Human resources managers often have a difficult time showing just how their work financially benefits their businesses.

Now a workshop being put on by the Bermuda Employers Council (BEC) today will do just that.

The workshop on measuring human resources for businesses, is being run by Milton Perkins, senior director at US-based workforce solutions firm Agile 1. It is expected to draw in 50 HR professional from a range of industries and local and international companies.

Mr. Perkins said the session was particularly relevant to Bermuda's service-oriented business community and given the context of the global economic crisis, with companies spending most of their expenditure on human capital.

"HR practitioners have traditionally been service providers or in administrative type roles," he said. "But we have evolved to a position where we have come to see executives are now recognising that their companies are spending a huge amount of money on human capital, so they need HR practitioners to show a return on that.

"It is about starting to talk in business terms and work out how do I measure the intangible of human capital against the profit and loss statement."

Mr. Perkins said he would equip attendees with a balance scorecard to help them ascertain the value of their investments in the company's personnel, such as in terms of training and development.

For example, he said, you could measure the amount of money a vacant position was costing the business in terms of days taken to fill that post and the impact that had on a company's bottom line.

The six-hour session will also enable delegates to develop strategies and work out how to add greater value to their organisation, with the option of a four-hour consultation follow-up after the event.

Mr. Perkins, who gave a presentation to the BEC in April, 2009, will be doing a tour of South America this year, speaking on the subject in five countries.

"Typically, in a downturn, HR is the first department to get cut and then when it picks up it is one of the first where hiring starts," he said. "As I like to say, if you have the metrics in place to show the return on human capital investment you can defend yourself a bit better if that happens."