Human resource measurement and reporting in manufacturing and service sectors in Sri Lanka

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore and compare current practice of the measurement and reporting of human resource (HR) information by firms belonging to the manufacturing and service sectors in Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach – Survey methodology was used and 30 firms belonging to the manufacturing and service sectors responded. For the data analysis descriptive statistics, χ 2 test, principal component factor analysis and independent sample t ‐test were used. Findings – There were sectoral differences in reporting some of the HR indicators. HR indicators were mainly collated internally and a limited number of indicators were externally disclosed. A majority of firms, irrespective of business sector, maintained records of HR indicators in the manual form. Three main factors that inhibit the measurement and reporting of HR were identified as “Insufficient resource allocation”, “Lack of knowledge in human resource measurement and reporting”, and “Negative impact on organization”. Research limitations/implications – The research was conducted using survey research methodology as a pilot study to establish baseline data and to be a source of general guidance in stimulating future research. Practical implications – The findings suggested that firms in Sri Lanka need to have more effective systems for the measurement and reporting of HR. Originality/value – The majority of past studies on the measurement and reporting of HR were conducted on the voluntary disclosure of information in annual reports. Firms were selected on the basis of the market capitalization, and data were analysed using content analysis. Yet, the literature suggests that the content analysis of disclosed annual report information is mainly based on a non‐random sample of firms and many firms do not disclose all the available information. The current empirical survey‐based study explored and compared HR measurement and reporting practices of firms belonging to the manufacturing and service sectors in Sri Lanka.