…is measurement.

There are a variety of reasons why this is so.  HR folks are often not “numbers people.”  Analytic skills are in short supply in most HR departments.  Good data to evaluate HR programs and initiatives can be hard to come be, and the impacts are often ubiquitous and hard to pin down.

But perhaps the most fundamental problem is that all too often HR folks are doing measurement and evaluation for the wrong reason – they are doing it to “prove their worth” and/or to justify budgets.  This motivation immediately undermines the credibility of the findings and implications – even before they are produced. 

The right reason to undertake HR measurement/evaluation is to provide actionable insight for continuously improving organizational performance.  I’ve spoken to many HR professionals who are moving in this direction. 

It is impossible to overstate the significance of this shift in mindset.  When they make it, HR professionals find that their world changes (for the better).