Companies looking to attract investment or run their companies more efficiently should make better use of their people-related data, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

The organisation claims that by effectively measuring the value their staff bring to the business, companies will be able to translate that into organisational value and could boost the price of their business when negotiating with potential investors or trying to convince stakeholders of likely future performance.

The CIPD’s Investors’ views of Human Capital report argues that in the next few years investors will demand information on human capital management as it becomes an even greater differentiator between successful and unsuccessful businesses.

“Even if company directors don’t necessarily appreciate the value of making fuller disclosure from a corporate perspective, the hope is that they will feel obliged to make such disclosures in order to meet investors’ demand for better information,” said Angela Baron, CIPD organisation and resourcing adviser.

“However, the kind of information investors would find useful, such as organisational measures of performance, is not always available because organisations struggle to translate their people information into business outcomes."

Company directors should use human capital evaluation as a key analytical technique in running their businesses and link it to strategic objectives, she added.

The report argued that companies need a standardised framework to measure human capital but this should also be judged in the context of the individual company.

Investors and analysts tended to focus on senior managers and their ability to implement and develop strategy effectively, it added.