{"id":4174,"date":"2022-01-31T11:29:27","date_gmt":"2022-01-31T11:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.teamly.com\/blog\/?p=4174"},"modified":"2022-01-31T12:25:05","modified_gmt":"2022-01-31T12:25:05","slug":"how-to-measure-employee-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.teamly.com\/blog\/how-to-measure-employee-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Measure Employee Engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Employee engagement has become somewhat of a buzzphrase in the last decade. We hear it a lot, but what does it actually mean? Fundamentally, an engaged employee is a person that is dedicated and enthusiastic about their job and the success of the organization they\u2019re a part of.<\/p>\n

There are many reasons why businesses would like to have an engaged workforce\u2014some of the most important ones are increased productivity and low employee turnover rates. These people care\u2014their passion goes beyond the paycheck.<\/p>\n

A critical part of improving employee engagement is understanding what your company is doing right and the things it can improve on. Once that\u2019s done, you\u2019ll be able to identify KPIs that need extra attention, which will, in turn, fuel your employee engagement strategy.<\/p>\n

In this article, we\u2019ll take a closer look at how businesses should go about measuring the engagement of their staff and the value that it brings to the table.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s dive right in, shall we?<\/p>\n

\"Why<\/p>\n

<\/span>Why does employee engagement matter?<\/span><\/h2>\n

As of recently, employee engagement has become a priority for businesses worldwide\u2014and there are plenty of reasons for it. We\u2019ve mentioned above, an engaged workforce is more productive and loyal, but it\u2019s also likely to lead to greater customer satisfaction, better reputation, and overall stakeholder value.<\/p>\n

Gallup, a reputable analytics and advisory company, has been measuring the engagement of the US workforce since the year 2000. Some of their latest reports on the topic suggest that North-American employees are more enthusiastic and committed to their work. However, they only constitute about a third<\/a> of the total number of workers, which is pretty unsettling if you think about it. Nearly 17% of people are actively disengaged, while the rest (about half) are somewhat disengaged.<\/p>\n

There is a broad spectrum of things that can influence employee engagement\u2014meaningful relationships with coworkers, enjoying the support of upper management, skillsharing, alignment with the organization\u2019s goals, and so forth. Fundamentally, every worker wants to feel valued and respected\u2014we all want to know that what we do matters and that our voices are heard at work.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

<\/span>The engaged and the disengaged: a world of difference<\/span><\/h2>\n

A person that is engaged at work doesn\u2019t typically see their job as an obligation but more of a chance to excel. On the other hand, disengaged workers often need to be stimulated to work on an hourly basis\u2014their pessimism pervades their workday and affects their colleagues as well, which acts as a detracting force for them. This lack of engagement can also affect your organization\u2019s clientele if your customer-facing employees feel unenthused about their jobs.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a growing body of research that underlines the overwhelming effect lack of engagement has over businesses on an annual basis. For instance, one study suggests that US-based companies lose around $350 billion of lack of engagement alone\u2014yes, \u201cbillion\u201d with a B. As exorbitant as these figures may be, it\u2019s safe to say that they don\u2019t come as a surprise. After all, only a third of the employees in the United States are actually engaged at work\u2014and organizations are missing out because of it.<\/p>\n

According to a Towers Perrin study, nearly 85% of workers who identify as engaged believe it is within their reach to provide their companies with value. Disengaged employees believe that as well. However, only a third of them do. The differences don\u2019t stop here. Let\u2019s take a quick look at the critical differences between engaged and disengaged employees:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Engaged workers<\/strong><\/td>\nDisengaged workers<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Positive outlook<\/td>\nNegative outlook<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Team-oriented<\/td>\nSelf-centered<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Delivers beyond expectation<\/td>\nHigh absenteeism<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Solution-oriented<\/td>\nNegative attitude<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Passes along credit but accepts blame<\/td>\nAccepts credit but passes along blame<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/span>How do you measure employee engagement?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Given how complex and multifaceted employee engagement is, organizations should consider exploring multiple ways of measuring it. The tools available for establishing it are fairly limited, and looking into a couple of metrics and research methods will yield more confident results. Here are a few of them.<\/p>\n

Employee net promoter score (eNPS)<\/h3>\n

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a common metric used by marketers, UX designers, UX researchers, and a wide array of different professionals. The main idea behind it is to understand how many clients are loyal to your brand and whether they would recommend your product or services to their friends and family.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) is a similar metric that aims to gauge employee loyalty. Measuring eNPS, like NPS, is pretty straightforward\u2014ask your employees how likely it is for them to recommend the company as a good place to work.<\/p>\n

The data for this metric is collected via a one-question survey. Typically, employees have to rate how likely it is that they would recommend their workplace on a scale from 1 to 10. One, in this case, means that it\u2019s highly unlikely, while ten means that it\u2019s very likely. It\u2019s essential that your employees\u2019 answers are anonymous.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve collected the data, it\u2019s time to segment them into three categories: detractors (0-6), passives (7-8), and promoters (9-10).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth mentioning that this metric won\u2019t provide you with an in-depth understanding of the reasons why people are or are not happy with working in your organization, but it does offer a better understanding of the engagement climate in the company.<\/p>\n

Pulse surveys<\/h3>\n

Pulse surveys are designed to provide short-term snapshots of your employees\u2019 satisfaction and engagement. You can run them once a quarter, month, or even week.<\/p>\n

When it comes to pulse surveys, it\u2019s always a good idea to repeatedly ask at least some of the questions. This will allow you to gauge the progress on certain parameters over time and understand whether the measures you\u2019ve applied have worked. This will let you know where to focus your efforts to have the biggest impact on your workforce’s engagement.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s important to underline that while quick and frequent surveys can provide you with lots of valuable data, organizations shouldn\u2019t base their entire engagement strategies on them. They\u2019re an awesome tool that can help you uncover potential issues, but at the same time, they often lack depth and can\u2019t really provide you with a lot of actionable insight.<\/p>\n

Stay interviews<\/h3>\n

Exit interviews are a standard in modern organizations\u2014it\u2019s a useful practice that allows human resources and upper management to understand what motivates their employees to leave the company. However\u201a it also begs the question, \u201cwhy even wait for people to leave?\u201d.<\/p>\n

Stay interviews allow you to understand what people like about working in a company, as well as the biggest challenges and roadblocks they have to deal with. They are a source of valuable information that helps businesses understand how to improve their employees\u2019 experience at work. It\u2019s fair to say that this is a far more productive and actionable approach that will also help decrease employee turnover.<\/p>\n

Employee absenteeism and turnover rate<\/h3>\n

We all know that engaged workers are enthusiastic and passionate about their work, but sometimes the focus of your research should be aimed at those who aren\u2019t.<\/p>\n

A good way of gauging how your workers feel is by taking a closer look at turnover rates and absenteeism. While both of them are lagging indicators, they can provide you with a better understanding of how engaged or disengaged people are.<\/p>\n

According to Gallup<\/a>, organizations should aim to keep their annual turnover rates below 10 percent. Some turnover might actually be good for the company\u2014it allows dissatisfied people to seek more suitable opportunities, which will help the company grow. However, high staff attrition means that you\u2019re losing lots of money previously invested in hiring them, but more importantly, it suggests that some aspects of the organization are seriously mismanaged.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, analyzing absenteeism and attrition in particular teams and departments may show if managers are doing their best to keep their colleagues engaged and satisfied with their work environment.<\/p>\n

Aside from establishing how many employees choose to leave your organization and whether the number is too high, it’s important to learn about the reasons behind their decisions, which brings us back to stay interviews.<\/p>\n

\"Employee<\/p>\n

Employee resilience<\/h3>\n

An essential quality of an engaged employee is their ability to continuously adapt to the changes in the organization. This quality is typically called \u201cresilience,\u201d and resilient employees are most likely to spend more time working in the organization, which comes with a wide array of benefits.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no quick answer to how resilient your employees are since this is a fairly complex parameter. It includes indicators such as self-efficacy, optimistic outlook on the company’s future, social support, and others.<\/p>\n

However, there is a clear gap between employees that are resistant to change and those who are not. The former will most likely spend at least 3-4 years in your organization, while the latter will probably end up leaving in under 12 months.<\/p>\n

In order to assess the resilience of every individual employee, companies should gather data via polls and surveys. These research methods need to be designed around a person\u2019s commitment to the workplace and the leadership within the organization. Similarly, these studies should explore whether employees can maintain a healthy work-to-life balance during their tenure at the job. However, it\u2019s essential to underline that it\u2019s not exclusively the employees\u2019 responsibility to manage their work-to-life balance\u2014organizations can and should invest resources in improving this aspect of employee experience.<\/p>\n

Here are a few relevant questions that you can ask your employees to get a better understanding of their wellbeing at work:<\/p>\n