HR dashboard: people metrics and how to build one
An HR dashboard shows the state of the team: how many people work here, who leaves and why, how fast vacancies close and what hiring costs. It helps managers and HR see staffing problems before they hit sales and service.
HR dashboard metrics
| Metric | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Headcount and its trend | How many people work by department and role |
| Staff turnover | The share of people who left during the period |
| Time to hire | How many days a vacancy stays open |
| Cost per hire | What one new employee costs |
| Probation completion | The quality of hiring and onboarding |
| Engagement level | How engaged and motivated people are |
| Payroll to revenue | Whether staff costs are in line with results |
How to read an HR dashboard
- Turnover by department and tenure. High turnover among newcomers points to hiring and onboarding, among experienced staff — to conditions and management.
- Hiring in connection with the plan. Long-open sales vacancies directly hurt plan delivery.
- Compare with past periods, not only with the market: the trend in your company matters.
How to build an HR dashboard
- Collect data from HR records, the recruiting system or an HR spreadsheet.
- Calculate the metrics in the source: turnover, time and cost of hiring.
- Upload an Excel file, connect a Google Sheet or the system’s web service in Dashboard and set up widgets.
- Restrict access: personal data is visible only to HR, managers see aggregated metrics.
More on metrics for other areas: KPIs — key performance indicators.
Questions and answers
What is an HR dashboard?
A screen with the key people metrics — headcount, turnover, time and cost of hiring, probation completion and engagement — that refreshes automatically.
How is turnover calculated for an HR dashboard?
Turnover, % = number of leavers in the period / average headcount in the period × 100. It is better to track voluntary and involuntary leavers separately.
Which HR metrics should a manager see?
Headcount, turnover by department, open vacancies and time to fill them, cost per hire and payroll to revenue.