Efficiency is how productively a firm utilizes its assets relative to its revenue and its profits. It is expressed in terms of the results achieved (outputs) in comparison to the resource inputs. Measures of efficiency include the following:
- Time (e.g., average time to fill an opening, process a benefits claim)
- Volume (e.g., the number of the people interviewed to fill a job, the number of requests processed per employee)
- Cost (e.g., cost per training hour or per test)
Efficiency is an indicator of how well a bank’s management and staff have been able to keep the growth of its revenues and income ahead of rising operating costs.
Efficiency generally refers to the relative costs of delivering media audiences. See cost per rating point and cost per thousand.