Firms may continually say their people are their greatest asset, but their actions still belie their words, according to a study.
Consultancy Deloitte and newspaper Personnel Today have reported that one in four organisations do not see human capital measurement as a priority for their business, and a fifth of large firms do not even expect to put it in their annual reports.
The finding is even more surprising considering it is now a year since former Competition Commission deputy chairman Denise Kingsmill, publishing the recommendations of the Accounting for People Taskforce, recommended that a significant percentage of companies are still not undertaking any measurement of their human capital.
Just 12 per cent of organisations expected to report on human capital in their operating and financial reviews.
Brett Walsh, a human capital consulting partner at Deloitte, said: “Businesses have been responding to a period of unprecedented regulatory change and for many, human capital issues have been put on a backburner.
"However, with employment costs typically accounting for between 40 and 67 per cent of most organisations’ cost base, we continue to be surprised that measuring the value of human capital is so low on most companies’ business agendas," he added.
In a tight labour market where skill shortages were becoming more acute, the knowledge gained through human capital measurement could help give organisations a vital edge when it came to employee loyalty, performance and satisfaction, Deloitte added.