant in their careers.
10. Training time per employee
Another insightful learning and development metric is training time per employee, which quantifies the average amount of training time (generally measured in hours) each worker receives.
How to calculate training time per employee:
- Formula: Total Number of Training Hours / Total Number of Employees
- Analysis: This KPI helps business leaders ensure they dedicate enough time to educating specific employees and can guide them as they forecast future projects and initiatives.
11. Cost per hire
Cost per hire helps companies and talent acquisition departments determine how much money is spent on each new hire and, ultimately, how successful their recruiting strategy is.
It combines both internal, such as recruiter salaries and software, and external expenses, like background checks, advertising, and job boards.
How to calculate cost per hire:
- Formula: ([Total External Costs] + [Total Internal Costs]) / Total Number of Hires
- Analysis: While the average cost per hire is approximately $4,700, this figure varies depending on industry, location, and the specific expenses considered.
12. Revenue per employee
Revenue per employee can determine if a company’s staff is at a healthy total number and is especially useful when measured and compared over time.
Salaries and benefits are the largest expenses for many organizations, and a high revenue per employee rate can confirm that these costs are offset.
How to calculate revenue per employee:
- Formula (Monthly): Monthly Revenue / Number of Employees
- Formula (Yearly): Yearly Revenue / Number of Employees
- Analysis: Several factors can influence average revenue per employee, including the age of the organization, its industry, and current turnover rates (a lower-than-normal headcount skews the rate).
13. Employee performance
Measuring employee performance is crucial for every company and requires a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods that align with organizational goals.
To effectively measure employee performance, managers should help their team members establish performance objectives and conduct regular performance reviews. Additionally, they can:
- Track professional development progress
- Gather feedback from colleagues and customers
- Assess quality of work and overall productivity
- Evaluate participation and problem-solving abilities
14. Promotion rate
Maintaining data on promotions and advancements enables employers to troubleshoot various organizational issues, from high turnover rates to reduced employee satisfaction.
Promotion rate provides insight into employee development efforts, can be shared with candidates and current staff, and may shed light on the state of your organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
How to calculate promotion rate:
Simplifying HR metrics with a PEO partner
While large companies often have in-house analytics teams, SMBs may struggle with the time, tools, and resources needed to consistently track and interpret HR data.
Partnering with a PEO like ExtensisHR gives these employers access to enterprise-grade HR capabilities without the heavy lift by offering:
- HR expertise: Our dedicated, SHRM-Certified HR Managers can interpret data, connect it to your business goals, and recommend strategies to improve workforce performance.
- Modern HR technology: The Work Anywhere® platform allows you to create comprehensive reports and track key analytics, supporting data-driven decision making. Additionally, ExtensisHR’s DEI Dashboard provides insights into pay equity, salary trends across both gender and racial demographics, employee turnover, and promotions.
- Complimentary recruiting services: From assisting with job description creation to reviewing offer letters, we help you streamline the recruitment process, boost hiring efficiency, and enhance the candidate experience.
- Affordable access to 15Five: As an ExtensisHR customer, you have the option to utilize this leading performance management platform that facilitates:
- One-on-one meetings
- Objective creation and tracking
- 360 reviews
- Real-time feedback
- Regular check-ins
- Employee appreciation functionalities
- Engagement surveys
HR metrics are more than just numbers; they can help SMBs attract top talent, support employees, and grow strategically. But collecting and making sense of the data takes time and expertise.
By partnering with ExtensisHR, you can gain access to the tools and insights needed to measure what matters and build a stronger, more successful organization.
Looking to leverage HR metrics to make smarter workforce decisions? ExtensisHR is here to help. Learn more about our PEO offering, or contact us to start a conversation.
