Cost Per Hire (CPH) is a key recruitment metric that quantifies the total expenditure an organization incurs to hire a new employee. It provides a financial measure of the efficiency of a company's hiring process. The CPH metric is a crucial tool for human resources professionals and business leaders to budget for recruitment, justify spending, and assess the return on investment (ROI) of various hiring channels. By breaking down costs into internal and external categories, CPH offers a comprehensive overview of a company’s financial investment in attracting, sourcing, and securing talent.

Employee Growth by Function measures how each organizational function is forecasted over a 1-5 year period. This hiring plan is typically factored into the financial model.

Employee Retention Rate measures the percentage of employees who remain with an organization over a specified period, typically a year. It is a key metric for evaluating the effectiveness of a company's human resources strategies, management practices, and overall workplace culture. Unlike employee turnover, which focuses on departures, retention rate measures the company's ability to keep its talent. A high retention rate generally indicates a positive work environment, strong employee engagement, and effective talent management, while a low rate may signal underlying issues such as poor management, inadequate compensation, or lack of growth opportunities.

Employee Turnover Rate is a human resources metric that measures the percentage of employees who leave an organization over a specific time period, such as a month, quarter, or year. It includes both voluntary departures, where an employee chooses to leave, and involuntary departures, such as termination or layoffs. The metric helps organizations understand the stability of their workforce, identify potential issues in the workplace, and assess the effectiveness of their retention strategies. A high turnover rate can signal underlying problems within the company, while a low rate generally indicates a stable and engaged workforce.

Expenses per Employee is a measure of the Operating Expenses for the last twelve months (LTM) divided by the current number of Full-Time Equivalent employees. Just like Revenue per Employee, this ratio is often used to compare companies within the same industry.

Full-Time Employees are permanent staff members who typically work more than 30 hours per week or four days weekly, depending on your organisation's definition and local labour standards. Unlike temporary, seasonal, or contract workers, full-time employees represent your core workforce with ongoing employment relationships. In most jurisdictions, full-time employees are entitled to comprehensive benefits including healthcare coverage, vacation pay, statutory holidays, and other employment standards protections as defined by local labour laws.

Full-Time Equivalents (FTE) is a standardised workforce measurement that converts all employee types—full-time, part-time, contractors, interns, and temporary workers—into equivalent full-time positions. This calculated metric provides a unified view of your total workforce capacity by expressing everyone's contribution as fractions of a standard full-time schedule (typically 40 hours per week or 5 days). Unlike simply counting heads, FTE gives you the true picture of your organisational capacity and enables accurate cross-company comparisons regardless of employment structure.

The General and Administrative to Revenue Ratio measures the percentage of total revenue consumed by corporate overhead and administrative functions that support overall business operations but don't directly generate revenue. This metric encompasses executive compensation, legal and professional services, accounting and audit fees, insurance, corporate facilities, administrative technology systems, and governance-related expenses. For CEOs, this ratio represents operational efficiency and the company's ability to scale without proportional increases in overhead burden. Finance leaders view this as a critical profitability driver, while HR leaders must balance necessary support functions with cost optimization pressures. This ratio is particularly complex because it often includes irregular, one-time expenses such as legal settlements, restructuring costs, acquisition-related fees, or extraordinary professional services that can significantly distort underlying operational trends. Unlike other expense ratios that correlate with business growth or strategic initiatives, G&A expenses ideally should grow slower than revenue as companies achieve operational leverage and economies of scale. The challenge lies in distinguishing between necessary infrastructure investments that support future growth and inefficient overhead accumulation that erodes profitability without strategic benefit.

Payroll to Revenue Ratio, frequently referred to as Salary to Revenue Ratio, is a productivity metric that measures how effective a business is at utilizing its labour costs to produce revenue. As with any ratio, it's always important to understand both the numerator and the denominator and how changes to either will impact the number.

People from Underrepresented Minority Groups in the Team measures the percentage of team members whose proportion in the team, company, industry, or other subset, is less than their proportion in the general population.

Profit per Employee is a measure of Net Income for the past twelve months (LTM) divided by the current number of Full-Time Equivalent employees. Because labour needs differ across sectors, this ratio is often used to compare companies within the same industry.

The Research and Development to Revenue Ratio measures the percentage of total revenue that a company invests in innovation, product development, and technological advancement activities. This metric encompasses all costs associated with creating new products, enhancing existing offerings, conducting research initiatives, and maintaining technological competitive advantages. For finance leaders, this ratio represents a critical investment decision that balances current profitability with future growth potential, while for HR leaders, it reflects talent acquisition and retention strategies in technical disciplines that command premium compensation. The ratio serves as a strategic indicator of a company's commitment to innovation and long-term market viability. Unlike sales and marketing investments that typically generate near-term revenue returns, R&D investments often require longer payback periods but are essential for sustaining competitive differentiation and market position. For CTOs and VPs of Product/Engineering, this metric provides the financial framework within which they must deliver innovation outcomes, making it a crucial tool for resource allocation, team planning, and technology roadmap prioritisation.