Aptus-HR improvement services helps companies

With workforce contribution typically accounting for 40 to 80* percent of most companiesí value, understanding the return on investment (ROI) of human capital (HC) is not just a legislative issue - it is a strategic imperative. Thanks to Human Capital Measurement Systems developed by Aptus-HR Improvement Services (http://www.aptus-hr.com), a Chelsea-based company, employers can now measure the value of their workforce contribution, which previously puzzled HR departments, CEOs, and finance directors alike.

While the valuation of tangible assets such as plant and machinery has existed for many years, the quantification of people in organisations and their contribution to business performance ñ an intangible asset - has remained largely untracked. Fiascos such as Enron and legislative initiatives such as Accounting for People and Sarbanes Oxley - new legislation regarding transparency of business processes which affects companies conducting business with the US - have driven organisations to focus on people performance, making it a key management issue.

Katherine Lachance of Aptus-HR Improvement Services, a leader in the field of human capital measurement, has designed Human Capital Enterprise - a tiered model of workforce contribution measurement that directly links HR processes and employee activities to financial performance. Ms Lachance works with large organisations (such as Royal Mail) with some HR measures in place and organisations with no existing people measures to develop HC measures appropriate for their strategy, assess whether workforce capability will meet current and upcoming business needs, and improve results.

Ms Lachance comments: ëHuman capital is an intangible asset that represents the total of a workforceís skills, knowledge, experience and expertise, and is a critical source of value for any company when managed properly. This isnít something that can just be measured by accountants, who tend to track the costs associated with people but not the benefits they bring. Nor is it the sole province of the HR department, who may not have the overall picture at their fingertips. Managing human capital has become a strategic responsibility that should be shared by an organisationís leaders.í

She adds: ëEven though most companies understand that people are one of their most important assets, the difficulty lies in moving away from measuring ’hard’ things such as plant and machinery to ’soft’ things such as employee commitment and participation, and how these can impact bottom line profitability. HR directors and CEOs should be asking what they should be measuring and whether they can really afford to ignore the vital exercise of truly assessing their workforce.í