8 of April, 2025

Anyone who works in the human resources department knows that the arrival of the end of the year means that it is time for the annual HR report. January is the perfect month to start new actions, look at the past year and recap all the work that has been done from the department.

Reviewing important aspects such as staff management, timekeeping, salary, work environment, employee turnover rate.

In addition, normally, at the end of the year a HR report for annual closing must be presented to the company. We tell you how to prepare it!

Steps to prepare an annual Human Resources report

To create a report of results from the Human Resources department, you must keep in mind the metrics and analytics that you are going to use to monitor your objectives.

Afterwards, you should shape the data with the help of graphs and text, which you can easily obtain with the help of KPI software like Sesame HR’s.

1. Determine the objectives of the HR management report

If you want your annual HR report to be effective, focus on determining clear objectives. Think about what data is relevant to measuring your team’s performance and making strategic decisions.

We recommend choosing between 3 to 5 objectives at most. Some options could be:

Reduce staff turnover by X%
Increase talent retention by Y%
Improve employee satisfaction by Z%

Once you have your objectives, you should select the HR indicators that allow you to measure them. For example, to reduce turnover you can use the talent retention rate.

Make sure you can access this data in real time using HR software like Sesame HR. This way, you can generate custom reports to track your objectives. In this way, your annual HR report will become a powerful tool for decision making.

2. What metrics should the annual HR closing include?

The key here is to include the result of relevant metrics that well represent what has happened during the year. These data are usually the most basic and are represented without frills.

Turnover rate: How many new people have entered the company? How many have left? This data should take into account the costs of the selection processes and the months needed for a worker to become productive after joining.
Talent retention: Is the company managing to make employees want to stay? Are employees demotivated? The seniority of employees determines whether the company’s talent retention strategy is being correct.
Average company age: Knowing the current average age of the company is important to manage and understand the needs of the workforce. Such as, for example, the type of social benefits.
Average salary: Is the company offering a fair salary? How are its economic compensations compared to the competition? It is an important answer to know if measures have to be taken to improve employee compensation.
Work absenteeism: Unjustified absenteeism can become a big problem for companies, as it entails a series of costs and translates into employee demotivation. On the other hand, it is also interesting to make a report of absences to determine at what time of the year they increase.

3. Obtain data with software help

With HR software like Sesame HR, you can obtain data to generate your annual HR report on your employees and human resources processes.

Observe real-time indicators on hiring, rotation, absenteeism and working time. You can also easily export and share statistics in PDF, CSV and Excel.

All this thanks to a centralized employee database.

4. How to present human resources department data?

Okay, you have already gathered all the data in the HR reports. Now, what is the best way to capture them? It is not enough just to show the data, they must be accompanied by conclusions and implementations for improvements.

The function of the human resources department should be to process the information from the data, draw conclusions and plan actions to either improve or maintain the results during the next year.

The usual way to deliver all this information is through a dossier with all the data to be used as support in an annual company meeting. It is usually presented in PDF format with printed copies and accompanied by a presentation.

5. Draft the text with the help of artificial intelligence

You know that preparing the annual HR report consumes a lot of time and resources. It is a long and tedious process, but essential for the company. Sesame HR offers you a solution with artificial intelligence, with which you can automate the analysis of data and the drafting of reports.

With Sesame HR you can forget about spending hours reviewing data to draw conclusions. Our intelligent HR analyzes the information automatically and gives you accurate insights about your department and employees.

Let Sesame HR take care of the routine processes while you focus on the strategy of your area.

HR annual report model

In this annual HR report, you should present a detailed summary of the achievements and challenges faced in the HR department during the year. To do this, you should prepare an index that contains the following points. Points to develop in the report:

Annual objectives: describes the objectives set for the current year. These objectives can include aspects such as recruitment, talent retention, or performance by competencies. The actions taken to achieve these objectives will be detailed and their effectiveness evaluated.
Summary with the most relevant data: presents a summary of the most relevant data related to human resources management during the analyzed period. This summary will allow a general vision of the HR situation of the company.
Metrics by department: analyzes the specific metrics of each department. Provides the data related to labor productivity, team satisfaction, and other key aspects. This will allow to identify the strengths and areas for improvement of each department and to take optimization measures.
Future plan: presents the actions and strategies that will be implemented in the next period. Clear goals will be established, and the necessary steps to achieve them will also be defined.

In summary, this annual HR report should offer a complete and detailed vision of the achievements, challenges, and future plans of the department.

So now you know, the end of year closing is key in HR but it does not have to be a headache if you have the right tools. With Sesame HR report and People Analytics functionality, you will have everything centralized on one platform, you can analyze data in real time and make better decisions.

So, what are you waiting for to try Sesame HR? Register and get a free 14-day trial. Optimize your company’s HR reports with just a few clicks.

Customer-oriented, both internally and externally, specializing in the definition and implementation of HR policies, as well as talent management, recruitment, and retention. Strong leadership, communication, negotiation, organization, and team coordination skills. Over 12 years of experience in Human Resources.

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iriserrador

HR Content Specialist

Annual Human Resources Report: how to make it and what it’s used for