ESG and HR reporting are often overloaded. Many KPIs are reported, but only a few actually drive decisions.

The key is to move from reporting many KPIs to steering with a few, relevant ones. This works when focusing on those data points that appear in both ESRS S1 (Own Workforce) and DIN EN ISO 30414 – combined with clear logic and financial relevance.

Common Data Points – What to Measure?

The mapping between ESRS S1 (Own Workforce) and DIN EN ISO 30414 reveals five key overlaps. These build a bridge from HR data to strategic management metrics.

Learning and Development: Both standards require information on training and qualifications. ESRS S1 demands detailed disclosure of learning and qualification activities, while ISO 30414 systematizes this area under “skills and capabilities.”

Diversity and Pay Equity: Both frameworks emphasize gender pay gap, age structure, and protection of different groups. ESRS S1 has a strong focus here, while ISO 30414 provides comparable metrics on gender, age, and other characteristics.

Recruitment, Turnover, and Retention: ISO 30414 names turnover, retention, and recruitment rate as central KPIs, while ESRS S1 formulates similar requirements, but more from the perspective of social risks and stakeholder concerns.

Health and Safety: ESRS S1 requires disclosure on occupational health and safety (S1-14), while ISO 30414 provides metrics such as accident rates, absence rates, or health programs.

Engagement and Culture: ISO 30414 treats engagement, culture, and productivity as dedicated categories, while ESRS includes them implicitly through workforce risk considerations.

These overlaps show: both standards offer a structured foundation for consistent, comparable HR KPIs – for internal steering as well as external reporting.

Impact – Why it matters

The strength of these overlaps lies not only in creating transparency but also in generating strategic relevance for corporate steering through plausible cause-effect relationships.

Learning and Development: Investments systematically build new skills, boosting productivity, strengthening innovation, and – over time – positively influencing revenue growth (CAGR) and financial metrics such as Return on Invested Capital (ROIC). ESRS and ISO emphasize linking training data to strategic business goals.

Diversity & Pay Equity: They foster satisfaction and engagement, improve employer branding, and help attract and retain qualified talent, lowering recruitment costs. A diverse workforce enhances innovation and decision quality, while fair pay supports satisfaction and retention—positively impacting EBIT margin and long-term Total Shareholder Return (TSR).

Recruitment, Turnover & Retention: Low turnover preserves knowledge, strengthens team cohesion, reduces replacement costs, and minimizes frictions. Efficient time-to-hire improves adaptability to market shifts. Together, these affect revenue per FTE and EBIT margin.

Health & Safety: Lower absenteeism from accidents or illness cuts costs and raises efficiency, while reducing reputational risks and building trust. Health & Safety KPIs directly influence cost-to-serve and profit per employee.

Engagement & Culture: Key early indicators. Engaged employees perform better, stay longer, and drive innovation and service quality—translating into growth rates and cash conversion over time.

Caution!

These logics are not deterministic certainties but correlations and scientific findings. They should always be treated as hypotheses, tested against company-specific data and context. Used correctly, however, they form a solid basis to link HR KPIs to financial targets such as EBIT margin, revenue per FTE, or TSR.

Practical Tip – From Many to Few KPIs

The art lies in distilling this abundance of potential indicators into a lean KPI set. Companies should prioritize data points with high materiality, reliable data quality, and clear steering relevance. A meaningful balance of leading indicators (e.g., training hours, engagement) as early signals and lagging indicators (e.g., turnover, accident rates) to measure effects is essential. Only then does a consistent management logic emerge, combining internal excellence and external compliance.

It is especially important to align definitions consistently with EFRAG and DIN EN ISO 30414. This ensures comparability of results and compliance with regulatory as well as internal requirements.

Next Steps

Outlook – Part 2: Implementation & Strategy

The next part will address practice: How can these core KPIs be embedded into governance structures, data processes, and methods like Balanced Scorecard or Hoshin Kanri? This is how companies succeed in moving from reporting to effective steering.