How To Measure Employee Engagement

In many ways, employee engagement is like the wind. You can feel it. You can hear it. You see its impact on the world around you. But you can't quite believe it.

Despite the increasing popularity of employee engagement as an HR buzzword, it remains a nebulous concept. The lack of understanding of what it really means has led to an oversimplification: an engaged employee is a good employee. But that's not entirely true.

So what exactly is employee engagement? And, perhaps most importantly, how can you measure it?

What exactly is employee engagement?

Here is the definition of employee engagement:

Employee engagement is a measure of the enthusiasm and connection employees have with their company. It's a measure of how motivated employees are to put in extra effort for their company and a sign of how committed they are to staying there.
Committed employees are enthusiastic, committed and motivated. So it goes without saying that engagement is important - and that's why many leaders strive to improve it.

However, engagement is not something you can influence. It is the result of a company's actions and the overall experience of employees.

Why should you measure employee engagement?

Most leaders are familiar with the benefits of employee engagement: higher productivity, greater satisfaction, stronger employee retention and better business performance.

But what are the benefits of measuring employee engagement? Why should you bother figuring out how your company currently stands? Measuring employee engagement allows you to:

• Identify strategic changes that will improve your employees, company culture and the entire company.
• Promote a culture of trust by showing your employees that you value their experiences and insights
• To provide a solid foundation for any employee initiatives you plan to introduce, as you can easily demonstrate whether or not they improve engagement
  

There's an old saying: "If you can't measure it, you can't improve it." So if you're committed to improving employee engagement in your company, you first need to know where you're starting - and how you're going to monitor your progress.

How to measure employee engagement: 4 steps for a better understanding
All the benefits of measuring employee engagement don't change this fact: it's notoriously difficult for companies to quantify.

That’s because engagement encompasses so much. Every part of an employee's experience with your company - the leadership, the recognition, the development opportunities, the relationships with colleagues and much more - has a significant impact on engagement.

This means that measuring employee engagement is similar to measuring all aspects of your business. This can be overwhelming, which is why many companies rely on gut feeling and simplifying assumptions (“Well, it seems everyone is happy”).

Here's how to go beyond your hunches and get a real, science-backed sense of employee engagement.

1.Understand the different methods of measuring employee engagement

When it comes to actual measurement methods, there are numerous ways to measure employee engagement. This includes:

• Conducting employee engagement surveys
• Conducting individual or small group discussions
• Conducting exit or retention surveys
• Calculating your Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
• Monitoring other metrics that are closely linked to employee engagement, such as: E.g.:
  Performance
  productivity
  Employee retention

Employee engagement surveys - both baseline and pulse surveys - are the most popular and reliable way to measure engagement. However, when you complement them with other measurement methods, you get a more holistic picture of what is really happening in your company.

2.Develop the right survey questions

Since employee engagement surveys will likely be an important piece of the puzzle when figuring out how to measure employee engagement, let's talk a little more about this particular method.

Start with a comprehensive employee engagement survey to establish a baseline. Limit the survey to about 50-60 questions so that participants only need about 10 minutes to complete it.

However, simply conducting an employee engagement survey is not enough. To determine the results and drivers of employee engagement, you need to ask the right questions.

3.Deepen the feedback

Once you have the results of your engagement survey, it's time to review and evaluate the feedback. Our people scientists will help you interpret the data and develop appropriate action plans.

However, if you are surprised or confused by something that appears in the survey results, you can clarify this question using other methods we mentioned above - such as: through direct conversations with employees or through conversations with managers about the experiences in their teams.

Data is undeniably helpful. But supplementing them with personal conversations and experiences gives you more color, context and detail.

4.Commit to the measurement process

Your first employee engagement survey will reveal some focus areas where you should take immediate action - whether that's providing more development opportunities, offering more leadership training, improving work-life balance, or something else.

It's time to take action, but you also need to make sure you can monitor your progress going forward. Pulse surveys are short surveys (typically 5-15 questions) that track progress in a specific focus area of your choice.

Measure, change and manage employee engagement

Employee engagement is difficult to define - and even harder to measure. But rest assured: there are real and reliable ways to gauge your employees' enthusiasm, engagement and motivation so you can make meaningful improvements.

Tips by IceHrm, your trusted HR management software partner that helps organizations streamline their processes and enhance employee experiences.