- metrics
- 24
- computable
- 23
- breakdowns
- 5
People (HR) Metrics
Metrics for measuring workforce health, engagement and organizational effectiveness.
Headcount Metrics
Total Headcount
Definition: Total number of active employees at the end of the period.
Formula:
Headcount = Total active employees at end of period
Total Headcount is reported per department (the by_department breakdown). Share of headcount is each department’s count over the total.
Include: Full-time, part-time employees Exclude: Contractors (track separately)
Typical shares by department for SaaS:
| Department | % of Headcount |
|---|---|
| Engineering | 25-35% |
| Sales | 20-30% |
| Customer Success/Support | 15-25% |
| Marketing | 5-10% |
| G&A (Finance, HR, Legal, Ops) | 10-15% |
| Product | 5-10% |
Headcount Growth Rate
Definition: Percentage change in headcount over a period.
Formula:
Growth Rate = (Headcount end - Headcount start) / Headcount start × 100
What it tells you: Organizational scaling velocity.
Revenue per Employee
See Finance for the canonical definition: ARR over total headcount.
Retention Metrics
Employee Turnover Rate
Definition: Percentage of employees who left in a period.
Formula:
Turnover Rate = Employees departed / Average headcount × 100
Employee Turnover Rate is reported per department, with leavers and headcount counted within each department.
Calculate monthly or annually. Annualize for comparability.
Benchmarks (Annual):
- Below 10%: Excellent retention
- 10-15%: Good
- 13-20%: Average for tech (tech runs higher than other industries)
- 20-25%: High for tech, investigate
- Above 25%: Critical
Context: US voluntary turnover averaged 13.5% in 2025 (down from 17.3% in 2023). Tech sector runs 13-25% due to competitive demand for specialized skills. Average tech tenure is 2-3 years vs 4.1 years overall.
Sources:
Voluntary Turnover Rate
Definition: Turnover due to employee choice (resignations).
Formula:
Voluntary Turnover = Voluntary departures / Average headcount × 100
Voluntary Turnover Rate is reported per department.
What it tells you: Employee satisfaction and competitiveness of employment.
Involuntary Turnover Rate
Definition: Turnover due to company decision (terminations, layoffs).
Formula:
Involuntary Turnover = Involuntary departures / Average headcount × 100
What it tells you: Hiring quality and performance management.
Regrettable Turnover
Definition: Voluntary departures of high performers, as a share of the high performers employed at the start of the period.
Formula:
Regrettable Turnover = High performer departures / Total high performers × 100
Target: <5%
What it tells you: Whether you are losing your best people.
Average Tenure
Definition: Average length of employment.
Formula:
Average Tenure = Sum of employee tenure / Total employees
Averaged over active employees at period end and reported in months.
What it tells you: Workforce stability and institutional knowledge.
90-Day Turnover
Definition: Percentage of new hires who leave within 90 days.
Formula:
90-Day Turnover = Departures within 90 days / New hires × 100
90-Day Turnover is reported per hiring source.
Benchmarks:
- Below 5%: Good onboarding and hiring
- 5-10%: Average
- Above 10%: Hiring or onboarding issues
What it tells you: Hiring quality and onboarding effectiveness.
Engagement Metrics
Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
Definition: Likelihood of employees recommending the company as a place to work.
Formula:
eNPS = % Promoters (9-10) - % Detractors (0-6)
Based on: “How likely are you to recommend [company] as a place to work?” (0-10)
Benchmarks:
- Below 0: Poor engagement (investigate immediately)
- 0-10: Below average
- 10-30: Average (overall benchmark ~12-27)
- 30-50: Good, leading companies
- Above 50: Excellent
Tech industry: Average eNPS is 26, but top tech companies score 50-75+.
Company size effect: Smaller companies (0-250) average 30; larger companies (5000+) average 9.
What it tells you: Employee satisfaction and advocacy.
Sources:
Engagement Score
Definition: Composite score from engagement survey.
Measurement: Usually an annual or quarterly survey covering:
- Job satisfaction
- Manager relationship
- Growth opportunities
- Company direction
- Work-life balance
The canonical value is the average composite score across employee survey responses in the period.
Benchmarks:
- Below 60%: Low engagement
- 60-70%: Average
- 70-80%: Good
- Above 80%: High engagement
Survey Participation Rate
Definition: Percentage of employees completing engagement surveys.
Formula:
Participation Rate = Surveys completed / Surveys sent × 100
Target: >80%
What it tells you: Trust in feedback process and engagement with company.
Recruiting Metrics
Open Positions
Definition: Number of open requisitions (unfilled roles) at the end of the period.
What it tells you: Hiring backlog and growth plans.
Time to Fill
Definition: Days from a requisition opening to it being filled with an accepted offer, for requisitions filled in the period.
Formula:
Time to Fill = Average of (Offer accepted date - Job posted date)
Benchmarks:
- Below 30 days: Fast
- 30-45 days: Good
- 45-60 days: Average
- Above 60 days: Slow, may impact growth
Time to Hire
Definition: Days from the hired employee’s application to their start date, for employees hired in the period.
Formula:
Time to Hire = Average of (Start date - Application date)
What it tells you: Candidate experience and process efficiency.
Offer Acceptance Rate
Definition: Percentage of offers accepted.
Formula:
Acceptance Rate = Offers accepted / Offers extended × 100
Benchmarks:
- Below 70%: Low, may indicate compensation or culture issues
- 70-85%: Average
- Above 85%: Strong employer brand
Quality of Hire
Definition: Performance rating of new hires after defined period.
Formula:
Quality of Hire = Average performance rating of hires at 6-12 months
Some teams report the share of new hires meeting or exceeding expectations instead. That version needs a rating threshold, which each team sets.
What it tells you: Recruiting effectiveness at finding good candidates.
Cost per Hire
Definition: Total recruiting cost divided by hires made.
Formula:
Cost per Hire = (Internal recruiting costs + External recruiting costs) / Total hires
Benchmarks:
- IC roles: $3,000-$7,000
- Technical roles: $7,000-$15,000
- Executive roles: $20,000-$50,000+
Source of Hire
Definition: Where successful candidates came from.
Formula:
Source share = Hires in period from the source / Total hires in period
Channels:
- Employee referrals
- Inbound applications (job boards and career page)
- Direct sourcing (LinkedIn and similar)
- Agencies
- Internal transfers
- Campus hiring
Source of Hire is reported per source: one share for each source, with the shares summing to 100%.
What it tells you: Most effective recruiting channels.
Compensation Metrics
Compa-Ratio
Definition: Employee salary relative to market midpoint.
Formula:
Compa-Ratio = Actual salary / Market midpoint × 100
Interpretation:
- Below 90%: Below market
- 90-110%: At market
- Above 110%: Above market
Pay Equity Ratio
Definition: Pay comparison across demographic groups for same role.
Formula:
Pay Equity = Average pay (Group A) / Average pay (Group B)
GASP compares employees from underrepresented groups (Group A) with everyone else (Group B), within the same role.
Target: 0.98-1.02 (within 2%)
What it tells you: Fairness in compensation practices.
Diversity Metrics
Diversity Representation
Definition: Percentage of workforce from underrepresented groups.
Dimensions:
- Gender
- Race/ethnicity
- Age
- Disability status
- Veteran status
Track overall and by department/level.
Diversity in Leadership
Definition: Representation at manager+ levels.
Formula:
Leadership Diversity = URG in leadership / Total leadership × 100
What it tells you: Pipeline to leadership for underrepresented groups.
Diversity Hiring Rate
Definition: Percentage of new hires from underrepresented groups.
Formula:
Diversity Hiring = URG hires / Total hires × 100
What it tells you: Progress on diversifying the workforce.
Summary Table
| Metric | Type | Primary Indicator Of |
|---|---|---|
| Headcount | Size | Organizational scale |
| Revenue per Employee | Productivity | Workforce efficiency |
| Employee Turnover | Retention | Workforce stability |
| Regrettable Turnover | Retention | High performer retention |
| eNPS | Engagement | Employee satisfaction |
| Time to Fill | Recruiting | Hiring velocity |
| Offer Acceptance Rate | Recruiting | Employer competitiveness |
| Quality of Hire | Recruiting | Recruiting effectiveness |
| Compa-Ratio | Compensation | Market competitiveness |
Related Metrics
These metrics are connected in the GASP relationship graph.
Downstream: what metrics on this page drive
- Employee Turnover Rate reduces Revenue per Employee (Finance)
- Employee Turnover Rate reduces Quota Attainment (Sales)
- Employee Turnover Rate measures Employee (Entity)