Any smart manager knows that employee engagement is a determining factor a business success. When professionals are engaged, their loyalty and commitment increase, also improving talent retention. But not only that, engagement is a tool which managers can use to motivate their collaborators and influence them to increase their performance and productivity.
That is why it is so important to measure, monitor and track employee engagement: knowing its status, we will know what measures and decisions we need to take to keep it stable or improve it. But what metrics should we use? We’ll tell you then below.
Metrics: what are we talking about?
Metrics, also known as KPIs for its acronym for Key Performance Indicators , are a unit of measurement used to synthesize relevant information on the effectiveness and productivity of the actions carried out in a business.
By analyzing the metrics, professionals can know which aspects of their operations are more efficient and which ones need improvement, allowing them to make better decisions.
Metrics are known to be commonly used in sales and marketing industry. However, its use is not exclusive and any business area can take advantage of the use of metrics if it’s done properly. HR Analytics is a good example of this.
In short, the metrics, or KPIs, help establish a guide mark to define an action plan.
Taking this into account, making a correct selection of metrics is the first step to start improving your engagement measurement strategy.
Creating smart metrics
When designing a KPI, make sure it is:
- Specific. Focus on a single area for improvement. Each area must have its corresponding metric.
- Measurable. It must be quantifiable and comparable over time, so we can monitor its progress.
- Reachable. Goals must be realistic and feasible.
- Relevant. Measure only what really affects the operation of the company and choose only the most important information.
- Temporary. By this we mean that a metric must be able to be adjusted at a specific time and date.
That said, it should be noted that there is no specific set of metrics for each company. Every business is a world, and everything depends on the size, sector, area of action, objectives, etc. That’s why in Team Insights we have a metric designer, so you can establish the ones that best fit your corporate needs.
Despite this, there are a few key indicators that you can use to measure the engagement of your employees. We indicate them below.
Top 5 Metrics to Measure Employee Engagement
1. Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
The eNPS measures the probability that an employee will recommend your company to a friend or family member to work for. If employees are angaged to the organization, they are more likely to speak good words of your business and recommend it to others.
Measuring eNPS is very easy, you just have to ask the following question: “Would you recommend your company as a place to work to a friend or close person?”. The answer will be given in a numerical scale format, where 1 indicates that you are very unlikely to recommend it and 10 that you definitely recommend it.
Once the data is collected, the answers are divided into three groups according to the scores:
- 9-10: Promoters. They will recommend your company with any doubt.
- 7-8: Passive. They won’t say anything, good or bad.
- 0-6: Detractors. They definitely would not recommend anyone to work for your company.
A high number of promoters indicates a healthy engaged team.
2. Employee satisfaction
To measure this metric, nothing best to ask employees directly through pulse surveys. This will provide you with a wealth of relevant information that will help you prioritize your decisions.
Try to make the questions consistent with each other so that you can compare the evolution of the answers.
By using a numerical scale, you can turn employee feedback into measurable data. You can also divide the questions according to the aspects on which you want to measure that are linked to satisfaction like: leadership, climate, resources, facilities, etc…
And very important, make sure that the answers are anonymous so employees can answer honestly and the data that you obtain will be more reliable.
If you don’t know what to ask or what dimensions are interesting to measure, in Team Insights we leave you the job done: we have our own survey model. You just have to send it, and the software takes care of the rest.
3. Turnover rate
The turnover rate indicates the company’s ability to retain the best talent throughout the time a worker spends with the company. Within the same company, the turnover rate can vary depending on the department, which in no case should be more than 10%.
Identifying in which areas you have problems is essential to focus on solutions.
Turnover rate= ( number of employees who have left the company in a year) / ( number of employees at the beginning of the year) x100.
4. Absenteeism
Engaged professionals don’t miss work, so measuring the absenteeism rate is another good indicator to know the state of your company’s engagement. If someone doesn’t come to their position, not only harms their performance, but the entire team can be seriously affected, generating a very bad employee experience.
A high rate of absenteeism may indicate that there are motivational issues or personal issues that need to be addressed. In any case, talking to employees is a good way to approach the problem and try to find a solution.
Absenteeism rate= ( total number of absent days per employee) / ( total number of working days) x100
5. Productivity
Studies reveal that engaged employees are 17% more productive than their less engaged colleagues. So you can think of productivity as a metric to measure employee engagement.
You can set key metrics for this purpose: hours worked, goals achieved, participation in projects… Even the participation rate in pulse surveys can be an indicator of the level of workforce’s engagement.
In addition, monitoring the productivity of your teams will allow you to act on other relevant aspects that are outside the scope of the commitment, such as: distribution of more flexible schedules or calculation of budgets.
Final Conclusions
Knowing the metrics to measure employee engagement is the first step to improving it. Engagement is a cornerstone for many reasons: it influences job satisfaction, improves the customer experience, improves the brand image and boosts business profitability.
Try Team Insights and discover how easy it’ss to measure your employees’ engagement.
And for you to check it out for yourself, here is a 1h demo.
