← HR Metrics·Compensation & Benefits
Cost per Employee
Total employment cost per employee
How it’s computed
total_cost / headcount
What the evidence shows
Evidence (effect sizes, priors, validity) is syncing from Principia.
What this metric can show you
Cost per Employee can tell roughly 22 pre-built stories — each a designed scene the data either confirms or it doesn’t. Bring your numbers and the Story Finder runs every one of these shapes against them.
specific to compensation & benefits
A real gradient — now ask if it's pointed at value
compensation · T1
Below the market, across the board
compensation · T1
One group sits apart on a decision that should be neutral
fairness-equity · T1
Pay is drifting from plan
compensation · T1
universal shapes — any single metric can take these
A few large values are doing the talking
any focus · T1
A one-time event, not a trend
any focus · T1
It doesn't track — the premise is false
any focus · T1
It's concentrated — one group stands apart
any focus · T1
Scenes are pre-built; your data is the toggle. Browse the full deck or watch one play end-to-end in The Quiet Exodus.
Run it on your data
This metric is computed in the People Analytics Toolbox on your own numbers. See pricing — posted, no quotes.
sources: toolbox:metrics-catalog
What the literature says
The measurement literature behind this signal — sourced, so you can defend it.
“The first and most traditional measure of recruiting cost is cost-per-hire, as I explain next. Cost-per-hireCost-per-hire measures the economic cost of the effort taken to fill an open job. Given that filling an open job is in no way, shape, or form a uniform task, you can…”
— People Analytics For Dummiesmatch 55%
“Labour Cost Expense Percent Labour Cost / Operating Cost The total labour costs as a percentage of total expenses. Labour cost can be a significant operating expense, in an organization that relies on human capital to generate value. Review this with Revenue per FTE to ensure…”
— Predictive HR Analyticsmatch 53%
“We do so in Exhibit 3-2 . Exhibit 3-2. Elements of the Total Compensation Framework (continuing the discussion from Chapter 1 ) [image "Image" file=Image00020.jpg] In the discussions about the projections of total compensation forecasting, expenditures normally paid via expense…”
— Compensation Benefit Designmatch 51%
Resources: People Analytics For Dummies · Predictive HR Analytics · Compensation Benefit Design