Ratio of Number of HR Positions to Staff Numbers

Rating

Ratio of Number of HR Positions to Staff Numbers

Based on my experience, the ratio of HR positions in an organization appears to vary from 1:50 to 1:250.
I suspect that the ratio varies based on the ORGANIZATION'S SCOPE, SIZE, COMPLEXITY, AND INDUSTRY.
There may also be other factors that influence the ratio including the NUMBER AND TYPE OF SERVICES PROVIDED by the HR department.
I also suspect that the use of TECHNOLOGY, the HR MODEL (centralized, decentralized, shared services, etc.), and the BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT could impact the ratio.

⇨ Notwithstanding the number of variables, what is a reasonable ratio for a full service HR Department?

		Comments by date▼ Comments by rating Rating
		2 david suirara Student (MBA), Solomon Islands
	Ratio of HR Positions in an Organization I agree with your view that ratio of posts varies according to size of the organization, complexity and industry. However, the SCOPE (OF PROVIDED SERVICES) should be the determining factor to determine what the ratio of the HR positions has to be.

		2 Dr. Alan Williams Professor, Thailand
	Ratio of Number of HR Positions to Staff Numbers Agree with the posts already made, however I believe there's another point that needs to be reinforced regularly with managers. The point that ALL MANAGERS HAVE HR RESPONSIBILITIES. The title "manager" in fact implies the responsibility to manage every factor involved in achieving agreed goals and strategies and that includes managing the staff in the departments/teams etc. In my several roles as a CEO I never allowed operational managers to say 'HR stuff is for the HR manager, not my responsibility. A simple example, a team member is not achieving agreed individual goals. The local manager made the final decision which candidate to employ and should always be managing that employee, checking progress towards goals. I had managers who tried to insist that HR dept should be checking this. I never allowed this attitude, my comments was always 'you are the manager of a team which must achieve agreed goals and each team member has individual goals, you (manager) are on the spot all day everyday, it's part of your management work. If necessary the manager should review/reinforce the goals and set new review dates etc. If these are still not achieved now bring HR into the picture.

		2 Jaap de Jonge Editor, Netherlands
	A Manager by Definition Has HR Tasks as Well @Dr. Alan Williams: Thanks for pointing out so eloquently that managers also have HR tasks, something we must never forget. Your example to demonstrate your point is perfect. The EXTENT TO WHICH MANAGERS IN AN ORGANIZATION ARE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR VARIOUS "HR TASKS" is indeed also a factor that influences the ratio between HR personnel and total staff numbers.