Analytics · HR glossary

Human Capital ROI

Human capital ROI is a family of measures relating financial returns to workforce costs. A common formula subtracts non-workforce operating costs from revenue, then divides the remainder by workforce costs.

Example

With revenue of ₹10 million, operating expenses of ₹8 million including ₹2 million in workforce costs, this formula gives (10 minus 6) divided by 2, or 2.0.

What to keep in mind

Definitions vary and the result is a ratio, not automatically a causal return from HR activity. Specify accounting inputs and avoid comparing employers using different cost classifications.

Further reading

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