By the middle of the year, most HR teams have already ticked off a few milestones, rolled out programs, and dealt with unexpected workforce challenges. But hereโs the real question: Are your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) still working?
Mid-year is not just a checkpointโitโs a chance to pause, reflect, and realign. The business world shifts fast. What felt like the right objective in January may now feel off track or irrelevant. Thatโs why reassessing your KPIs and goals halfway through the year is one of the smartest, most strategic HR moves you can make.
In this guide, weโll walk through how to evaluate your HR metrics, realign them with business goals, and keep your workforce on the path to meaningful results.
Why Mid-Year KPI Review Matters in HR
HR is more than just payroll and policy. It’s the engine that drives company culture, performance, and growth. And just like other departments, HR needs clear goals and performance indicators. But what happens when those indicators no longer reflect your current reality?
Thatโs where mid-year reviews come in.
Revisiting KPIs mid-year allows HR to:
- Stay agile in response to market or internal changes
- Re-align employee performance goals with evolving business strategies
- Identify roadblocks early and course-correct
- Re-engage employees by making goals feel achievable and relevant
- Prevent wasted time on outdated objectives
Whether itโs shifting hiring priorities, budget adjustments, or employee wellbeing concerns, your goals and metrics must evolve with the business. After all, one of the key objectives of human resource management is to support the companyโs overall successโsomething that can only happen if HRโs targets stay aligned.
Common KPI Metrics HR Teams Should Revisit
Not all KPIs are created equal. Some tell you how your team is doing today. Others help forecast future trends. At mid-year, you need a blend of both to get a full picture.
Here are the KPI metrics worth reviewing:
1. Employee Retention Rate
Are people staying or leaving faster than expected? If your turnover rate is rising, dig deeperโis it compensation, culture, poor onboarding?
Why it matters: High attrition mid-year can disrupt productivity and cost more in training and hiring.
2. Time-to-Fill
This metric traces how long it takes to fill a vacant role. If hiring is dragging, it could signal misalignment between recruitment efforts and current talent availability.
If you find that roles are staying open too long, it might be time to rethink your recruitment strategy. Platforms like Bossjob.ph help employers connect with pre-qualified candidates faster using AI-powered job matching, cutting down your time-to-fill without compromising on talent quality.
Reassess if: Roles are staying open too long, or new hires are failing to meet expectations.
3. Training Completion & Effectiveness
Are your upskilling programs being used? More importantly, are they actually helping employees improve?
Tip: Use feedback surveys or post-training quizzes to measure training impact, not just completion.
4. Employee Engagement Scores
These scores usually come from surveys. A dip might indicate dissatisfaction, burnout, or unclear expectations.
Watch for: Sudden drops in team morale, productivity, or collaboration.
5. Performance Appraisal Distribution
Are too many employees rated average? That might reflect vague KPIs or inconsistent performance measurement.
Fix by: Adjusting evaluation criteria to better reflect actual contribution.
When reassessing these metrics, donโt just rely on numbersโlisten to what they say. Are they still tied to strategic goals? Or are they being tracked just because they always have been?
How to Align KPIs with Shifting Business Goals
One of the biggest HR challenges is keeping goals relevant while also staying realistic. Business strategies shift mid-year due to market conditions, leadership changes, or financial performance. Your KPIs should shift, too.
Hereโs how to realign:
Start with the Big Picture
Talk to leadership teams and department heads. Whatโs changed since the beginning of the year? Are revenue goals still the same? Have priorities shifted from growth to cost-efficiency?
Once you know the new direction, you can adjust HR KPIs to match.
Re-evaluate Team-Level Objectives
Your original goals might have focused on rapid expansionโnow they need to focus on retention or culture. KPIs should be able to evolve just like projects do.
For example:
- Then: โHire 50 new team membersโ
- Now: โImprove onboarding satisfaction score by 20%โ
Involve Managers and Employees
Alignment doesnโt work top-down alone. Invite feedback from team leads and even employees when adjusting KPIs. Ask:
- Do current goals make sense?
- Are they achievable with current workloads?
- What roadblocks are we facing?
The more collaborative the realignment process, the more buy-in youโll get.
Balance Leading and Lagging Indicators
Donโt just track what already happened. Include forward-looking KPIs like:
- โPercentage of high-potential employees enrolled in leadership programsโ
- โReadiness score for digital transformationโ
These keep your strategy proactive, not reactive.
Tools and Techniques for KPI Realignment
Modern HR isnโt just about spreadsheets anymore. If you want to realign KPIs efficiently, the right tools can save time and offer deeper insights.
Hereโs what can help:
1. Performance Management Systems
Use platforms that track individual and team goals in real time. These often integrate with HRIS systems for smoother tracking.
2. HR Dashboards & Analytics
Visual dashboards let you instantly spot trends or outliers in your KPI metrics. Use them to identify patterns before they become problems.
3. Agile Goal Setting (OKRs or SMART Goals)
Reframe KPIs as short-term, flexible OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) that can evolve quarterly. Or use SMART goalsโSpecific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
4. Monthly Check-ins & One-on-Ones
Regular conversations between managers and employees help surface KPI-related concerns before performance reviews.
5. Pulse Surveys & Feedback Tools
Quick surveys help gauge employee sentiment and pinpoint where KPIs may be falling short, especially around engagement and well-being.
When choosing tools, pick ones your team will actually use. A fancy dashboard doesnโt help if no one logs in.
FAQs on KPI Review and HR Goal Setting
How often should HR revisit KPIs?
Ideally, KPI reviews should happen quarterly, but mid-year is the minimum. Frequent reviews keep goals responsive and relevant, especially during periods of change.
Whatโs the best way to involve employees in KPI planning?
Host small group discussions or one-on-one check-ins where team members can share whatโs working and whatโs not. This increases buy-in and surfaces practical feedback.
Final Words
Your KPIs arenโt set in stoneโand they shouldnโt be. What mattered in January may no longer serve your team, your people, or your business today.
Reassessing HR KPIs and goals mid-year isnโt about failureโitโs about progress. Itโs a chance to reflect, refocus, and recommit to what truly matters. From employee engagement to training impact and recruitment metrics, your HR team holds the keys to more than just compliance. You drive culture, performance, and purpose.
So take the time, revise your metrics, align your goals, and lead with clarity for the rest of the year.
