“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”

It’s a lesson I learned more than twenty-five years ago, as a young manager, from one of the most effective executives I’ve ever worked with. More importantly, I also learned that “measuring it” wasn’t enough. What’s measured, why it’s measured, and how the measurement is used to drive outcomes are what really matters.

As the human resource (HR) profession has continued to evolve beyond transactional responsibilities, many HR professionals have embraced the fact that technology enables them to collect and analyze data efficiently and in ways never before possible. They’ve discovered that the ability to analyze, measure and articulate HR’s contributions to organizational success allow them to make even greater contributions within their organizations. They’re able, in a very real way, to make a difference in the success of the businesses they support, creating more opportunities for the people employed by those businesses. They’re using measurement to invest in people.

But many HR professionals aren’t agile in the use of measurements to move their businesses forward. Some simply don’t know where to begin or are still looking for the “one true way” to measure—or are asking, “just tell me what to measure and what the number should be.” They are thirsty for an analytic framework that underlies the whole issue of measurement. Other HR professionals are working in businesses where the senior management team has never operated with the contributions of a strategic HR function, and managers are unable—or unwilling—to understand the value that HR can bring to the organization. For HR professionals in this environment, the challenge may be to begin by collecting the basic data necessary to allow measurement that will help drive the organization’s strategy.

The mission of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is to serve the HR professional and to advance the HR profession. As you read this book, I think you’ll find that Investing in People shares this mission. The profession will be well-served by the tools and analytic frameworks for the use of measurement provided by Wayne Cascio and John Boudreau. The observations offered by the authors on how best to “get started” in using measurements to inform and motivate strategic partners to think more clearly about the implications of decisions about talent will also serve the HR profession well. By basing their work on a foundation of solid scholarship and practice gained through their academic and consulting experiences, Wayne and John help to advance HR as a profession that is recognized as a decision science requiring special knowledge and expertise. HR isn’t a profession for people “who like working with people.” (I think most HR professionals cringe when someone tells them they’re interested in a career in HR because they “like working with people.”) Rather, it’s a profession that requires much, much more, including the ability to use measurement.

I was pleased to have SHRM partner with Wayne and John on Investing in People, by providing support for the development of the software that accompanies this book and making it available to HR professionals on our website (www.shrm.org/publications/books). SHRM’s mission and Investing in People have a mutuality of interest: to promote an HR profession that is recognized for its ability to add real value to organizations.

—Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR

President and Chief Executive Officer of the Society for Human Resource Management