Toolkit · Article 01 · HR Strategy & Business Partnership

HR in Rupees Kit

Three tools to turn people numbers into rupees. So the board sees what a lost person or a slow hire costs.

3Tools
4Steps
2Hours
FreeTo use
LEDGER RS DECISION
01

At a glance

What it is

Speak the board's language

Boards think in rupees. HR often talks in rates and counts.

For example, attrition of 22% sounds like an HR problem. A loss of ₹70 lakh sounds like a business problem.

This kit helps you price one people number. Then you show it on one slide, with a clear ask.

Who it is for

Who it is for

CHROs, HR heads and HRBPs who present to the CEO, the CFO or the board.

When to use it

Three moments

  • You need budget to fix a people problem.
  • The board asks why attrition matters.
  • A key role has been open for months.
Kyun, the Mimansa loris
Kyun

You have a people number. Shall we find out what it costs in rupees?

02

The four steps

About 2 hours over one week. Do steps 1 to 3 at your desk. Step 4 is the meeting.

  1. 1Pick the number20 min
  2. 2Price it40 min
  3. 3Show it as a share of profit30 min
  4. 4Present it30 min
1
Step 1 of 4

Pick the number

20 min

The HR head picks it, with the HRBP.

  1. List three people numbers your CEO asks about.
  2. Pick the one that hurts the business most.
  3. Get the last 12 months of data for it.
Kyun

Which number keeps your CEO up at night?

DELAYS ABSENCE ATTRITION
2
Step 2 of 4

Price it

40 min

The HRBP does this, with help from finance.

  1. Find the monthly pay for each role in the count.
  2. Guess the cost of each case in months of pay.
  3. For open roles, use the Hiring Delay Cost Calculator.
Kyun

Now, what does one case cost?

LEDGER RS ?
3
Step 3 of 4

Show it as a share of profit

30 min

The HR head does this, with the CFO's team.

  1. Get last year's profit from finance.
  2. Divide the people cost by the profit.
  3. Write it in one line, such as "7% of our profit".
Kyun

How big is that next to the profit?

PROFIT PEOPLE COST
4
Step 4 of 4

Present it

30 min

The HR head presents. The CFO backs the numbers.

  1. Put the number, the cost and the ask on one slide.
  2. Show the CFO the slide before the meeting.
  3. End with one decision you need that day.
Kyun

One slide. One ask. Ready?

DECISION
03

Example and how-to

Filled-in example · Attrition Cost Calculator

Field sales attrition

Field sales team, 120 people, a consumer goods firm in Pune. This is an example. Copy the shape, not the words.

Team
Field sales, 120 people
Leavers in 12 months
26 people left. That is about 22%.
Average monthly pay
₹45,000
Cost of one leaver (our guess)
6 months of pay. That is ₹2.7 lakh each.
Total cost
26 × ₹2.7 lakh = ₹70.2 lakh
Share of profit
About 7% of last year's ₹10 crore profit.
The ask
₹15 lakh to coach the 12 area managers.
How-to guide · 3 minutes

How to turn an HR number into rupees

  1. Pick one number, such as attrition.
  2. Count the cases. For example, 26 leavers.
  3. Price each case. Months of pay is a good start.
  4. Multiply the cases by the price.
  5. Write down each guess you made.
  6. Show the total as a share of profit.
04

What you get

3 free tools. Each one is a single page or a single sheet.

Kyun

That's the kit. Each fits on one page or one sheet.

05

Why it matters, and what's next

41%

of CHROs say business sense is the skill most missing in HR candidates.

Source: Korn Ferry, CHRO survey, released 2017 (189 CHROs worldwide, surveyed late 2016)
20%

of top HR heads in India have led a team outside HR.

Source: Spencer Stuart, Evolution of the CHRO Role in India, 2024 (350 CHROs studied)
200%

of a year's pay is what it can cost to replace a leader or manager. For a frontline worker, it is about 40%.

Source: Gallup, Employee Turnover: Preventable, Yet Often Ignored, 2024
Kyun

Next, let's read the P&L itself.