In today's business landscape, organizations prioritize measuring various aspects such as revenue, profit, customer acquisition, market share, costs, inventory, and cash flow. However, when it comes to people, the focus often stops at merely counting the number of employees. Dr. Abiola Salami, Principal Performance Strategist at CHAMP, argues that this is not enough. The real question should be: what measurable value are our people producing, and what are we doing to increase their capacity to produce more?
Consider a company with 500 employees, investing millions annually in salaries, recruitment, onboarding, training, leadership development, employee engagement, technology, benefits, conferences, and retreats. If the CEO asks the HR Director about the return on this investment, a response like "we trained 327 employees" is not satisfactory. This is an activity metric, not a productivity metric. The answer should focus on the impact of this investment, guided by questions such as: did productivity increase, did customer complaints fall, or did sales conversion improve?
The consequences of neglecting to measure the return on people are significant. According to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2026 report, only 20% of employees globally were engaged in 2025, resulting in an estimated $10 trillion loss in productivity, equivalent to 9% of global GDP. This is not just an HR issue, but an economic one. Nigeria faces an additional challenge, with the World Bank's 2025 Human Capital Index Plus data showing the country's education pillar at 64, compared to a median of 88 for lower-middle-income countries.
To address these challenges, organizations need to shift their focus from merely building capable people to creating organizations capable of converting that capability into performance. Having skilled people is only half the equation. Dr. Salami introduces a familiar character, Kunle, who has attended numerous training programs but may not be producing the desired value. This highlights the People-to-Performance Gap, which Dr. Salami has observed since 2012.
The CIPM 2026 International Conference & Exhibition, themed "Repositioning for Value and Impact," emphasizes the need for HR leaders to reposition themselves to drive organizational performance. Dr. Salami recommends five HR Repositioning Shifts: the Capability Shift, the Learning-to-Capability Shift, the Engagement-to-Enablement Shift, the Talent-to-Value Shift, and the Performance Shift. These shifts aim to help HR leaders move beyond activity metrics and focus on productivity metrics.
The Capability Shift involves moving from counting people to measuring organizational capability. The Learning-to-Capability Shift focuses on building capability rather than just training people. The Engagement-to-Enablement Shift emphasizes enabling engagement rather than just measuring it. The Talent-to-Value Shift prioritizes the value talent can create over its cost. Finally, the Performance Shift focuses on what the organization becomes capable of achieving rather than what HR delivers.
Ultimately, measuring the return on people is about taking people seriously enough to understand whether organizational systems are helping them thrive. It is not about reducing people to numbers, but about ensuring that investments in people produce tangible value. By adopting these shifts, organizations can bridge the People-to-Performance Gap and create a more effective and efficient workforce.
Key points
- Organizations should prioritize measuring the value produced by their people, rather than just counting employees.
- The CIPM 2026 International Conference & Exhibition emphasizes the need for HR leaders to reposition themselves to drive organizational performance.
- Dr. Abiola Salami recommends five HR Repositioning Shifts to help organizations bridge the People-to-Performance Gap.
