How to benchmark HR Shared Services globally?

"Carefully - to make sure you compare apples with apples. In my view there is too much reliance on secondary benchmarking (look it up on a database) instead of primary benchmarking (asking the questions directly to the contributors) these days. You need to understand what's behind the answers to gain the best insights. Get an independent research firm to do it for you. One or two good ones in India, to keep the cost down."  – Tim Lux MD, Pathfinders; Strategic change, outsourcing & low carbon specialist. Non-exec in startup and SME scale up support.

"It depends upon what you want to benchmark, and how your strategic approach is defined. Some benchmarking relies upon tactical content--number of HR representatives per employee; $ of training, benefits per employee. This information can certainly be aggregated and compared. However, it does not take into account unique business differences. Does Dell, with a focus on cost and operations, have the same HR services requirements as Apple, with it's focus on innovation.

To measure HR Shared Services, suggest you use a combination of operational metrics (as mentioned above), service surveys (to assess the internal customer perspective), and executive interviews. Benchmarks can provide an initial touchstone, but far better to develop your own baseline, and work from that.

If you would like to see the results of a recent research study conducted in partnership with ASQ, looking at the service levels of many internal shared services, please go to the website below, and download: Internal Service and People Equity: Driving Business Performance." – Valeria Schiemann Principal at Metrus Group

 - Thanks to all my Linkedin members for their valuable inputs.