Survey: Most Employers Lack RTI Figures on Talent

 In its survey of U.S. employers and their return-on-investment (RTI) strategies, ACT Bridge has determined that 56 percent lack any measure of talent investment returns even as the use of analytics becomes more widespread in decision making. Even among employers who do measure RTI, just 42 percent measure their education and training programs, 32 percent measure HR information management tools, and less than 25 percent measure RTI of recruiting firms, job boards, and social media sites.

“These findings are disconcerting for two reasons,” Kurt Ballard, ACT Bridge principal and chief marketing officer, said. “First, organizations that actively measure RTI gain a quantifiable metric that can be tracked and used to establish critical performance benchmarks that are instrumental in making decisions that produce desired results. Second, measuring RTI is a powerful way to establish and reinforce the strategic value of HR to senior management–which is especially meaningful in today’s data-driven, cost-conscious business environment.”

The survey also found that:

• 33 percent of employers who measure RTI use measurement software while 71 percent use much less reliable spreadsheets;

• 61 percent of employers are clueless as to how their talent investements affect profitability; and

• 59 percent are unsure of how RTI impacts growth.

“We conducted this survey because we want to help employers and HR professionals better monitor the impact of their talent investments on the organization’s performance,” Ballard said. “Profitability, growth and customer satisfaction all depend directly upon the quality of an organization’s talent. But you can’t maximize your talent investments or move the needle on the organization’s performance unless you’re actively measuring RTI on an ongoing basis. And, as our survey shows, too many employers aren’t doing that.”