Do you need a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement? And, just as importantly, do you want one?
How can a QSEHRA actually benefit you?
Those are important questions that, in order to properly answer, must begin with legalities. Because, with few exceptions, you must provide medical benefits in some form to your employees if you have 50 or more employees on your payroll.
But even if you’re working with fewer staff members, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t at least explore the possibility. After all, your employees should be your top priority in developing your organization. Happy employees produce better products, offer better services, and contribute better ideas… all of which lead to happier, more loyal customers.
In short, implementing the right benefits demonstrates your dedication to your workers, their families, and the communities you serve.
Of course, if you have less than 50 full-time employees, you’re likely working with more limited finances. Yet you can still provide at least some benefit coverage to those who currently lack it – without breaking your bank.
IHN HR can provide you with worthwhile options complete with detailed evaluations and explanations on how to implement them. We serve clients nationally, some with many employees, some with few. But across the board, we’ve seen organization owners, leaders, and senior pastors express their desire to provide the best possible benefits to those working for them.
And we’ve been right there to help them achieve those goals.
One possibility is to offer taxable stipends in lieu of health insurance or an HRA. Employees receive these stipends tax-free as long as they have minimum basic coverage, and employers can deduct them as well.
Now, these are only available to organizations with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees (FTEs), according to the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate. So if you have a larger payroll count, an Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) may be your best bet instead.
For those organizations that do qualify, however, providing a stipend can help workers offset their medical plan costs, if they’re on the Affordable Care Act medical benefit program or medical sharing programs like Medi-Share, Christian Healthcare Ministries, and Samaritan Ministries.
If this sounds right for you, opening a QSEHRA plan might be your first step. This allows select small organizations – usually those that don’t provide group health plans – to pay for their staffs’ healthcare costs through non-tax compensation for specific medical costs, such as coinsurance and health insurance premiums.
The minimum essential coverage package includes an individual Marketplace plan (The federal government offers assistance to individuals, families, and small companies through the Health Insurance Marketplace®), with additional benefits determined state by state. But even at its most basic form, QSEHRAs can greatly reduce the time and financial burden of managing or overseeing more complex group health plan coverage, especially with employers in multi states.
Allowing the employee to choose their plan locally avoids the employer having to do the same but for all the employees on a plan.
In order to provide a QSEHRA, small employers must:
Employ fewer than 50 people full-time
Give all full-time staff identical terms for the benefit (The amount of compensation can only differ according to age and the number of people covered.)
Not provide a flexible spending account (FSA) or a group health plan, such as through the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP).
Is this the right route for you? Or would you best benefit from a different plan?
Regardless, you must offer incentives that excellent employees desire in order to fulfill your goal, realize your vision, and embody your organization’s values. And there are options out there to help you do just that.
If you need help bringing a strategic approach to your benefit offerings, reach out to us today. We would love to serve you!
In His Name HR helps organizations build high-performance human resource programs. E-mail us here.
Mark A. Griffin is president and founder of In His Name HR LLC. Connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter
In the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator framework, personality types represent various approaches to life. Each one is a fascinating study with its own unique strengths and weaknesses. And people have succeeded immensely by understanding them better.
Most people take the MBTI in order to understand themselves. Understandably so. However, this tool is just as useful in understanding others, especially for managers and HR personnel.
There are 16 different MBTI personality types, which might seem like a daunting list to familiarize yourself with. Yet the benefits can be intense.
When we really know who we’re working with, we’re in a much better position to maximize their potential.
One of these designations, the INTP, is also known as “The Contemplator.” It’s on the rarer side, with just 3%-5% of people identifying this way – men more so than women. Highly intellectual, INTPs want and even need to get to the bottom of things, knowing how, what, why, where, and when. They’re essentially driven by the desire to understand the world they interact with.
This nature can obviously bring intense benefits to a wide variety of situations and scenarios, making the INTP well worth studying.
An INTP’s Daily Life
INTPs take a logical and reasonable approach to life whenever possible. That’s their natural instinct and what feels most fulfilling to them in any given moment.
This facts-and-figures outlook, however, doesn’t mean they can’t see the realm of theoretical possibilities. INTPs constantly view things from the perspective of possible changes or advancements. They use their intellect to reason through complex issues, recognize patterns, and evaluate situations in order to make those possibilities actualities.
The INTP’s real motivation, however, isn’t necessarily to change the world. It’s to understand it. They desire clarity in everything they come in contact with, especially pertaining to more scientific studies.
Once they zero in on a project, the INTP easily falls into the absent-minded professor archetype. The high value they place on intelligence and their ability to solve problems by applying reasoning to theories can and often does become consuming.
Call it an obsession on their part. Or perhaps unrecognized fixation might be a better way of describing the INTP’s laser focus on results.
Everything else falls away for them, including time.
Put another way, INTPs usually spend their lives in their own minds. They don’t tend to place as much weight or emphasis on the outside world once they become determined to find logical solutions to something.
The INTP’s innate desire to translate ideas into practical knowledge can even develop into a sense of duty. They’ll believe (rightly or wrongly) that it’s up to them to address theoretical issues and advance society’s understanding… in which case, they can be counted on to nothing less.
INTP Strengths
As already noted, INTPs place a high value on knowledge, always trying to come up with new theories or ways to support or refute old ones. They approach theories and problems with curiosity and skepticism, disobeying accepted norms and viewpoints, and formulating their own strategies to tackle the project at hand.
That latter characteristic might sound like a negative. However, it can be extremely useful in advancing scientific thought. After all, sometimes the world needs some pushback on old hangups and adherence to the status quo.
Whenever something piques their curiosity, the typically very intelligent INTP automatically wants to look for trends and rational explanations to explain it. These people can be unbiasedly critical in their assessments, and passionate about theories and abstractions.
And, as previously stated, they have no problem giving a project the time it needs (or more).
Typically tolerant and adaptable, they adore novel concepts and enjoy talking about their ideas with other people. If you can get them away from their tasks, they can be truly fascinating conversationalists – provided you care about the topics of their interest, of course.
In fact, the INTP is extroverted and extremely self-assured when interacting with people they know well. Though, when it comes to meeting new people, they’re probably incredibly shy.
Challenges Faced by INTPs
Because their feeling side is their least developed attribute, INTPs often find it challenging to provide warmth and support in close relationships. They simply don’t understand the importance of showing consideration for other people’s emotions.
In worst-case scenarios, this can lead to them becoming extremely judgmental and caustic. And even in the best of cases, it can cause tensions in personal, casual, or professional interactions alike.
INTPs in general are quick to devalue anything that falls into subjective opinion or emotion. If a decision isn’t based on facts and figures, they’re not going to understand or appreciate it.
It’s as simple as that. And if anything challenges one of their deeply held ideas, they have a bad habit of becoming inflexible.
All put together, it should come as no great surprise that INTPs can find themselves struggling with social disobedience and self-aggrandizement. These tendencies, in turn, limit their creative potential, which is unfortunate for everyone involved…
Not just for them but anyone else they could have otherwise reached.
Coaching and Development for INTPs
INTPs most often use what they consider to be unchangeable truths to communicate their ideas. Normally, this involves well-reasoned comprehension of a concept; however, that doesn’t mean they’re always easy to understand.
This can become a greater issue still since INTPs aren’t inclined to bend reality to make things easier for anyone. They should just understand – right?
Yet amazing discoveries are ultimately meaningless if only one person knows about it. So it’s critical that INTPs concentrate on clearly communicating their established theories.
This might be frustrating to them considering their usual desire to finish up a project and move on – immediately if not sooner – to the next “big thing” that interests them. However, life is filled with frustrations sometimes, and every personality type needs to learn how to deal with their own.
INTPs need to be reminded that they’re no exception in this regard, no matter how they might think otherwise.
It’s also important to know that INTPs detest working on mundane tasks. They’d much rather develop intricate theoretical answers and let others handle system implementation.
Typically autonomous, nonconformist, and creative, INTPs can have complicated personalities, leading to erratic and restless behavior. But when they’re able to work on their own theories in their own way, they can come up with the most amazing applicable ideas.
Settings that therefore foster their creative, admittedly eccentric potential can help them achieve truly fascinating things.
INTPs in the Workplace
INTPs, with their unusual thought patterns and excessive intelligence, are particularly adept in scientific studies and technological pursuits. Their impressive ability to evaluate ideas from completely new angles has already been documented time and time again. And we’ll no doubt be hearing more sensational stories from this personality type going forward.
In the meantime, possible career paths for INTPs include:
In the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator framework, personality types represent various approaches to life. Each one is a fascinating study with its own unique strengths and weaknesses. And people have succeeded immensely by understanding them better.
Most people take the MBTI in order to understand themselves. Understandably so. However, this tool is just as useful in understanding others, especially for managers and HR personnel.
There are 16 different MBTI personality types, which might seem like a daunting list to familiarize yourself with. Yet the benefits can be intense.
When we really know who we’re working with, we’re in a much better position to maximize their potential.
This is true across the board, including with the ENFP, or “Defender” category. Making up about 8.2% of the general population and 10.2% of women, it’s marked by amazing characteristics, including the tendency to see life as a unique gift that must be appreciated to its fullest. This outlook allows ENFPs to interact with others in some pretty positive ways.
When properly understood and encouraged, the ENFP personality type can definitely make the world a better place.
An ENFP’s Daily Life
The ENFP’s main way of observing the world – and therefore interacting with it – is from the inside out, mainly through their intuition. They have a fundamental joy in life that’s hard to beat and a strong moral code that involves being true to themselves.
It cannot be stressed enough how important it is for them that their actions and values remain consistent. An ENFP who strays away from this necessity won’t end up being happy.
That might sound like an obvious statement that should apply to everyone, but it especially applies to ENFPs. They must have a sense of being authentic and following their moral convictions in order to feel that they are leading fulfilling lives.
Admittedly, they also have a strong desire to be accepted. Normally, their ethics win out when these tendencies come into conflict. But an ENFP may sometimes (particularly when younger) have a tendency to be “gushy,” dishonest, and generally “overdo” things in an attempt to gain approval.
If they figure out how to overcome that shortcoming, however, ENFPs can and do go on to become excellent at bringing out the best in other people. Combine that capability with full enthusiasm to take on life, and it should be no surprise that they’re usually well-liked.
With that said, this positive, ready-to-tackle-the-world attitude – which can too often encourage a chaotic lifestyle, or at least the appearance of such – can highly frustrate some people. This can be especially true of ENFPs’ own children, particularly those with strong inclinations toward assessing life more critically.
This temperament difference can mean the parent is perceived as being inconsistent and hard to understand. There’s also the chance for ENFPs to be controlling in how they raise their kids at times, which can cause further strife.
Then again, they may just as easily desire to be their child’s greatest friend instead. It can depend on the day and situation as much as the person and personality combination.
On the overwhelmingly positive parenting side, ENFPs and are very good about instilling their value systems in their offspring. That’s a priority on their part, and one that almost always bears fruit.
ENFP Strengths
Warm and gregarious, ENFPs are usually very intelligent and full of promise. A large part of that promise comes from how they’re traditionally passionate and excited about so much that comes their way.
The way they see the world, it truly is full of possibilities to see sights, do things, and help others adopt that same mentality. This mindset gives them a much greater capacity to uplift and encourage others than we see in other personality types.
It also means it isn’t hard to convince an ENFP into an activity. They’re usually game to try something new for the experience alone.
ENFPs possess a remarkably diverse array of abilities and aptitudes. If they’re interested in a project or study, they’re probably going to be good at it. Moreover, once they start something, they’re probably going to finish it.
Most ENFPs are excellent communicators. They value their interpersonal ties highly and are genuinely kind and interested in people.
Put another way, this personality type is relationship oriented. And they’ll remain loyal to those in their life just as long as they have strong moral principles to tie them down.
It should also be noted that ENFPs enjoy a little excitement in their lives. So they do often pair best with people who welcome change and novel experiences.
The ENFP may appear aimless and purposeless to casual observers (or more critical mindsets, as already noted). But in reality, they’re highly consistent individuals who uphold a strong sense of moral principles throughout their lives.
Challenges Faced by ENFPs
When an ENFP does go wrong, he or she can become highly skilled at manipulation. Endowed with the gift of gab, it’s easy and even instinctive for them to get others to sign on to their projects and plans.
And even the best of the best ENFPs aren’t immune to making grave mistakes in judgment. Although they possess a remarkable ability to intuitively discern the truth about people and circumstances, they can still get judgmental and draw incorrect conclusions.
In addition, when an ENFP finds himself or herself up against projects they’re not interested in, they can be more prone to ditching the task at hand. Or the relationship, for that matter, whether by withdrawing or by ending it altogether.
Their constant focus on potential outcomes may also cause them to grow disinterested in the current state of affairs. At the same time, they’re highly sensitive and aware of their surroundings, continuously scanning their environment… which means they’re more prone to suffering muscle tension.
Because they’re drawn to the world of thrilling possibilities, ENFPs tend to discount or outright overlook the minutiae of daily existence. They just don’t care about doing intricate maintenance-related duties and take no joy when they’re forced to complete such activities.
Coaching and Development for ENFPs
When ENFPs maintain their composure and focus, they tend to achieve great success in their pursuits. However, as previously noted, some of them have a tendency to give up on projects when they get enthusiastic about a new opportunity.
This flightiness naturally prevents them from ever reaching their full potential.
That’s why ENFPs should be encouraged to concentrate on seeing their tasks through to completion. And feel free to give them some time and space to process what you say. In contrast to other extraverted personality types, ENFPs actually require alone time in order to refocus and confirm that their actions align with their ideals.
Resistant to being categorized or controlled, they have a strong drive to be independent. And they don’t necessarily want to manage others either, hating to see anyone suppressed, no matter who.
In general, ENFPs are content people. But if they’re forced to perform boring chores or adhere to rigid timetables, they could get upset.
As a result, they function best in environments that allow them to be highly flexible. And they can equally thrive when they get to collaborate with others and share ideas.
Moreover, if they’re enthusiastic about their jobs, they can be highly productive with minimal guidance.
ENFPs in the Workplace
Charming, risk-takers, ENFPs are equally sensitive and people-oriented with a wide range of abilities. It’s really just a matter of whether they can stay focused and learn how to follow through. Because when they do achieve that state, their gifts can do so much to fulfill both themselves and those around them.
All told, potential career choices for ENFPs include:
Consultant
Teacher
Actor
Entrepreneur
Advisor
Diplomat or politician
Journalist or writer
Computer programmer, systems analyst, or computer scientist
In the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator framework, personality types represent various approaches to life. Each one is a fascinating study with its own unique strengths and weaknesses. And people have succeeded immensely by understanding them better.
Most people take the MBTI in order to understand themselves. Understandably so. However, this tool is just as useful in understanding others, especially for managers and HR personnel.
There are 16 different MBTI personality types, which might seem like a daunting list to familiarize yourself with. Yet the benefits can be intense.
When we really know who we’re working with, we’re in a much better position to maximize their potential.
Consider the INFJ designation, nicknamed “The Defender.” It’s the rarest of the 16, making up just 1% of the U.S. population; and it’s even more uncommon for a man to be one. Sometimes described as a “walking contradiction,” these individuals are pretty secretive about their personal lives, allowing only a very small inner circle to know them inside and out.
Yet it is possible to understand an INFJ – no matter how guarded they might be.
An INFJ’s Daily Life
If you’re an INFJ, your way of life is mainly internal. You use your intuition to process information first and foremost.
Having structure and order in the outside world is very important for INFJs – even if they may display somewhat disorganized workspaces or living areas. Absolute order, after all, is difficult to maintain and probably requires a much more externally minded focus.
INFJs spend a great deal of effort figuring out the most effective method for finishing tasks, and they continually establish and reassess their priorities. Yet they function intuitively and completely spontaneously within themselves.
Incredibly perceptive, INFJs have an innate understanding of people and circumstances without necessarily having in-depth knowledge of the topic at hand. Moreover, most of the time, they’re correct – and they know it.
They simply “feel” things, sensing what’s real and what isn’t. As an extreme illustration of this tendency, some INFJs have described having intense psychic feelings about loved ones… only to then learn they were involved in an automobile accident or some other tragedy.
Other personality types can and do laugh and belittle this kind of behavior, with some understandable reason. And even INFJs themselves may not fully comprehend their intuition, at least not to the point where they can describe it. Yet it’s real and can actually be quite useful.
Incidentally, the lack of support about their “powers” is part of why most INFJs are guardians of their inner selves, disclosing information about their personal lives only as they see fit.
Though they can attain significant inner depth and depth of feeling, INFJs do not always have an easy life.
INFJ Strengths
INFJs are profoundly complex. The main reason being that many facets of their personalities appear to be at odds with one another. Yet it’s these very contradictions that are what most observers find fascinating about INFJs.
They might describe themselves as extroverted introverts, calm yet emotional, pessimistically optimistic or optimistically pessimistic, and/or logically creative or creatively logical – just to name a few possibilities.
As already described, INFJs have a great deal of faith in their gut feelings and intuitions. Yet, thanks to their internal-external struggle, they’re often not as judgmental as other structured personality types.
They actually make intense efforts to be kind in order to prevent harming others since they care about their feelings.
Patient, loyal, and protective by nature, INFJs are typically devoted parents who share close ties with their children. They have high expectations for their children and urge them to reach their full potential and have high expectations for them.
While this can occasionally turn into obstinate and hard-nosed guidance, most children of INFJs receive profoundly compassionate and committed parental guidance.
They have equally high standards for themselves, striving to live in accordance with their strong moral convictions and systems of values. INFJs are, in some respects, gentle and laid-back due to the emotion component of their personalities.
But they’re very value-oriented and don’t believe in compromising on what they hold dear.
Challenges Faced by INFJs
On the downside, the INFJ nature almost always encourages them to be private – to a fault – and challenging to understand. Downright secretive at times, they have a bad habit of withholding aspects of who they are.
Along those lines, INFJs aren’t always the best speakers. They can and do listen with the best of them, but when it comes to expressing what they’re thinking, they can too easily trip over their own language.
In addition, because they’re so intuitive with such justifiable confidence in their gut feelings, they run the risk of automatically assuming they’re right even when they’re not. This can mean that the INFJ becomes narrow-minded, disregarding the opinions of others in some situations.
They’re also too peace oriented. Because they seek harmony so much for both themselves and especially those around them, they easily fail to see when conflict can actually be a positive.
For instance, they might very well avoid telling someone that they’re offended… even though doing so could actually strengthen the relationship long-term.
In the same regard, the typically calm INFJ can become agitated or angry when confronted with conflicting situations. And if the stress builds up too much, they can internalize conflict into physical health issues.
Coaching and Development for INFJs
INFJs are perfectionists who question if they’re reaching their full potential. Never totally content with who they are, they always think there’s something more they could be doing to better the world and themselves.
Since they consider growth to be a continuous state of being, they don’t typically take the time to celebrate their successes. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t compliment them, however; appreciation is always encouraging to hear.
INFJs typically shine in roles that allow them to be creative and relatively autonomous at work. They’re naturally drawn to the arts, though many do quite well in more scientific studies since they can apply their intuition there. And service-oriented vocations are another great spot to encourage them toward.
They do, however, struggle to handle minuscule details and intricate assignments. Their tendency is to either steer clear of these situations altogether… or get so engrossed in the minutiae that they lose sight of the larger picture.
It’s also the detail-engrossed INFJ that can get quite judgmental of others who aren’t so focused. So managers should watch out for that.
INFJs in the Workplace
Don’t let the INFJ’s introverted nature fool you. This grouping’s ability to read people and desire to help makes them very suitable for many people-oriented professions. Always looking for ways to grow and encourage others to grow, their gifts can bring new depths of understanding to those who seek their expertise.
Potential INFJ career possibilities include:
Religious and clergy positions
Employment instructors,
Physicians and dentists
Alternative medical professionals, such as reflexologists and chiropractors, psychologists and psychiatrists
Social professionals and counselors
Artists and musicians
Photographers
Early childhood development and childcare professionals.
In the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator framework, personality types represent various approaches to life. Each one is a fascinating study with its own unique strengths and weaknesses. And people have succeeded immensely by understanding them better.
Most people take the MBTI in order to understand themselves. Understandably so. However, this tool is just as useful in understanding others, especially for managers and HR personnel.
There are 16 different MBTI personality types, which might seem like a daunting list to familiarize yourself with. Yet the benefits can be intense.
When we really know who we’re working with, we’re in a much better position to maximize their potential.
Take the ESFJ, also known as “The Caregiver.” Quite common relative to the other 15 categories, it makes up a good 12% of the U.S. population. But that hardly means it should be taken for granted. ESFJs are extreme people persons who can have some of the best affects on their fellow human beings – something societies can always use more of.
Here’s what you need to know about ESFJs, what makes them tick, and where they best fit into the workforce.
An ESFJ’s Daily Life
If you’re an ESFJ, your main way of evaluating and interacting with life is externally oriented; you handle situations based on your external facing view and how that aligns with your personal experiences.
And those personal values are very, very people oriented. ESFJs absolutely adore their fellow human beings, taking a genuine interest in those around them. They collect precise, in-depth information about people, then transform that data into affirmative judgments.
ESFJs tend to have strong beliefs about how things ought to be and don’t hesitate to voice them. Yet it’s important to realize that their moral codes are often shaped more by the society they live in rather than personal convictions. Moreover, they have an intense need for social acceptance and crave friendly environments.
On the plus side, this makes ESFJs very supportive of others and highly dependable. Detail-oriented in the extreme, they place a high value on stability and security, and take their tasks seriously. Moreover, they’re good at it, identifying tasks quickly and exceeding expectations in completing them .
However, they do seek recognition for their contributions and authenticity, and they’re easily wounded if others act indifferently to them… assuming negative intentions even when none exist.
ESFJs share many traits commonly associated with women in our culture. But ESFJ men don’t tend to look feminine at all. While they may become sensitive as you get to know them, male ESFJs will come across as very macho and female ESFJs as very feminine.
Either way, they place a high value on stability and tradition, seeking stable lives where they can spend ample time with friends and family.
ESFJ Strengths
Since they tend to be raised and surrounded by strong, moral, and genuinely goodness-centered value systems, ESFJs are often the kindest, most giving people you’ll ever meet. Armed with a high degree of social awareness, they will give you anything, no questions asked.
As such, they have a unique ability and desire to bring out the best in others. And their talent at reading people and discerning their perspectives is impressive. So it only makes sense that people appreciate being around them.
ESFJs have a long list of “best” traits, including:
Warmth
Sensitivity
Cooperation
Helpfulness
Tact
Practicality
Thoroughness
Consistency
Organization
Enthusiasm,
In short, they’re incredibly giving, vivacious individuals who derive a great deal of personal fulfillment from seeing others happy.
Challenges Faced by ESFJs
For all their positives, ESFJs may acquire extremely dubious values if they don’t have the opportunity to evaluate them against a sound external system.
In these situations, since they lack an internalized sense of morality, they typically and sincerely believe their distorted value system to be true. This lack of intuition keeps them from seeing the broader picture, and they’re good at finding plenty of justification for whatever moral infraction they choose to defend.
Compounding this, ESFJs lack the intuition of their ENFJ cousins to help them comprehend the true effects of their actions. They believe their behavior is ethical and therefore justified even when it’s really all about them and their personal objectives.
Since ESFJs typically enjoy a good deal of popularity and know how to work a crowd, they can also be skilled manipulators. In fact, their extraverted feelings can push them to control and manipulate.
Because ESFJs are such compassionate people, there are occasions when they find it difficult to acknowledge or accept a tough truth about a person they hold dear.
An ESFJ who hasn’t matured to his or her full potential may also be prone to feelings of insecurity and excessive people pleasing.
Coaching and Development for ESFJs
Every ESFJ has an innate need to be in charge of their surroundings. They seek closure and demand organization wherever they are. That’s why well-structured environments suit them the best.
You won’t generally find them enjoying tasks requiring impersonal analysis or abstract, theoretical concepts.
Managers should be fully warned that pairing an ESFJ with a more free-spirit colleague can be disastrous without proper preparation on both their parts. They think everyone should respect and adhere to the laws and regulations of authority – and they don’t take kindly to contrary thinking.
Being so conventional, ESFJs would much rather follow the path less traveled instead of trying something new. Their need for security motivates their eager adoption and devotion to the established system’s rules. And they may occasionally accept norms without thinking about them or asking questions.
Speaking of which, ESFJs are usually very aware of gender norms. So much so that they often feel most at ease in a role that corresponds with cultural gender expectations.
ESFJs in the Workplace
Being so people-oriented, the ESFJ personality type can find plenty of opportunities that reward both them and those they interact with. Just as long as they work hard to acknowledge and overcome their sensitivities and struggles, they can be extremely useful and effective members of society.
It is vital for human resource professionals to track and assess their HR strategies’ efficiency.
That’s why they use specialized metrics to gather and analyze information about an array of workforce dimensions. While there are many possibilities to choose from, not all metrics are equal. Likewise, not all are suitable to help your particular organization.
There’s a lot of information out there to navigate through as you seek to exceed your goals, remove obstacles to success, and promote a culture consistent with your mission, vision, and values. But it’s not insurmountable.
You can learn how to develop and utilize HR metrics to gauge performance and support your organization’s strategic vision. From selection to implementation, discover the key steps for creating human resources metrics that truly matter to your organization’s success.
Understanding Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in HR
Key performance indicators, or KPIs, are an essential tool in gauging whether an HR department is meeting its objectives. They can play a critical role in strategic decision-making and enhancing problem-solving abilities that align with organizational goals and objectives.
It’s important to distinguish between common HR metrics and KPIs. Because while all KPIs are metrics, not all metrics are KPIs, which have distinct characteristics, such as:
Specificity
Measurability
Attainability
Relevance
Direct connection to broader organizational goals.
HR teams use these vital indicators about such things as employee turnover rates, employee engagement, training effectiveness, development assessments, and pay equity. Analyzing these crucial data points can pinpoint sectors that are ripe for enhancement and make HR activities consistent with the larger organizations’ goals.
These measurements can then be turned into actionable insights that elevate human resources from a purely operational arm into a pivotal, future-shaping part of the organization.
And, for the record, the more specific your metrics are, the better. Identifying Crucial HR Metrics for Your Organization At first glance, selecting suitable HR metrics for your organization may feel like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube. It can appear overwhelming due to the vast variety of choices available.
However, when you track your organizational objectives, it becomes clear which HR metrics you can accurately apply. After that, decoding the puzzle is easy and even enjoyable.
(To learn more about what KPIs are all about, click here.)
Your organization-specific list will almost certainly include the group of HR metrics listed below. They’re designed to provide you with vital insights about the efficiency of your HR measures and areas for growth…
1. Recruitment Metrics
The success of any thriving organization depends on its recruitment. But without proper benchmarks, it can be tough to determine if your hiring is effective and efficient.
Therefore, recruitment metrics are critical measures in assessing these processes. They give you insights into how effective your processes are.
For instance, one focus is on the time to hire: how long it takes between when the recruitment process begins and when a suitable candidate accepts his or her job offer. This is an essential measure of how quickly your candidates of choice move through the pipeline. Or how about your cost per hire. Recruitment costs reveal the financial investment that goes into securing each new hire within expected salary bands.
HR authoritySHRM pins the employee cost per hire at $4,683 on average. How close are you to that figure?
Quality of hire is another important consideration – an assessment that gauges what advantages newly hired personnel add based on aspects like performance, team and/or organizational assimilation, and ongoing work contributions. Your organization itself must also exude attractiveness that draws potential applicants into competitive landscapes. The Offer Acceptance Rate elucidates this appeal by showcasing how many extended offers actually result in hires. HR teams are increasingly adopting refined tools such as talent analytics and predictive models to both:
Sharpen prospect identification skills during recruitment exercises, and
Devise stronger employee retention approaches after the contract has been signed.
2. Retention Metrics
Bringing in new talent through recruitment is one thing, but maintaining it through high retention rates is another vital aspect of organizational health. Elevated retention not only lessens the financial burden associated with frequent recruiting and training of newcomers, but also cultivates a sense of loyalty and trust among employees—crucial for ensuring stability and promoting growth within the organization. The Employee Turnover Rate (ETR) serves as an important indicator in this context, providing a measure of how many individuals leave over a given period. To calculate this rate, divide the total number of those left by the total number of employees at the start, and then multiply that figure to express it as a percentage. Monitoring for potential turnover during an employee’s initial year can flag underlying issues detrimental to both your employer’s brand and hiring finances. Thus, tracking first-year turnover holds considerable value amongst key employee metrics here. Assessing both voluntary exits—where employees choose to leave—and involuntary ones, gives comprehensive insights into job satisfaction (or lack thereof), which may be hindering successful staff retention. Imperative for grasping overall workplace morale while safeguarding against attrition is examining overtime per full-time equivalent (FTE), revealing average overtime across your workforce. This not only sheds light on potential burnout risks impacting worker contentment—which affect your retention rate, and subsequently affect continuity—it also identifies undue strain, potentially accelerating employee departure rates. By keeping these crucial data points in check, organizations are better equipped to cultivate environments that encourage continued employment tenure alongside deepening commitment from their personnel. 3. Employee Engagement Metrics
To achieve organizational success, it’s crucial to keep employees fully engaged. That’s why metrics exist to assess employee engagement.
This can provide insights into job and employee satisfaction, as well as the overall commitment of staff within the organization.
We cannot overstate the significance of these metrics. They impact work quality and employee growth rate and retention, and shape the organizational culture. The Employee Engagement Survey from the Best Christian Workplaces, which is determined through survey responses, stands out as one such metric. It offers valuable perspectives on whether employees would recommend their workplace to others. And it provides a clear picture of organization-wide engagement levels. Another important indicator is the absenteeism rate: the average frequency at which employees do not attend work. A higher-than-average absence rate could indicate underlying challenges in key areas such as:
Organizational governance
Leadership effectiveness
Workplace conditions
Work-life balance and harmony.
These four elements are integral to shaping employee contentment and dedication. As they improve, so does productivity and efficiency. Metrics require data in order to implement data-driven HR strategies With access to vast amounts of data, HR strategies have transitioned from mere intuition to solid, evidence-based insights. By harnessing the power of HR analytics, organizations can not only refine their talent acquisition tactics, but they can also diminish employee turnover and bolster overall workforce engagement. That’s why it’s crucial to delve into how applying a data-centric approach to your human resources practices could revolutionize the efficiency and effectiveness of those processes. Collecting and Analyzing HR Data HR data’s quality and applicability form the foundation of any effective data-driven HR strategy. Strategies fail when they lack precise and relevant data, which is why HR departments can employ various software tools to:
Craft customized reports and extract insights from KPIs.
Streamline data gathering from a variety of sources.
Apply sophisticated analytics to support informed decision-making processes.
Convert intricate datasets into practical, actionable insights.
Note those last two in particular. Because there’s more to an efficient HR strategy than just amassing large quantities of data.
It’s also about evaluating which training initiatives actually deliver and which ones don’t.
For instance, HR teams can monitor salary average overtime metrics to effectively manage both internal and external costs – particularly during periods when staff shortages lead to frequent and costly overtime. And an all-encompassing view of total HR-related expenditures is crucial for assessing its financial efficiency. Sifting through employee data for relevant feedback or assessing how technology investments pay off are two more examples. And the list goes on from there. Aligning HR Metrics with Organizational Objectives
Ensuring that HR metrics are in sync with an organization’s broader goals is essential for success. This entails navigating shifts within an organization and maintaining a strategic focus.
Human resources departments should establish specific targets across several areas to support central organizational aims. For instance:
Aligning the organizational structure
Developing compensation strategies
Enhancing employee skill development
Refining performance review processes
Managing transitions effectively.
In turn, they can use these data analytics for various purposes, such as:
Projecting future labor market trends that could indicate either talent deficits or surpluses in particular sectors.
Applying predictive analysis techniques for early detection and addressing potential skills shortages.
Correlating recruitment efforts directly with projected talent needs.
It can be helpful to benchmark these goals against industry leaders. This can help HR teams stay informed about current trends concerning consumer demands and workforce expectations. Of course, each organization will have specific considerations that may or may not deviate from top-ranking competitors.
Addressing Pay Equity in HR Metrics These days, it’s imperative for organizations to address pay equity as part of their human resource metrics.
This goes beyond meeting legal requirements. It’s a fundamental part of sound ethical HR practices.
Pay equity means ensuring that employees who perform similar roles receive equal pay – regardless of personal attributes such as race, sex, ethnicity, age, or religious beliefs that are unrelated to job performance. Therefore, metrics that assess how well these practices are in place are essential. Ideally, they should measure them over time to ensure they eventually lead to proper pay equity.
To achieve it, employers should take the following steps:
Perform audits dedicated specifically to pay equality.
Implement impartial criteria when determining salary.
Increase transparency surrounding remuneration.
Amend any discovered imbalances.
Most organizations with a properly maintained and applied pay equity metric end up rewarding motivated employees. This then ultimately improves retention and lowers turnover overall. Establishing Benchmarks and Targets Defining benchmarks and targets for each of the HR metrics you use is critical, and it’s important to get top management involved in the process.
You want to match benchmarks and targets with your overall organization’s strategy and individual departmental considerations. But also, evaluate your metrics by comparing with different HR departments in other organizations that are similar in size and performance. Each HR metric’s goals must represent a meaningful step toward achieving key long-term organizational objectives and goals. Benchmarking best practices include:
Selectively choosing appropriate competitors
Verifying data sources for reliability
Establishing realistic objectives
Upholding an ongoing commitment toward benchmark activities.
These metrics should also include measuring how well managers are doing their jobs, how fast employees move up in the company, and how much it costs to train each employee.
Monitoring and Adjusting HR Metrics as Necessary Human resource management is an area of constant change and realignment. It’s important to always keep an eye on your processes so they’re properly aligned with the firm’s needs and goals. It’s also essential to research how setting benchmarks and goal evolution can improve HR metrics. Once again, pair them with flexible strategies that allow for constant improvement.
This should ensure a thriving, cohesive workforce that’s in tune with the organization’s goals. HR functions must constantly evolve their metrics to effectively navigate today’s tumultuous world. By refining key indicators such as cost per hire, employee engagement rates, and eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Scores), organizations can enhance hiring practices while also highlighting improved areas.
That, in turn, should benefit the company financially and in terms of employee morale–a win-win all around.
In Conclusion…
In the dynamic world of HR, metrics are a compass to guide strategic decision-making.
From recruitment to retention, and employee engagement to pay equity to organizational alignment… putting this data to good use can transform HR from mere support to a strategic driver.
It all comes down to:
Identifying the right metrics
Aligning them with organizational objectives
Monitoring and adjusting them.
When organizations do this, the results can be immensely positive. Many organizations prosper when results are measured. This process allows organizations to monitor goal attainment, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions. They serve as a framework for evaluating employee performance and aligning performance and actions with strategic goals.
FAQs About Creating Human Resources Metrics for Your Organization
Q: What is the difference between HR analytics and HR metrics?
A: HR metrics focus on specific quantifications that monitor and assess various HR functions. Whereas HR analytics examine extensive HR data to glean strategic insights.
By leveraging HR analytics, organizations can make informed decisions regarding talent acquisition, employee engagement, workforce planning, and retention strategies – just to name a few areas of improvement.
Q: How can an organization use HR metrics to create value?
A: HR metrics are crucial for monitoring essential hiring and retention processes, including employee performance, compensation patterns, and levels of engagement. They offer valuable insights that help pinpoint successful initiatives, areas for improvement, and further ways to grow.
Q: How can recruitment teams use HR metrics?
A: Metrics such as cost per hire and time to hire can serve as indicators of the recruitment process’ effectiveness and efficiency. And once an organization has that information, they can better evaluate what is working and what isn’t in order to improve their searches.
Q: Why are retention metrics important?
A: Once someone accepts a job offer, there’s no guarantee they’ll stay the full year, much less longer. Organizations that have insights into employee satisfaction levels tend to have better reputations and retention – which of course make for better work environments in general.
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For further actionable insights, reach out to In HIS Name HR here. We help organizations build high-performance human resource programs designed to build your workplace into the productive, engaging, effective, integrity-filled space you want it to be.
Rise with us by implementing our high-performance remote human-resource programs to help find great people!E-mailus here.
Mark A. Griffin is president and founder of In HIS Name HR LLC. Connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter
Be Bold if We Believe Jesus Is the Lord, Then We Must Be Bold at Work
Join us on this episode of Encouragement at Work. Mark Griffin meets with Peter Demos. Peter entered the family restaurant business at age 12 when he started working as a dishwasher in his dad’s Western Sizzlin’ restaurant. From there, his experience in the food industry and serving others gradually grew under the tutelage of his father, who imparted to Peter many aspects of what it takes to run a successful business.
After graduating from high school, Peter earned a B.S. in sociology from Middle Tennessee State University before studying law at the University of Missouri. He went on to earn his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree, during which he discovered that he could better fulfill his passion for helping people in the food industry.
In 1999, Peter returned to his parents’ family restaurant, Demos’ Restaurant, with the single goal of growing the organization. His experience as a restauranteur grew, and he was given the position of chairman on the Board of Directors for the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce and president of the Tennessee Hospitality Association. Currently, he is the president and CEO of Demos’ Brands and Demos Family Kitchen, owning six restaurant locations across middle Tennessee, including PDK Southern Kitchen and Pantry, and multiple other businesses.
Peter is a highly sought-after leadership source expert and speaker on business, leadership, and faith. In addition, Peter also serves as an adjunct professor at Lipscomb University, where he teaches a class on leadership and management. Today, Peter and his wife, Kristin, work closely together in both business and ministry. They are now teaching their two children to also serve God with their lives.
Author of: Afraid to Trust: One Man’s Journey into the Love of God and On the Duty of Christian Civil Disobedience. Peter brings his insight on critical organizational aspects that should be considered in any organization’s HR department to be successful in these tumultuous times. Listen in as Peter and Mark give encouragement for work.
Concerned about the HR programs at your organization? The benefits of having a trusted partner guide you and your team to excellence are invaluable. Contact us today. You—and your employees—will be glad you did.
Rise with us by implementing our high-performance remote human-resource programs to help find great people! E-mail us here.
Mark A. Griffin is president and founder of In His Name HR LLC. Connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Introducing Arturo Del Rio Jr., a seasoned leader renowned for revolutionizing sales dynamics and cultivating thriving team cultures. Unlike the conventional belief that internal competition drives sales excellence, Arturo champions a different approach—one that nurtures collaboration over cutthroat competition.
With a remarkable track record steering sales teams at industry giants like Mass360 and Sungard Availability Services, Arturo’s expertise transcends traditional boundaries. His entrepreneurial ventures, including successful exits from application development and AI tech firms, underscore his innate knack for fostering innovation and driving tangible results.
In a recent triumph, Arturo helped launch Set-Aside Queen, catapulting it to a staggering $700k ARR within a mere six months. Now, as Partner and Chief Mission Outreach Officer at Pro-Life Payments, he continues his legacy of transformative leadership.
Tune in as Arturo shares his visionary insights with host Mark Griffin, unraveling the secrets to instilling motivation and unity within sales programming. Moreover, delve into the world of Pro-Life Payments—a trailblazing enterprise offering cutting-edge merchant services with a humanitarian twist.
Pro-Life Payments isn’t just about transactional excellence; it’s a beacon of purpose-driven commerce. From seamless payment processing to revolutionary Dual Discounting features, they empower merchants while championing life-saving initiatives. Their commitment to donating 15% of revenue to Preborn.org is a testament to their unwavering dedication to making a meaningful difference.
Join us in embracing a new era of business—one where profitability harmonizes with philanthropy. Experience the power of commerce to bless lives and transform communities. Learn More Here about Pro-Life Payments and embark on a journey where every transaction fuels hope and saves lives.
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Concerned about the HR programs at your organization? The benefits of having a trusted partner to guide you and your team to excellence are invaluable. Contact us today. You—and your employees—will be glad you did.
Rise with us by implementing our high-performance remote human-resource programs to help find great people! E-mail us here.
Mark A. Griffin is president and founder of In HIS Name HR LLC. Connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter
Just a couple of decades ago, the term “Generative AI” may have sounded like a Star Wars concept or character. Today though, you’d be hard-pressed to find any large (or small) organization that doesn’t have its finger on the pulse of artificial intelligence innovation.
As Matt White wrote in his 2023 Medium article, “A Brief History of Generative AI”:
“ Generative AI will be the most disruptive technological innovation since the advent of the personal computer and the inception of the internet, with the potential to create tens of millions of new jobs, permanently alter the way we work, fuel the creator economy, and displace or augment hundreds of millions of workers in roles from computer programmers to computer graphics artists, photographers, video editors, digital marketers, and yes, even journalists. Even with all the hype around generative AI this year, its true power has not yet been seen or felt.”
And there has been plenty of hype. Yet, believe it or not, generative AI is not a brand-new concept.
It’s been researched and even primitively implemented since the 1960s, when Joseph Weizenbaum developed the first chatbot named ELIZA. A natural language processing (NLP) program, it was designed to simulate conversations with a human user by generating responses based on the text it received.
This technology and research only increased over the next few decades. In 2012, for instance, Geoffrey Hinton and his team used convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in the field of speech recognition. And then in 2022, a variety of diffusion-based image services were released – including OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
A recent Salesforce survey showed that 45% of the U.S. population is now using generative AI. It also found that:
65% of these users are Millennials or Gen Z.
75% are looking to automate tasks at work, particularly for communications.
68% say it will help them better serve their customers.
The full group of people exploring this technology include college students, independent contractors, and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. And as generative AI stands now, it appears there’s no going back.
This might sound intimidating, but think about it this way… With 65% of employees experiencing burnout in 2023, this may just be the innovative solution we’ve been looking for.
One of the many organizational operations that’s seeing a major shift via generative AI-based question-answering capability is HR service delivery. And as deployments bring productivity and fresh insights to the staff function, this engagement will likely rise.
The Role of Generative AI in 3 Key HR Processes
Executive teams already expect HR to be an insightful partner across their organizations, and GenAI brings this future to life. Moreover, this technological partnership can act as a model for other departments on using this vital, still-evolving technology in innovative ways.
Knowing that, let’s look at the role of generative AI in HR development and how it can affect the future of the workplace.
“Strive to use this evolving technology to drive the entire organization forward through your HR processes while keeping people productive, satisfied, and engaged.” – Mark A. Griffin
Efficient and Targeted Recruitment
Recruiting requires assessing applications, shortlisting prospects, and arranging interviews – all of which take time. Often lots of it.
But AI algorithms can quickly review applications, determine relevant skills and expertise, and present comprehensive lists of qualified individuals. So HR managers can use them to save valuable energy, time, and resources.
One such platform already implementing this is Eightfold’s Talent Intelligence Platform. The company states on its website:
“Our deep-learning AI Talent Intelligence Platform uses the world’s largest talent data set to provide unmatched clarity into internal and external talent so you can make confident decisions and drive real change across your organization.”
With technology rapidly increasing each year, more platforms like Talent Intelligence are bound to appear.
Data-Driven Decision Making
Generative AI can also assist HR managers in making decisions by evaluating tremendous amounts of employee data. From there, it can take that information and generate useful insights.
By exploring historical behaviors and trends, for instance, AI algorithms can identify elements that impact staff satisfaction, current skill gaps, and future workforce needs. This data-driven strategy enables HR departments to:
Helping leaders and employees set goals aligned to organizational KPI’s
Make enlightened workforce planning decisions
Come up with effective talent management plans.
It’s hard to overstate the value capability here. Just think how much more productive an organization would be with those areas properly assessed and sorted out!
Retention, Wellbeing, and Engagement Analysis
Finally, AI-powered insights can have a significant, positive impact on staff engagement, retention, and satisfaction.
Organizations dealing with staff exhaustion and motivation issues could utilize this tool to analyze data more efficiently and reach viable conclusions more quickly. To say nothing about how they can uncover hidden threads and patterns that traditional surveys might otherwise overlook.
Overworked and/or understaffed HR departments will somehow, someway fall short of properly addressing their companies’ goals. It’s inevitable. But AI can step in to lower their burdens, giving them the capability to act on information in much more productive ways.
There’s Plenty More Where Generative AI Came From
In summary, AI is transforming HR processes in sectors such as:
Talent management
Employee experience
Training
Career growth
Performance management
Retention
And who knows how many more areas it can positively affect from here!
By integrating AI technologies, HR managers can streamline operations, improve customization, and make data-driven decisions that benefit everyone – their larger organizations, individual employees, and customers alike. This “new” universe we’re experiencing might seem intimidating at first glance.
But it doesn’t have to be.
You just have to know how to put it to good use. Once you do, you might be surprised at how much more you and your organization can accomplish.
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Concerned about the HR programs at your organization? The benefits of having a trusted partner to guide you and your team are invaluable.
That’s what In HIS Name HR is here for – to guide you and your employees to the bigger and better places you envision.
When you contact us, make sure to ask about our high-performance remote human-resource programs to help find great people! Email us here today.
Mark A. Griffin is president and founder of In HIS Name HR LLC. Connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Every day, employees who are disengaged, distracted, or discouraged cost employers time, money, frustration, and opportunities. Rob Marchalonis is committed to changing that. Nothing motivates a team more than when they share in the success or gains they help achieve. Through Rob’s leadership he has been able to take many organizations to the next level. Not just for-profit organizations, but nonprofit organizations as well. Listen in and learn how incentives and variable compensation plans can motivate and energize your employees to achieve remarkable results.
As a former CEO, Rob understands the challenges organizations are under. Rob is the creator of IncentShare and founder of LSP123. Years of hands-on experience as CEO, marketing director, engineer, entrepreneur, coach, and consultant have given Rob deep insight into organizational dynamics, motivation, incentives, and sharing to get results. He has advised thousands of business and nonprofit leaders.
Rob’s experience as an entrepreneur, engineer, and 25+ years as a hands-on CEO has given him deep insight into the power of effective Leadership, Strategy, and Process deployment to fuel workforce productivity and results. Connect with Rob on LinkedIn or contact him here.
Concerned about the HR programs at your organization? The benefits of having a trusted partner to guide you and your team to excellence are invaluable. Contact us today. You—and your employees—will be glad you did.
Rise with us by implementing our high-performance remote human-resource programs to help find great people! E-mail us here.
Mark A. Griffin is president and founder of In HIS Name HR LLC. Connect with him on LinkedIn and Twitter
