Stacey Nordwall’s Post

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People advocate. Process pro. Pop culture nerd. | Building thriving organizations with people-first practices

A few weeks back, I asked what folks here thought about the HR-to-employee ratio and whether it was still relevant. As I suspected, the resounding answer was a big NO! People felt it was outdated and oversimplified, especially given the global nature of so many orgs, and some questioned the utility or need for it at all. Many also recognized that while it's outdated it’s something the C-suite can anchor on when it comes to making resourcing decisions. This means that it can be used as a conversation starter. Which means it’s up to us as HR practitioners to set the stage for that strategic conversation. It’s not just about headcount; it’s about aligning on the expectations of what can be delivered with that headcount (and what can’t!!). It’s about creating a mutual understanding of the current state of the org and the desired future state. It’s about demonstrating the difference between HR as an admin function and HR as a strategic function. And so on. As you have those conversations and get alignment, you can start to tweak resourcing as needed. Based on the discussion from my original post -> You might increase the number of HR staff or have a higher HR-to-employee ratio if: - The business is in a high growth phase or rapid transformation - The organization’s structure is complex - You have globally distributed teams in multiple locations - There are fluctuating retention issues and hard-to-fill roles - The business lacks appropriate tools / HR tech stack - You need to build/scale your HR processes  - You need to significantly train or upskill managers or staff - The scope of HR responsibilities and expectation of services has increased - The organization has a value and culture of investing in employees - There is a desire from senior leaders to have HR as a strategic partner to achieve business outcomes Or you might decrease or keep stable the number of HR staff or have a lower HR-to-employee ratio if: - You have stable business growth with predictable attrition  - You have established mature HR systems and processes - You have an established tech stack that is meeting the business’s needs - The organization does not have a value or culture focused on employee investment, engagement or retention - HR is perceived as an administrative function within the business - The organization’s structure is simple and has employees in a small number of locations Shout out to all the folks who participated in the discussion. 🎉 🙌 Tagging them and providing a link to the original post in the comments.

Stacey Nordwall

People advocate. Process pro. Pop culture nerd. | Building thriving organizations with people-first practices

1mo
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Lauren Puff, CPCC

Global Workplace | Employee Experience | Strategy & Operations

1mo

While I'm not in true-HR, I have had the same challenge articulating the staffing needs on my workplace teams. So, I built a staffing calculator. It takes the top 4 hiring variables which have all been weighted and tells me how many bodies are needed per office. It's not an exact science but has definitely been helpful in conversations with finance and other decision-makers who don't understand the Workplace world.

Deb Hill

People First HR Executive | Culture & Strategy | Growth Mindset | Private Equity | SaaS

1mo

Thank you for your great summary. In my experience the ratio is definitely different depending upon a variety of the factors you listed. Thanks for sharing this discussion.

Krystal Cooper

VP People Operations at Vizion

1mo

Love the breakdown and, yes, it is never as easy as a straight ratio/ number

Andrea Ommen

People and Talent Business Partner | Career Strategist & Advisor | Talent Management, Leadership Advisory, Building Engaging Workplaces

1mo

Thank you for asking such a prescient question, and thank you for synthesizing this breakdown!

Sarika L.

Global People Executive | Fueling Growth, Empowering Talent, Shaping Culture

1mo

This is such a great post with helpful insight!! I completely agree it’s never cut and dry and I’ve always hated the published benchmarks bc it never felt right to me. Thank you for bringing attention to this Stacey!!

Andy Thompson

HR Director @ Strive Gaming

1mo

1:100 in my experience 😂

Beylan B.

*Total Rewards Leader | Data and Systems Geek | Corporate Hippie* I help companies align their rewards with values and business priorities with an eye on equity and advocating for employee development.

1mo

Such a timely post, especially as companies downsize without shifting deliverables. Well said!

Gina E.

People & Culture|Business Advisory|Situational Coaching

1mo

Love the follow up post here Stacey Nordwall . As a community, we need to do more of this to bring folks “along the way”!

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