HR reporting: types of reports & why they’re critical

More than eight out of ten HR leaders are currently working to streamline HR systems, optimize processes, and reduce costs.* But how can People teams accomplish these bold goals when most HR leaders anticipate flat or decreased budgets this year?** 

That’s where HR reporting comes in. Good reporting helps People professionals make data-driven decisions, optimize processes, and demonstrate HR’s strategy impact. The quality of your reporting strategy can directly impact executives’ views on HR efficacy — which, in turn, affects how they view the HR budget.

Far from “just paperwork,” HR reporting is an essential tool in your strategic arsenal. We’ll discuss why this is so critical in 2025 and review some examples of the most common report types.

*Leapsome Workforce Trends Report, 2024

**Gartner, 2024

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Why HR reporting is critical for demonstrating your HR team’s value

According to our 2024 Workforce Trends Report, 62% of HR leaders struggle to communicate the ROI of HR to executives, and 58% find it difficult to get budget approvals. These challenges are interconnected. Demonstrating HR’s business impact is the key to securing funding and getting “a seat at the table” in high-level strategy discussions.

💬 “HR may have seemed like the ‘winner’ during the pandemic’s workplace shifts — but with budgets tightening again, the focus has shifted to efficiency. Leveraging data helps People teams maximize impact even with limited resources.”

— Julia Reis, Founder of Julia Reis Consulting

HR reports strengthen executive communication by clearly outlining the impact of HR initiatives. When you invest in a strong people analytics program, your reports will also help organizations make data-driven decisions by identifying trends and informing strategy adjustments. For example:

• Has the average time-to-hire increased since implementing a new HR software solution?
  
• Have performance management outcomes improved since investing in employee development plans?
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6 types of HR reports that modern organizations need

You will naturally prioritize specific reports over others based on your company goals. That said, the following list includes the most common reports, and most People teams produce them at some point (if not regularly).
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1. Employee turnover report

An employee turnover report tracks how often team members leave your organization and why. It also highlights trends in voluntary and involuntary departures over time, making it easier to identify and address the underlying causes of attrition. 

These reports often feature:

• Turnover and retention rates — How many employees have exited or chosen to stay in their roles during a given period (usually a specific quarter or a year).
  
• Average length of employee tenure — The average time team members spend with your company.
  
• Reasons for departure — Why people leave your organization (this feedback is often collected during exit surveys).

💡 To make your turnover report even more action-oriented, adopt an employee turnover prediction tool to proactively identify which team members are at a higher risk of leaving your company and allow you to take targeted action.

2. Employee performance report

An employee performance report offers a snapshot of a team member’s productivity, results, and outcomes based on evaluations, feedback, and overall progress. It provides insight into the individual’s strengths and growth as a professional, as well as possible areas for additional focus and improvement.

Such reports can support fair performance assessments and career development planning. 

Employee performance reports might include:

• Manager and peer feedback — Qualitative and quantitative feedback (perhaps collected as part of the 360° review process or a tool like Leapsome’s Instant Feedback.
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• Past review scorecards — An overview of employee performance throughout someone’s tenure.
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• Career path progression — How the team member is advancing toward their career goals (for example, through career pathing or dedicated training).
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3. Compensation & benefit analysis report

A compensation and benefits analysis report examines salary structure, bonuses, and benefits packages to help HR teams maintain fair pay practices, as well as attract and retain top talent.

Compensation and benefit analysis reports should include:

• Industry benchmarks — Data (ideally from an industry-leading compensation benchmarking tool) on market rates for different positions and benefits structures.
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• Internal benchmark data — Median salary data and compensation trends within your organization.

💸 Ready to revitalize your organization’s compensation strategy?

Get started with our free compensation analysis template today.

4. Employee engagement & satisfaction report

An employee engagement and satisfaction report measures how happy and fulfilled team members feel on the job. It helps you understand whether people enjoy their work environment and gauge what excites them to show up every day (be it in-person or digitally).

These reports can include:

• Employee net promoter score (eNPS) — The ratio of employees who would recommend your organization as a great place of work (promoters) vs. those who are neutral (passives) vs. people who would not recommend it (detractors).

💡 If you want to dive deeper into calculating employee net promoter (eNPS) score, we’ve got a comprehensive article for that!

• Survey feedback — Qualitative and quantitative perspectives on how happy and engaged employees feel. Tools like Leapsome Surveys make it easy to analyze survey results to extract these valuable insights. 

• Absenteeism rate — The number of days employees are absent from work. Higher absenteeism rates may suggest underlying issues that must be investigated and addressed.

Understanding engagement is critical — research indicates that low engagement costs the global GDP US$8.9 trillion annually. Beyond finances, everyone deserves a positive workplace where they feel safe, engaged, and respected. 

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Our granular, AI-powered approach to sentiment analysis can help you discover new ways to boost employee engagement and satisfaction.

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5. Employee training & development report

An employee training and development report tracks how frequently team members complete training programs and attempts to gauge your people’s growth over time, aiming to improve L&D outcomes.

These reports are vital for building a skilled workforce, improving job performance, and maintaining a competitive edge in the industry. They also reinforce your organization’s commitment to learning and development and help keep employees sharp and engaged throughout their tenure.

Employee training and development reports may include:

• L&D participation — The number or percentage of employees/teams that attend training sessions.
  
• Completion rates — Individual or team progress toward course completion.
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• Post-training surveys — Employee feedback on how engaging, interesting, or valuable a training program was.
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6. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) report

DEIB reports are a critical part of an inclusive HR strategy. They analyze workforce diversity, pay equity, promotion trends, and the efficacy of your inclusion efforts. DEIB reports also help HR teams get an accurate read on the current state of DEIB within their organization, set meaningful DEIB goals, and develop impactful DEIB initiatives.

DEIB reports might include the following:

• Demographic data — A breakdown of team members’ demographic data, including race, gender, and age, and highlights any relevant trends.
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• DEIB training participation — How many employees attend DEIB courses or sessions.
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• DEIB initiative outcomes — The success of your organization’s current DEIB initiatives, revising achievements and assessing areas for improvement.
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• Employee feedback — Feedback on the company’s DEIB initiatives and the general state of DEIB within the organization.

💡 Diversity surveys are an effective way to gather employee feedback on the state of DEIB within their workplace. 
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‍Check out our dedicated playbook on running diversity surveys.

How to customize HR reports for different stakeholders

The fundamental purpose of an HR report is to communicate data-based findings. However, the clearest way to communicate key metrics may differ depending on who you’re talking to. So, it’s crucial to consider your audience’s perspective before jumping in.

Let’s review how to approach common stakeholders with your HR reports:

• C-level executives — Your leadership team needs to understand overall program performance, but doesn’t have time to review months of HR data. That makes it critical to include succinct key takeaways and data visualizations in the reports you share. Prioritize easy-to-skim formats like PowerPoints or dashboards from your favorite HR software.
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  Be specific and intentional about what you present (and what you don’t). For example, while it’s important to share high-level findings about employee engagement with the CEO, it’s probably not necessary to outline each employee’s eNPS score. This level of detail may distract from your overall message.
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• The HR team at large — Your team members are deeply familiar with your HR initiatives, so it’s OK to get into more granular detail in your reports. The more detail you can provide, the better; just make sure your team cuts through the noise, preferably with an HR analytics software like Leapsome.
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• Managers — Managers may need access to some of your analysis, like performance management reports, to improve as people leaders. However, many HR metrics are confusing or downright tangential to their jobs (and sometimes confidential).
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  Only share information that’s relevant to the manager’s team. And remember, managers have more direct reports than ever and likely don’t have time to read long blocks of text about each one, so try to share visual depictions of your findings.
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• Employees — Transparency is key to a positive company culture, so do share relevant HR data with all team members where appropriate and relevant. However, data should never be provided without context.
  
  For example, if you’ve fallen short on DEIB goals, clearly communicate how you plan to improve your approach to inclusivity over the next 12 months. Consider providing an anonymous suggestion box so employees can ask questions or express concerns about recent HR reports.
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Streamline HR reporting & analytics with Leapsome

HR reporting is far more than a compliance exercise — it’s a strategic necessity. HR reports can contribute to a winning HR strategy, showcasing the value of human resources, helping you make smarter decisions, and showing where your people need support — so you can build a better culture.

By leveraging HR reports, People teams can move beyond intuition and present clear, compelling evidence about HR ROI to executives, managers, and employees.

With top-of-the-line HR software like Leapsome, HR leaders can take their reporting strategy from good to great.

Leapsome’s HRIS and people enablement modules provide an interconnected ecosystem for collecting and analyzing employee data. With our industry-leading automation and AI capabilities, uncovering HR trends has never been easier.

🪄 Transform your HR strategy with Leapsome

Empower your people and HR initiatives with Leapsome’s AI-powered analytics.

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Frequently asked questions about HR reporting

What is HR reporting?

HR reporting is the process of compiling human resources metrics in a detailed and easily digestible way. It communicates progress across several functions, from onboarding and retention to employee experience and learning and development (L&D).
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These documents ensure that all stakeholders, including leaders outside the HR department, are on the same page about HR performance. They also help organizations make more data-driven decisions and maintain compliance.
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What is HR reporting software?

HR reporting software makes creating, understanding, and distributing HR reports easier, though the benefits and offerings vary depending on the provider. For example, HR reporting tools may be part of comprehensive HRIS and people enablement software.

Common features of HR reporting software include:

• Dashboards that compile real-time data and valuable insights
• Data visualizations
• Automatically generated reports
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What does an HR report contain?

HR reports typically contain the following:

• Introduction — An explanation of the program, initiative, or general data your report concerns and a short list of the key, high-level takeaways.
  
• Raw data and statistics — A table or explanation of all relevant statistics you gathered.
  
• Data visualizations (graphs, charts, etc.) — Visual representations of the raw data or trends you’ve identified.
  
• Interpretations — A summary of your findings and what they suggest.
  
• Recommendations — An action plan for how to use these findings.

Since there are so many different types of HR reports (and they all have different goals), these elements may vary.
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What are the benefits of HR reporting?

The main benefit of HR reporting is that it helps communicate the success of your programs and initiatives to other interested parties. Effective communication (in other words, strong reporting) enables HR leaders to get a proper seat at the C-suite table and better communicate HR ROI.

But there are many other benefits, like better data-driven decision-making. When you create comprehensive HR reports, you’re more likely to understand the strategic direction of your team and make sound adjustments. Additionally, you’ll be more prepared for document-intensive processes like audits.