Survey Shows That HR Executives Have a lot to Prove

No one thinks more highly of the role that human resources plays within a company than human resources executives themselves. When asked to rate the strategic value of human resources within a company on a scale of 1 to 10, human resources executives gave it a near 9. Senior management rated it a 7 and finance gave it a 6, according to a survey conducted by Veritude, a Boston-based consultant.

This disconnect is largely due to the fact that most companies do not track the impact of human resources on their businesses, says Lisa Allen, VP of communications at Veritude. According to a March Veritude survey, 57 percent of companies said they do not do such tracking.

“Human resources staff have to illustrate their worth in dollars and cents,” Allen says. This may mean starting off small and just tracking employee satisfaction and showing how turnover is down or going more in-depth by analyzing the quality of candidates that are being hired, for example. The good news is that human resources executives have faith in their abilities and importance, Allen says. “To effect change, you need to be confident that you can do it,” she says. “So this is a good starting point.”

—Jessica Marquez