The ROI of Human Capital: Measuring the Economic Value of Employee Performance

AORN Journal,  Dec, 2004  by Linda Brazen

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The ROI of Human Capital: Measuring the Economic Value of Employee Performance Jac Fitz-enz 2000, 298 pp $29.95 hardcover

This book's premise is that employees represent monetary value to the companies for which they work. The author provides employers with tools to calculate the return on investment they receive from employees. He presents information in a unique style, using quantitative methods to measure the time and effort of employee productivity. He demonstrates how the organization, the function an employee was hired to perform, and management of the employee affect employee value.

The author uses an interesting observation to develop the text--that the capitalist economy and the working population are on diverging growth curves (ie, there are more jobs and fewer workers). This observation is supported by recent demographic statistics and discussed in terms of employee age, gender, and social status and information technology's impact on the workplace. The author concludes that these diverging curves will precipitate corporate competition for talent in the near future.

Each chapter adds to a sequential how-to strategy of screening, selecting, and developing employees who will contribute positively to a corporation's bottom line. The how-to information also includes methods such as formulas, scorecards, and graphs that can be used to quantify employee contributions. The tools appear to be flexible enough to be used in any type of business, but no health care- or nursing specific examples are given.

This book would benefit employers from any discipline who are interested in the concept or measurement of employees as capital. It is challenging, however, to appreciate the book from a nursing perspective.

This book is available from AMACOM, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

LINDA BRAZEN

RN, MSN, CNOR

CLINICAL NURSE SPECIALIST//EDUCATOR,

OPERATING ROOMS

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO HOSPITAL

DENVER

COPYRIGHT 2004 Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group