How to Measure Employee Engagement
There has been an increasing amount of research in recent years into the importance of employee engagement when it comes to success in business. The more engaged, committed and motivated your workforce, the higher the levels of efficiency and productivity. It also feeds directly into lower rates of absenteeism and a more stable organisation due to a low staff turnover. The sticking point, however, is that measuring employee engagement is not a straightforward task. This does not mean it’s not possible to measure engagement, but you may need to take a multi-faceted approach. This guide outlines some key tips to consider when looking at employee engagement levels.
Run Employee Focus Groups
The most direct way to measure employee motivation, satisfaction and engagement is to ask them face to face via focus groups. This is probably not something you would do on a regular basis as it’s quite time intensive, but periodically it can help to give your employees your focused attention. Depending on the size of the team, you may want to include everyone or representatives from teams or departments who are willing to speak on behalf of others.
You should stick to a few specific questions which you want the group to answer, such as do they feel their work is important to the organisation, or do they have the necessary tools and resources to perform their role effectively. If you are concerned that the group may not be open if you are present, consider getting a neutral facilitator to run the group.
Use Employee Surveys
To get more detailed and regular insight into your employee engagement levels, consider using Inpulse surveys to get feedback from all your staff via an online dashboard. These surveys can be used to take a pulse check on general levels of job satisfaction and mood, as well as more detailed surveys on particular topics. This could include pay, benefits, training, understanding of the company’s goals and whether or not they can see a future with the organisation. These surveys can be completed anonymously to help your employees be as honest and open as possible without fear of repercussions.
Interview Exiting Employees
When employees leave your organisation, you have an opportunity to take a deeper look into what has or hasn’t worked by conducting an exit interview. They may be leaving for personal reasons, but more often than not there will be something which led them to look around for a new position and made them decide to leave for another opportunity. Did they feel they did not have the opportunity for progression or higher wages? Were they satisfied in their work or were they craving more challenges? They may feel uncomfortable being critical, so you can frame the questions around why they chose the new position rather than ask why they are leaving.
Track Efficiency and Productivity Over Time
While productivity and efficiency may not tell you much in a snapshot, looking at levels over time can identify peaks and troughs in your business. When you act on the feedback you receive from employees and work on improving employee engagement, you can cross-reference this with any improvements in your business performance.
