Standards Development

Scope

This international technical specification describes the elements of the leadership metrics cluster and provides comparable measures for internal and external reporting.

The technical specification (TS) also highlights issues that need to be considered when interpreting the leadership metrics data especially when deciding on the appropriate intervention internally and when reporting these to external stakeholders (e.g. regulators, investors).

Purpose

This proposal builds on the work of #ISO30414 section 4.7.5 Leadership, to be completed by ISO/TC260 WG2 metrics. At the Plenary meeting held in Paris in 2018, the committee decided that WG-2 would prepare metrics in support of ISO30414 in a cluster process by human capital metric area.

The scope of this technical specification reflects the work and definitions and discussion from #ISO30414. Leadership metrics reflect and quantify the impact that changes in the leadership and management of the workforce has on the organization’s economic outcomes, efficiency and effectiveness of the organization’s operations.

In this TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION you will find the description of the internationally accepted metrics as referenced in ISO30414, and indicators which describe the Leadership metrics and measures relating to leadership and management within organizations as defined by outputs relative to costs invested in workforce.

The leadership metrics in organizations is observed, analysed and described in the following ways:

• The quality and sustainability of leadership has a strong impact on the results of an organization. It depends, for instance, on identifying and developing the right leaders, for example segmented by executive leaders and managers. Metrics within this area make statements about the process of identifying and developing leaders.

• leadership metrics refers to the measurement of leadership and management in both efficiency and effective leadership and management of limited and critical organization resources. Leadership impacts governance, risk, productivity, services, satisfaction, quality, growth, profitability, structure, culture, engagement and much more.

• Leadership is important for both internal and external stakeholders, because it supports assessment of the governance, effectiveness and efficiency of the organization and its’ workforce.

• Leadership is considered a critical driver and determinant of the effective governance, risk mitigation and efficiency of operations in any organization.

• For the area of leadership, the following metrics are recommended for internal and external reporting by large organizations and SMEs:

1. Leadership trust

2. Span of control

3. Leadership development

In describing and defining leadership metrics in organizations, this Technical Specification will also highlight issues that should be considered when determining the nature and extent of any intervention for leadership metrics. The discussion focuses on the care required in the interpretation of your metrics.

These issues include the need to understand the external operating environment. Factors that may be relevant including the economic environment, employment levels, workforce composition, structure, industry sector; compensation practices, experience and supply of the requisite skills; labour necessary to perform required work on behalf of the organization. These metrics also enable competitor benchmarking activity (which may include other sectors when competing for scarce transferable skills).

There are also issues internal to the organization that impact leadership metrics. They may include factors around the work itself, levels of training and experience determined to be required as well as compensation and benefit factors that make an organization a more or less attractive place to work. Issues around leadership, quality of managers and the practice of people management across all the teams; notwithstanding the espoused policies and procedures.

While these internal and external issues may impact leadership metrics and may also be derived from effective and efficient leadership, it is important to understand that not all leadership metrics impact organizations in the same way, nor are important to same extent in any two organizations. For example, a steady level of rapid growth or staff attrition may impact an organization differently and require different leadership and management skills and or competencies. With leadership playing a different role with certain leadership metrics impacting the organization differently. If the organization is losing high performing, highly innovative or highly engaged workers, there is likely to be a much larger historic and potential future leadership impact on overall organization effectiveness and efficiency than if an organization were losing average or poor performing workers.