WorkLife April 2017 | Page 23

ESSENTIAL METRICS 4 EMPLOYEE TURNOVER: (NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE LEFT THE COMPANY IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR ÷ NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES AT THAT TIME) x1OO High turnover can present a significant financial burden to your business. It is therefore important to track this metric to keep it as low as possible. Doing so will allow you to identify problem areas and trends and adapt in light of these. Handy Hint: *The UK average employee turnover rate is approximately 15% a year, but varies greatly between industries. Look up your industry’s average rate and make a comparison. 5 OVERTIME: NUMBER OF HOURS WORKED OVERTIME PER YEAR, PER EMPLOYEE Calculating the extra time your staff are spending in the office can be helpful to see where the need for extra resources and manpower lies. It can also help you identify areas where productivity might be falling short. 3 Handy Hint: Employers aren’t legally obliged to pay workers for overtime but employees’ average pay for the total hours worked must not fall below National Living Wage, so be sure to adhere to this. AVERAGE LENGTH OF SERVICE: TOTAL YEARS SERVICE ÷ NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES Employee turnover is a costly business, particularly in senior roles. As mentioned, measuring this metric can help you to see where greater investment might help to generate higher returns. Handy Hint: This metric should be considered against an industry average – a “good” average length of service can vary greatly across sectors. 6 ABSENCE RATE: NUMBER OF SICK DAYS TAKEN ÷ NUMBER OF WORKDAYS IN THE YEAR Sick days incur significant costs to your company. Measuring absence rates can be used as a good starting point for ascertaining patterns and can be used to set a benchmark for the company. Handy Hint: **To give you a rough guide, the average number of sick days taken in the UK per employee is 5.7 days. *What is the ideal employee turnover rate?, Monster **XpertHR, Absence rates and costs 2016 23