20 Metrics in 20 Days- Day 20: HR Expense-to-FTE Ratio

Day 20 (YES!) in our series of 20 consecutive posts on HR Metrics: HR Expense-to-FTE Ratio

Definition

HR Expense-to-FTE Ratio: That amount of HR dollars spent per full-time equivalent for the fiscal year.

Note: The definition of full-time equivalent can vary although many firms in the United States simply use 2080 (52 weeks X 40 hours per week); see the references below for additional treatment.

Why You Should Care

Fair or not, HR is still sometimes seen as a cost center. Fortunately we now have better tools to help improve efficiency, transparency, operations, and performance but the expectations are appropriately higher too.

Those HR efforts and special initiatives take resources so it pays keep track of what’s paying off and what isn’t.

References

• Investopedia reference on person year/FTE
• SHRM reference for both FTE and HR Expense-to-FTE Ratio
• SHRM Benchmarking