Write a short (5-6 page) essay on one of the following SUGGESTED topics.Write an abstract (3-4 sentences) of your essay. Summarize the objectives and the method of your essay.  1) Discuss the relat

Understanding Human Capital Metrics

Identify an organization of interest to you and conduct some research to determine the types of metrics (if any) are used to assess how well the organization is identifying, managing, and utilizing human capital (e.g., do they have a/any process to evaluate people and their overall contributions to the organization?). In your submission, provide brief background information in the company and what you have been able to identify in terms of metrics. Be specific in what you identify and assess based on your readings on metrics. NOTE: If you select a company and cannot find any information on metrics, pick another firm because you need to provide data for this assignment. 

My example: As an employee with a vested interest in the success of Coastal Carolina University (CCU), I have reviewed the mission of educating members of society and they have identified and offered programs that are in demand in the marketplace and/or unique to this institution (e.g., Marketing, Management, Finance, Professional Golf Management, Marine Science, Instructional Technology, Political Science to name a few). I am most interested in the business model of CCU and specifically the revenue model that sustains the institution as a non-profit entity. In my research, I have identified several metrics that CCU utilizes to inform business decision-making to include (but not limited to) with the ultimate goal of identifying people management challenges and metrics that can address the organizational concerns:

1. Operating budget of approximately $160 million (funded mostly tuition as state of SC provides only 5% funding)D

2. Number of admission requests (reflects demand for programs) and acceptance rate (commonly viewed as a measure of selectivity_

3. Program costs - costs to offer programs to include faculty and staff personnel costs, buildings and resources, etc.

4. Based on program costs, determining in-state and out-of-state costs of attendance

5. Cost of doing business: Revenue-generating units vs. cost units (break-even analysis)

6. Skillsets and competencies required of those offering programs AND the availability of those skillsets in the labor force

7. Benchmarking against peer and aspirant institutions (program information as well as faculty data to include salaries, turnover rates, size of workforce, etc.)

8. Culture, Fit, and Engagement via employee satisfaction or engagement surveys

I'm not providing the specific data for each the items above but you can/should to the extent it is disclosed. Once you have captured some information, discuss the findings in light of what it means for people management in the organization. 

You could choose to take the broad approach (what I outlined above for CCU) and capture as many metrics being used that you can find OR you can choose to have some depth and take one area and delve deeply into how the data is captured and used in the organization. The depth approach using CCU, I would generally focus on #6 above to capture the needs of the organizations and likelihood of recruiting/hiring the right people with the right skillset. This is not a Memo submission but an assignment that may still require headings so that you provide clarity and organization for the reader.