Managing HR Metrics

September 2 2004 - The 100+ member organizations of the HR-XML Consortium have approved a new standard designed to improve the management of HR metrics data. The new standard provides an important tool for both employers and HR solution providers who need to access and integrate HR performance data from different computer systems.

The HR-XML Consortium's Metrics Interchange Specification consists of a simple yet flexible XML schema that is capable of supporting a wide variety of integration scenarios. As an example, one application supported by the standard is the creation of "smart extracts" of data from HR systems to third-party benchmarking and research firms. By sourcing metrics data directly from HR systems (potentially even in near-real-time), benchmarking organizations will have the opportunity to offer new and/or more frequent subscriptions and reports. Direct submission of data from source systems will ensure accurate, complete, and meaningful data for compilation and analysis by benchmarking organizations.

Assessment vendors also will benefit from the standard. Assessment services providers frequently want to acquire on-the-job performance data to show that pre-employment assessments are statistically relevant predictors of on-the-job performance. Today, such data typically is manually compiled or extracted from performance management systems on an ad hoc basis. The HR-XML Consortium's Metrics Interchange Standard will provide a foundation for automating these exchanges.

"Employers have invested considerable sums in core HR systems that provide insight into key HR performance components," according to Bill Kerr, Principal Software Engineer, Oracle HRMS Development (HRD) and member of the HR-XML Consortium Board of Directors. "To have a basis against which to compare internal performance, the same organizations also have invested significant amounts to sponsor the work of third-party benchmarking organizations. A flexible interchange mechanism for metrics will help employers maximize their return on these both of these investments," says Kerr.

"To measure performance, you need access to the business metrics data that determine success for a particular employee or group of employees," according to Shawn Lyndon, ePredix, VP Product Strategy & Alliances. "By providing an easy way to integrate HR metrics across different systems, the HR-XML Consortium's standard will help give HR professionals access to the measurement data they need, when they need it," he adds.

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