The relationship between employee commitment and company’s success is well known. This is why engagement is one of most evaluated metrics by HR departments. One of the biggest challenges for organizations is creating effective strategies that keep employees committed to the purpose and goals of the company. The systematic evaluation of this KPI is very important: it allows managers and team leaders to give employees a voice to make tangible aspects that directly influence their commitment, and thus have the opportunity to develop plans with actions that actually have the desired effect on the engagement of the workforce.
Why you should measure the commitment of your teams
Employee engagement is defined as the workers’ feeling of emotional responsibility towards the organization and its goals. The more engaged employees are, the more likely they are to work towards helping the company face its challenges.
When employees are committed, they will perform their tasks beyond economic reasons and will work for the proper functioning of the business, so that the company can move forward.
In fact, a study conducted by Gallup states that companies with higher engagement are 147% more profitable than their competitors, while those companies made up of employees with low commitment are 2% less profitable.
The same report indicates that engaged employees are more productive (21%) and are better valued by customers (10%). Also, organizations see how, thanks to the commitment of employees, there is a lower turnover rate (65%), shrinkage (28%), absenteeism (37%), work accidents (48%) and production defects decrease (41%).
Therefore, the reason why this metric should be measured is quite evident: it is directly related to the prosperity of the business. It is also a key variable in the well-being of employees. If those responsible for managing talent monitor and watch this KPI, they will have more motivated and satisfied teams.
Thanks to the continuous measurement of employee engagement, you will be able to:
- Know the status of your collaborators.
- Interpret the factors that influence their loyalty.
- Anticipate risky situations and take proactive measures.
- Enhance motivation, satisfaction, and well-being of employees.
- Increase business profits.
How to measure employee commitment?
There are several ways to measure work commitment. You can analyze the turnover rate, measure the level of productivity or evaluate the degree of absenteeism. However, one of the most effective ways is by asking your employees directly through pulse surveys.
These surveys are frequently sent to employees and are specially designed to be easy and quick to respond. This helps increase participation, compared to with other classic surveys and the information provided is more reliable.
Pulse surveys are a strategic resource when it comes to collecting a large amount of data in an agile and efficient way, especially if they are done through specific software for this purpose, such as Team Insights. Our SaaS (Software as a Service ) is created to send surveys directly to your employees’ inbox and transform their responses into valuable information that you can easily view and interpret through our fully accessible and intuitive dashboard.
An article in the Harvard Business Review magazine indicates that pulse surveys are one of the best tools to measure employee engagement and, in fact, are an essential ally in the talent management strategies of large corporations such as Facebook or Microsoft.
But to measure commitment correctly, not just any question is worth it. These must be related to a series of key metrics that we explain below.
10 key metrics to keep in mind while measuring employee commitment
1. Recognition
There is one thing that employees value more than their salary, and that is recognition of their work.
Recognizing the work of your employees implies that you value their contributions to the organization as a whole and congratulate all those tasks that have been carried out satisfactorily. Recognition is a critical metric because it is an element that directly impacts workforce engagement.
Therefore, your surveys should contain questions that focus on finding out if your teams feel sufficiently recognized, if they are happy with the frequency of their recognition, as well as the way in which it is done.
2. Interpersonal relationships
Employee engagement is also influenced by interpersonal relationships and emotional bonds that are generated with colleagues and the management team. Since teamwork is an essential pillar of any organization, they need to foster camaraderie through team building techniques that generate commitment and trust.
In this sense, questions about the feeling of belonging, collaborative work and mutual recognition by peers should be asked.
3. Professional development
Being able to develop professionally within the organization is one of the main priorities of any employee, regardless of the sector in which they perform their duties. All of us aspire to be able to learn and grow through our work, as well as to have the opportunity to apply all our knowledge in the development of effective solutions that satisfy the needs of our clients.
Ask your employees if they feel they have enough opportunities for growth and continue to advance towards the peak of their professional careers.
4. Balance between work and personal life (conciliation)
Due to the development of new technology and digital transformation, where everything is connected, including work and personal life, finding the work-life balance may be a challenge for many employees. Those who cannot find that balance run the risk of endangering their mental health with disorders such as burnout syndrome. In addition, they will not be able to perform their work effectively either.
Knowing the result of this metric helps managers to know the status of their teams, which they maybe need some flexibility in exchange for their commitment.
5. Wellbeing
Employee well-being is the cornerstone that sustains the effectiveness and productivity of human capital. Companies know this, and that is why more and more are developing their corporate strategies by putting their teams in the spotlight. When a company treats its employees well, they will surely not want to go anywhere else.
For a correct measurement of commitment, you cannot miss questions about the well-being of your employees with questions related to their psychological and physical safety.
6. Autonomy
When employees have a certain degree of control, the higher the better, over the tasks they have to do and without the constant supervision of their manager, their performance increases. This is because taking control of what they do also makes them feel more responsible, so they are more careful and watch the details.
This metric influences the commitment of employees; therefore you must take it into account in your pulse surveys with questions that serve to explore the degree of freedom that your collaborators feel they have in their jobs.
7. Perks and benefits
Perks and benefits are little extras that employees highly value. They can be from tickets-restaurant, to discounts on certain brands, vouchers for the gym, dental insurance, childcare service, or training courses in official schools. Employees feel that their company cares about them and keeps them engaged.
So, it is interesting to measure how satisfied employees are with these “bonus”.
8. Corporate culture
It is easy to identify a successful company through its corporate culture. Having an environment that encourages a positive employee experience helps the organization attract and retain the best talent. And, of course, a good work environment fosters employee engagement.
To ensure that your organization has a pleasant environment that enhances employees to stay and be brand promoters, ask them if they feel respected, if they are treated equally and fairly, or if the communication channels are adequate and transparent.
9. Alignment
By alignment we mean whether the values and goals of the employees meets with those of the organization. When these converge, employees are not just another number, but rather they become an essential piece in the set of factors that make up the entire organization. This is strongly related with intrinsic motivation and how meaningful work takes employees one step further.
Employees need to be aligned with company’s goals. This is essential in the development of their work commitment.
10. Economic compensation
Last but not least, retribution. The aforementioned metrics are very important but, after all, we work for money so employees expect monetary compensation appropriate to their performance. If not, and especially if the other nine metrics fail, it is highly likely that employees will not hesitate to go elsewhere to work.
You cannot miss the questions related to the economic compensation that your teams receive in your commitment pulse surveys
At Team Insights we care about all the metrics in our engagement measurement model. A robust and effective model that will allow you to see the effect and evolution of your decisions and how they impact both employees and your income statement.
Do you want to discover what we can do for you? Don’t hesitate to ask for a demo, it’s free!
