Workforce Metrics
Posted on June 25, 2021
Calculating and tracking workforce metrics is a valuable way to assess workforce needs and examine workforce-related processes, interventions, and outcomes. This resource includes over 90 metrics related to recruitment and selection, education, work hours, work arrangements, caseload capacity, supervision, career development, performance, turnover and tenure, and costs. Note that these metrics are not universal, and many other variations exist elsewhere. These have been selected or developed based on their applicability to the child welfare workforce.
Recruitment and Selection
Quantity Metrics
| Average number of applicants per opening | Total number of applicants across openings divided by the number of openings |
| Candidate dropout rate (per stage of hiring process) | For each stage of the hiring process, total number of candidate that choose to drop out of the hiring process divided by the number of candidates in the hiring process, multiplied by 100 |
| Yield ratio (per stage of hiring process) | For each stage of the hiring process, total number of candidates that pass the stage divided by the total number of candidates who entered the stage, multiplied by 100 |
| Selection ratio | Total number of candidates hired divided by the total number of candidates |
| Source of application | Total number of applicants recruited through a certain source1 divided by the total number of applicants, multiplied by 100 |
| Source of hire | Total number of hires recruited through a certain source divided by the total number of hires, multiplied by 100 |
| Internal hire rate | Total number of internal hires in a period divided by the average headcount for the period, multiplied by 100 |
| External hire rate | Total number of external hires in a period divided by the average headcount for the period, multiplied by 100 |
| Rehire rate | Total number of rehires in a period divided by the average headcount for the period, multiplied by 100 |
Time Metrics
| Time in process (per stage of hiring process) | For each stage of the hiring process, total number of days for a candidate to complete each stage of hiring process |
| Average time in process (per stage of hiring process) | Total time in process across candidates divided by the number of candidates in process |
| Time to accept | Total number of days between when a job was opened and an offer is accepted |
| Average time to accept | Total time to accept across candidates divided by the number of offers accepted, multiplied by 100 |
| Time to fill | Total number of days between when a job was opened and candidate passes all post-offer hurdles such as a background check |
| Average time to fill | Total time to fill across job openings divided by the number of openings filled, multiplied by 100 |
| Time to start | Total number of days between when a job was opened and the new hire starts working |
| Average time to start | Total time to start across candidates divided by the number of candidates hired, multiplied by 100 |
Quality Metrics
| Candidate net promoter score |
Percent of promoters minus percent of detractors, as measured below: What is the likelihood that you would recommend this hiring experience to someone else? (1 to 10) 9-10 = Promoters, 7-8 = Passive, 0-6 = Detractors |
| Candidate satisfaction with overall and/or specific aspects of the hiring process |
|
| Quality of hire | Total number of hires meeting a certain standard divided by the total number of hires, multiplied by 100 |
Education
| Education at hire | Total number of employees who had a certain level/type of degree at hire divided by the total number of employees hired, multiplied by 100 (could focus only on current employees or include leavers (for a certain time period), to get a more comprehensive view) |
| Current education | Total number of employees who have a certain level/type of degree divided by the total number of employees, multiplied by 100 |
| Educational advancement | Total number of employees who obtained a higher degree while employed divided by the total number of employees, multiplied by 100 (could focus only on current employees or include leavers (for a certain time period), to get a more comprehensive view) |
Work Hours
| Part-time employment rate | Total number of employees that are part time divided by the average headcount, multiplied by 100 |
| Full-time employment rate | Total number of employees that are full time divided by the average headcount, multiplied by 100 |
| Absenteeism rate | Total number of days missed across all employees divided by (total number of available workdays x average headcount), multiplied by 100 |
| Average absence | Total number of days missed across all employees divided by the average headcount |
| Overtime rate | Total number of overtime hours worked across employees divided by the total number of regular hours worked across employees |
| Average overtime | Total number of overtime hours worked across employees divided by the average headcount |
| Overtime frequency | Total number of employees who worked overtime divided by the average headcount |
Work Arrangement
| Flexible schedule rate | Total number of employees that participate in a flexible schedule (or a specific type of flex schedule) divided by the average headcount, multiplied by 100 |
| Telework rate | Total number of employees that telework divided by the average headcount, multiplied by 100 |
Caseload Capacity
| Caseload capacity (only applicable to graduated caseload assignment systems) |
Total number of employees who are at each level of caseload capacity divided by the average job headcount, multiplied by 100 |
| Average time to caseload capacity (only applicable to graduated caseload assignment systems where advancement timing is discretionary) | Total number of days to advance from a minimum to “full” caseload (however defined by agency) across employees divided by the number of employees |
Supervision
| Supervisor churn percent | Total number of current employees who have had more than one supervisor in the last year divided by the current headcount |
| Supervisor-to-worker ratio | Supervisor headcount divided by supervisee headcount |
Career Development
| Average training hours per employee | Total number of training hours across all employees divided by the total number of employees |
| Promotion rate | Total number of promotions2 across all employees divided by the total headcount, multiplied by 100 |
| Average time to promotion | Total time in position before promotion divided by the total number of promotion |
| Transfer rate | Total number of transfers3 across all employees divided by the total headcount, multiplied by 100 |
| Demotion rate | Total number of demotions4 across all employees divided by the total headcount, multiplied by 100 |
| Career path ratio | Total number of promotions divided by the total number of employees who moved to a new job within the agency |
Performance
Training Performance Metrics
| Knowledge test scores (individual) | Knowledge or understanding of content trained, such as
|
| Skills evaluation scores (individual) | Demonstration or application of skills trained, such as
|
| Field observations (individual) | Observations of trainee performance by a trainer, mentor, or supervisor, such as
|
| Assignment completion (individual) |
Number or percent of completed or missing assignments Number or percent of on-time or late assignments |
| Attendance (individual) |
Number or percent of training courses/units attended or missed Number of percent of training courses/units for which trainee was tardy or left early |
| Professional Conduct (individual) | In-training observations about trainees’ professional conduct, such as
|
| Training completion rate (aggregate) | The number of employees who completed a given training or training program divided by the total number of employees who were expected to participate, multiplied by 100 |
Job Performance Metrics
| Subjective Ratings | |
| Overall job performance (individual) | How well each employee is performing across all job expectations |
| Relative overall job performance (individual) | How each employee compares to other employees (with similar tenure) supervised now or in the past, across all job expectations |
| Performance of job duties (individual) | How well each employee is performing on each job duty, such as:
|
| Demonstration of competencies or essential behaviors (individual) | How frequently each employee demonstrates desirable competencies or behaviors, such as:
|
| Demonstration of organizational citizenship behaviors (individual) | How frequently each employee engages in discretionary, extra-role behaviors, such as:
|
| Rehire (individual) | If the supervisor had the opportunity to consider this person for hire again, how likely it is that they would hire the person again |
| Recommend to others (individual) | If the supervisor were asked to make a recommendation for this person to do this job for another supervisor, what they would recommend |
| Discipline (individual) |
Total number of disciplinary actions Total number of disciplinary actions of a given type (e.g., verbal warning, written warning) |
| Average performance (aggregate) | Total performance ratings across all employees divided by the total number of employees |
| Percent of high performers (aggregate) | Total number of high-performing employees divided by the total number of employees, multiplied by 100 |
Percent of low performers (aggregate) |
Total number of low-performing employees divided by the total number of employees, multiplied by 100 |
Average number of disciplinary actions (aggregate) |
Total number of disciplinary actions across employees divided by the total number of employees |
| Average number of disciplinary actions of a given type (e.g., verbal warning, written warning) | Total number of disciplinary actions of a given type (e.g., verbal warning, written warning) across employees divided by the total number of employees |
| Percent of employees with disciplinary actions |
Total number of employees with disciplinary actions divided by the total number of employees, multiplied by 100 |
| Percent of employees with disciplinary actions of a given type |
Total number of employees with disciplinary actions of a given type divided by the total number of employees, multiplied by 100 |
| Objective Measures |
Numerous measures can be calculated from data in an agency’s child welfare information system. Standard measures include those calculated and reported for the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) and the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS). There are also many other types of data that could be used to assess individual performance. Information is typically organized by program area and job function. Within each area, there are indicators of various aspects of performance, such as quantity, quality, and timeliness. Metrics should be selected that have the most relevance to the purpose for which they are being examined. |
Turnover and Tenure
Headcount Metrics
| Headcount | Total number of employees on a given date |
| Average headcount | Total number of employees at the beginning of a time period plus the total number of employees at the end of the time period, divided by two |
| Average daily headcount | Total number of employees across every day in a period divided by the number of days in the period |
Turnover
| Overall agency turnover rate | Total number of employees who left the agency divided by the average employee headcount, multiplied by 100 (both counts should be from the same time period) |
| Overall job turnover rate | Total number of employees who left a given job divided by the average employee headcount for the job, multiplied by 100 (both counts should be from the same time period) |
| Internal agency turnover rate | Total number of employees who left a job and stayed in the agency divided by the average employee headcount, multiplied by 100 (both counts should be from the same time period) |
| Internal job turnover rate | Total number of employees who left a given job and stayed in the agency divided by the average employee headcount for the job, multiplied by 100 (both counts should be from the same time period) |
| External agency turnover rate | Same as overall agency turnover rate |
| Voluntary turnover rate | Total number of employees who voluntarily left the agency divided by the average employee headcount, multiplied by 100 (both counts should be from the same time period) |
| Involuntary turnover rate | Total number of employees who involuntarily left the agency divided by the average employee headcount, multiplied by 100 (both counts should be from the same time period) |
| Functional turnover rate | Total number of poor performers who left the agency divided by the average employee headcount, multiplied by 100 (both counts should be from the same time period) |
| Dysfunctional turnover rate | Total number of good performers who left the agency divided by the average employee headcount, multiplied by 100 (both counts should be from the same time period) |
| New employee turnover rate | Total number of new employees who left the agency divided by the average employee headcount, multiplied by 100 (both counts should be from the same time period) |
| Annualized turnover rate (using data from < 1 year) | Divide 12 by the number of months of data you currently have (12 months/ # of months of data) Multiply the number above by the turnover rate (for the period of <1 year) |
Tenure Metrics
| Average agency tenure of stayers | Total number of days employed in the agency across all current employees divided by the current agency headcount |
| Average agency tenure of leavers | Total number of days employed in the agency across former employees divided by the number of employees formerly in the agency (both counts should be from the same time period) |
| Average agency tenure | Total number of days employed in the agency across former and current employees divided by the number of former and current employees (need to select a time period for former employees) |
| Average job tenure of stayers | Total number of days employed in a given job across all current employees in the job divided by the current job headcount |
| Average job tenure of leavers | Total number of days employed in a given job across former employees divided by the number of employees formerly in the job (both counts should be from the same time period) |
| Average job tenure | Total number of days employed in a given job across former and current employees divided by the number of former and current employees (need to select a time period for former employees) |
| Percent < 6 months tenure | Total number of employees with < 6 months of tenure divided by the total number of employees, multiplied by 100 |
| Percent < 1 year tenure | Total number of employees with < 1 year of tenure divided by the total number of employees, multiplied by 100 |
Costs
| Cost per hire | Total costs of recruiting divided by the total number of hires (top-down metric) |
| Recruitment source cost | Total costs of a recruitment source divided by the total number of hires from that recruitment source (top- down metric) |
| Cost per trainee | Total costs of training divided by the total number of training participants (top-down metric) |
| Cost per turnover | For a detailed bottom-up approach to calculating, see Graef, M. I., & Hill, E. (2000) |
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1 Recruitment source refers to how the applicant learned about the opportunity, which may not be the same as the channel
through which they applied (e.g., may have heard about it from a friend but applied via website)
2 Any upward movement, wherein an employee moves to a job that is at a higher level than their current job
3 Any lateral movement, wherein an employee moves to a job that is at the same level as their current job
4 Any downward movement, wherein an employee moves to a job that is at a lower level than their current job
For more information on this topic, read our blog post.
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