Employee engagement metrics provide valuable insights into the health and productivity of your overall organization. By measuring and tracking employee engagement, organizations can identify opportunities to improve employee satisfaction, reduce turnover, and increase productivity. Just like the data from market research can inform an organization’s marketing strategy, employee engagement metrics can drive an organization’s approach to HR, improving culture and productivity along the way.
Many companies gather data to track employee engagement, but the challenge lies in interpreting and acting on the survey results. Ultimately, engaged employees are more motivated, innovative, productive and stay longer.
Why Employee Engagement Platforms Are So Pivotal
High employee turnover is costly for a company in terms of time, money, and productivity. By utilizing engagement measurements and tracking the metrics, you can identify ways to keep your employees satisfied and committed to their work as well as your organization.
Where is your organization falling short in terms of employee satisfaction, communication, or recognition? How effective are your HR initiatives such as training programs, performance management systems and employee recognition programs? How does your organization’s performance compare against industry benchmarks and best practices?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions, it’s time to start gathering metrics to better drive your organization’s HR decisions. Doing so can help you allocate resources more appropriately, adjusting or eliminating initiatives for an HR approach that is targeted.
Understanding the Key Drivers and Avoiding Action Paralysis
It’s essential to analyze the data for insights on what motivates or deters employees. At People Element we stress the importance of quality data. Key drivers of engagement include valuing employee opinions and setting clear performance expectations. A study done by People Element linked increased engagement to reduced turnover, saving significant costs for businesses.
Once the data is analyzed, the next step is prioritization. Focusing on too many areas can lead to inaction. It’s recommended to select one or two key areas for improvement. Create a detailed action plan with SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals. For example, if managers are perceived to lack empathy, the goal could be:
- Specific: Enroll managers in People Element’s empathy training.
- Measurable: Monitor improvements via exit surveys.
- Achievable: Start with managers from two departments.
- Relevant: This training aims to boost manager empathy and reduce turnover.
- Time-bound: Execute training in Q3 and measure in Q4.
Actions based on survey insights are crucial when developing a strategy
- Define responsibilities.
- Allocate resources.
- Set timelines.
How To Track Employee Engagement
Common methods include employee engagement surveys, focus groups, diversity surveys, performance metrics and even social media monitoring. Regardless of the solution an organization chooses, it’s important to regularly track and analyze the data.
Typically engagement assessments are conducted through surveys or interviews and can vary in their approach. For instance, pulse surveys are short, frequent surveys that are designed to track changes in employee engagement levels over time. These surveys typically ask a small number of questions and can be administered on a weekly or monthly basis. In contrast, annual or bi-annual surveys are more comprehensive assessments of employee engagement. These surveys typically include a larger number of questions and cover a range of topics related to employee satisfaction, motivation, and engagement.
Additional methods of assessing employee engagement include focus groups and one-on-one interviews. However, these approaches tend to not only be more challenging to execute, but also prove more difficult to collect trustworthy data. Employes are much more likely to be honest and transparent in their responses if the approach is anonymous.
Employee Engagement Surveys
Employee surveys are the most common method for measuring employee engagement because:
- They are the most effective, giving employees a trusted place in which to voice their ideas and opinions.
- Surveys can be anonymous, multilingual and provide valuable insights into employee attitudes and perceptions about their job, company culture, and work environment.
By asking questions of your employees and being willing to listen to the answers, organizations have the opportunity to build a culture that makes them an employer of choice. In particular, employee engagement surveys allow employees to share how they are feeling in a safe and trusted environment. This can allow management to address issues in a timely manner while tracking progress over time.
There are a number of tools available that allow organizations to design and distribute surveys, collect responses, and analyze the results. But as organizations grow, automating that process with an all-in-one, employee survey platform like People Element eases the in-house burden on their HR team while providing faster, more accurate results that meet the varying needs of a diverse workforce.
Build Confidence to Make Changes That Matter
By transforming the broader challenge of enhancing employee engagement into actionable and measurable steps, positive change becomes achievable. Employee engagement influences business results, and it’s an organization’s responsibility to ensure that influence is positive. The process involves surveys, analysis, and most importantly, strategic action to make work more rewarding for employees.
Solutions like Employee Engagement Surveys are designed by data-driven HR experts to collect vital feedback and transform the resulting data into actionable intelligence. Pre-templated surveys and reports provide results that give you the confidence to impact what matters most to your business, creating a strategic pathway to developing happier, more engaged and more productive employees.
Regardless of where you are in the lifecycle of your organization, it’s never too early — or too late — to focus on employee engagement measurement and learn what your employees are saying. By listening to your workforce, you can leverage your key employee engagement drivers to guide decision-making, your employees will thank you for it and your organization’s bottom line will too.
People Element can guide you through boosting morale and employee engagement without weighing down your in-house HR resources. Start today with requesting a demo here. Let’s get to work utilizing the data today for a more engaged tomorrow.
