How Can Management Control Systems Be Applied to Non-Quantifiable HR Activities?

Hello,

I was studying Management Control Systems and was wondering how it can be used in HR. As most of the HR activities are non-quantifiable (e.g., training, development, payroll, etc.), how can we have a management control system in place to keep a tab on the HR activities like training and development or recruitment activities? Have such systems been implemented in any organizations you know of? Can you please share your thoughts/views?

Hi,

First, we must have a clear understanding of the activities of HR. All activities in HR are quantifiable and have certain metrics attached. If you are talking about T&D, we can evaluate the training process using past performance data and desired future performance. Various other training programs can be tracked by having clearly defined objectives and on-the-job training, and one can assess the effectiveness of training.

You will find more information online, which may clarify your understanding.

Dear Melwin,

My comments for your statements are as below:

"As most of the HR activities are non-quantifiable e.g., training, development, payroll, etc., how can we have a management control system in place to keep a tab on the HR activities like training and development or recruitment activities."

I beg to differ with you. Who told you that HR activities are non-quantifiable? You measure the gap in skills and knowledge of every employee. Once you measure it, find out how this gap has reflected on the balance sheet of the company. The real skill of HR is how to do this.

Secondly, you measure the effectiveness of recruitment. How the cost of poor recruitment has reflected in the balance sheet of the company.

Thirdly, you measure the number of errors in the payroll. These errors result in demoralization or demotivation of the staff. Measuring this is only a challenge. However, payroll processing should be completely error-free. Measure how many errors are happening per employee per year.

Have such systems been implemented in any organizations you know of? Can you please share your thoughts/views?

Not in many companies, this is followed. However, this does not mean that the process is not there at all.

Ok...

Dinesh V Divekar