You do not need fifty charts. Six numbers, checked on the same day every month, will tell you most of what is going right and wrong with your people.
Why a few, every month
A number looked at once a year is a surprise. The same number looked at monthly is a trend, and a trend gives you time to act. Pick a few, define them once, and keep the definitions the same so this month can be compared with last.
1. Headcount and movement
How many people you have, who joined, who left and who moved team. It is the base for every other number, and the first sign of a team growing faster than its manager can handle.
2. Leavers
Leavers in the period divided by the average headcount, times 100. Split it by team and by whether people chose to go. A company rate can look fine while one team loses a third of its people.
3. Early leavers
The share of new employees who leave within their first year. If it is high, the problem is usually in hiring or the first weeks, and both can be fixed.
4. Required training done
The share of people whose required training is complete and in date, and a list of who is overdue. This one needs names, not only a percentage, because the fix is to book someone.
5. How people feel
From a regular check-in or pulse survey, by department, shown only where enough people answer to keep it private. Watch the direction, not the exact score.
6. Goals on track
The share of goals on track, behind or done. A team where most goals are behind in month two needs a conversation now, not a hard review later.
If you want a fuller framework later, ISO 30414:2025 is the international standard for reporting on people (“human capital”), written for organisations of all sizes and sectors. The CIPD calls people analytics “a fundamental element of evidence-based HR”.
Getting started
Do not wait for perfect data. Start with the two numbers you can trust today, usually headcount and leavers, and add the rest as the records improve. Write down how each number is worked out, in one sentence, so the person who takes over from you gets the same answer.
Share the numbers with managers, not only HR, and show each manager their own team next to the company. The person who can act on a number should see it first.
Using the numbers well
- Show where each number comes from. A figure nobody can check is not trusted, and should not be.
- Do not guess. If the data is missing, say so. Do not fill the gap with an estimate.
- Protect privacy. Only show what each person is allowed to see.
- End with an action. Each month, pick one number to improve and name who owns it.