When you first start researching how to measure employee engagement, it is important to know that it’s not as easy to track as, say, profit or loss because it’s much harder to define.
Employee engagement isn’t really something that you can see on a balance sheet. However, if you’re serious about boosting employee engagement, your first step is deciding on which metrics you will use to define and quantify it.
1. Find Meaningful Metrics for Employee Engagement
You don’t want to waste your time and effort looking in all the wrong places when it comes to measuring engagement.
We’re guessing that you’ve likely got better things to do than monitor your employees’ interactions and look over their shoulder all day seeing how much work they are really getting done- this approach is ineffective, by the way.
If you want to implement a strategy to improve employee engagement, you need to find meaningful metrics to help measure it.
While these metrics may vary depending on the nature of your business, how many employees you have, your corporate ethos, industry, etc. good places to start include:
- Relationships with peers
- Growth and development
- Job satisfaction
- Health and wellness
- Happiness
- Alignment of employee goals and company goals
- Recognition of achievement and accomplishment
- Feedback
- Brand ambassadorship
Think about which of these are the most meaningful to your operation and how boosting engagement levels will benefit your business.
2. Managing and Measuring Engagement
Once you’ve decided on which metrics are the most important for your business goals, your corporate ethos and the workplace culture you want to implement, you still need to find meaningful ways to measure employee engagement in order for it to be tracked.
Once you’ve mastered this you can spot trends and implement strategies to correct issues with engagement if the graph is pointing in the wrong direction.
But the question remains, how do you measure and track employee engagement?
Keeping an eye on your KPIs
Some useful KPIs to consider include:
- An employee suggestion box
Employee feedback is a vital component in measuring employee engagement, and a suggestion box can be an extremely useful tool in gauging how staff members feel about their work and their employer.
While this can be as simple as a physical box into which employees can put their comments or it can be a dedicated space on your internal network where employees leave their thoughts and suggestions.
For this to be effective, however, employees need to be incentivized to post honest and meaningful feedback. Done properly, this is not only a useful KPI but its very presence can help employees feel more engaged and like they’re making a meaningful contribution to the company.
- Net Promoter Scores (NPS)
Net Promoter Scores were originally intended to measure customer loyalty and satisfaction but the same principles behind them can be readily applied to staff members.
These scores typically measure from 0-10 and have a series of questions designed to measure employee engagement.
For example, a key question might be, “How likely would you be to recommend this as a place to work?” A score of 0 would be extremely unlikely while 10 would be extremely likely.
An engagement score of 0-6 would be considered a “detractor”, 7-8 is “passive” and 9-10 is considered a “promoter” score. While lacking in qualitative data they can provide a useful snapshot of employee engagement.
- Employee Engagement Surveys
If you’re looking for more qualitative data, employee engagement surveys (also know as pulse surveys) can be useful in providing this.
You can ask them whatever questions might help you determine how engaged they feel and utilize them as often as you like – we suggest not sending out more than one per week, though.
- Turnover rate
One of the most meaningful KPIs is how long your employees stick with your business. While external circumstances like moving, having kids, taking care of a sick relative etc. might necessitate a move away from you, employees typically remain in jobs where they’re engaged and satisfied.
(Recommended Read: 7 Employee Retention Strategies for Your Busy Season)
- Absenteeism
Of course, employees get sick or injured. Nonetheless, chronic absenteeism can be an indicator of a lack of engagement and satisfaction.
If you find employees are calling in sick extremely often, you will want to address this with them one on one to ensure that they aren’t just using sick days because they are unhappy with their work environment.
3. What to do After the KPIs are Measured
Step 1- Communicate the survey results and other findings to your team
Step 2- Choose which areas you want to improve on
Step 3- Set goals and decide who will be accountable for achieving them
Step 4- Repeat the process again and again. Remember, employee engagement is never a “one and done” kind of deal.
Measuring Employee Engagement: Why it’s Worth the Effort
With so much to accomplish day in and day out, all that you can do to keep your head above water operationally. In this context, the idea of taking on additional tasks and responsibilities might feel like one thing too many to your overtaxed mind.
However, the time and effort you dedicate to measuring employee engagement now can pay out dividends in the long run.
Measuring employee engagement can help you to identify strategies that reduce employee turnover and drive productivity.
Make sure you’re getting the most out of your employees and make your work environment more pleasant and conducive to your company culture.
One of the best ways to reengage your employees is to offer them incentives and rewards for their hard work. This is where we come in. At MTI Events, we know how to help businesses improve productivity and generate higher employee satisfaction through incentive programs.
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