How Do You Measure Employee Engagement?
And WHY you should.
The obvious response to this is with an Employee Engagement Survey. Absolutely, this is your baseline for understanding how your employees are experiencing work and life in your organization. Healthy organizations, though, create a culture of continuous feedback that provides organizational leaders and HR with the tools to monitor and track employee engagement through various metrics. This includes pulse surveys, performance and productivity metrics, employee turnover and retention rates, and absenteeism and presenteeism rates.
Before the what, however, we think it's key to start with the why.
Why measure employee engagement?
Measuring employee engagement gives you actionable data to improve business outcomes by increasing productivity and retention, and preventing burnout. Employee engagement has a direct impact on business outcomes. So, for your organization to succeed, it's fundamental to have a deep understanding of how your employees experience their day-to-day life at work.
Organizational Metrics to Measure Employee Engagement:
The Employee Engagement Survey:
Of course, we have to start with our star. This survey provides your organization with insight into many areas that can be affecting business outcomes. This includes the performance, strategic alignment, competency, and satisfaction of your employees. These anonymous questionnaires provide a space for staff to express anonymous opinions about the company culture, managers, and senior leaders.Bottom line: An engagement survey is your organization’s roadmap to success.
Pulse Surveys:
These questionnaires are typically an abridged version of a more comprehensive annual employee engagement survey. They are shorter evaluations focused on areas that are considered the most important or that need the most attention. Pulse surveys are a way to make sure improvements and actions taken based on the employee engagement survey are on track. They also provide a way to check engagement levels and team progress more frequently.Timeline for Engagement & Pulse Surveys
1. Conduct the Full Engagement Survey
Diagnose the health of the organization with a comprehensive ORG questionnaire.
Conduct Annually2. Analyze Results & Set Goals
Identify areas of opportunity and establish goals with tasks and due dates. Implement the plan.
4 - 6 weeks after org survey3. Check Progress
Conduct pulse surveys in focused areas to determine if efforts are on track.
Every 3 - 6 monthsReady to Gather Actionable Feedback?
Discover how our employee engagement feedback tools can transform your organization's culture.
Schedule a Free Demo TodayPerformance and Productivity:
Tracking performance metrics is fundamental to creating a transparent workplace culture. It’s not about witch hunting. It’s about holding people accountable for their work. Here are some questions to ask (get the data from HR!):* Are your teams meeting their deadlines?
* What is your team’s planned-to-done ratio?
*What is the projected task completion time compared to the real task completion time?
* What is the error/revision rate? (mistakes, bugs, and rework during projects)
* Document work accidents.
Employee Turnover and Retention:
These are key indicators of employee engagement. Segment by groups to determine which departments, tenure, age groups, manager, etc., have higher turnover or retention. Ask WHY. Create systematic employee exit surveys to find the root cause of desertion. Also, consider implementing employee stay surveys and interviews to find out why your employees are sticking around.Keep in mind all organizations experience a healthy level of turnover. It becomes problematic when it turns into a revolving door.
Absenteeism and Presenteeism Rates:
Absenteeism is defined as being away from work without good reason or beyond what could be considered an acceptable amount of time. This isn’t your regular sick day, instead a habitual absence from the job by employees. These are your organization ghosts. Presenteeism is defined as being physically present at work, but being checked out. This includes people who show up to work unwell (either mentally or physically). These are your organization zombies. Get the data.*Monitor attendance patterns
*Analyze absence data
*Assess impact on operations
*Observe Performance Indicators
What strategies can you implement to reduce absenteeism and presenteeism?
A culture of continuous feedback can give your organization the data it needs to improve productivity, decrease turnover, and prevent employee burnout. Identify hidden cultural issues, measure the success of management initiatives, and align team goals with overall business growth. Begin by asking.
Are you ready for success?