Employee engagement has been overlooked in past years. But now, organizations are becoming more aware of this integral element. It ensures higher customer satisfaction, lower absenteeism rate, and boost in sales.
Engagement for employees can not be only considered through a score or hard metrics. Listening to what they say and what matters to them is another important way to measure it.
What is employee engagement?
Employee engagement is when employees are emotionally committed to their organization and personally invested in its success. They are passionate to work and feel connected to their organization’s values.
Higher engagement for employees leads to many benefits at the workplace. It includes:
- Better team performance, productivity, and alignment.
- Obstacles are tackled before they become a problem.
- Lower turnover rate and absenteeism at the workplace.
- Strengthen relationships and build trust among employees and managers
- Promotes healthy work-life balance
- Employees feel valued and heard in their organization
The above-mentioned pointers give a clear sign of the importance of employee engagement. Let’s now dive deeper into how you can measure it through various metrics:
How to measure engagement for employees?
- One-on-one meetings: Such a type of meeting is a perfect metric to track employee engagement. It allows employees to speak openly about their issues and opinions. You can assure them that it will be kept confidential and discuss those issues in-depth. It also lets you check in with them, exchange feedback, and give proper guidance.
You can do it in person or virtually. (Depending on the Job type). Also, ensure that you conduct it once or twice a month to get the right engagement results.
- Pulse surveys: This is another popular method to measure employee engagement. These are the short surveys that can be sent frequently to your employees. It can be said to be lightweight feedback that helps you get the information quickly. You can cover any area or department through a pulse survey. It allows you to get a real-time snapshot of employee engagement levels. This leads you to take corrective actions timely.
Pro-tip: You can try Pulse Survey on the HuddleUp platform. With its AI Chatbot, you can understand how your employees feel and take action quickly.
- Employee recognition: It is an effective way to identify whether your employees are engaged or not. When employees are recognized for their work, their motivation level increases. Hence, they work harder to do better next time.
Ensure that your employees’ work is acknowledged. It will let them understand their worth which positively impacts their performance.
- Employee turnover rate: Lower turnover rate ensures a higher engagement level. As it results in higher productivity, less disruption, and increased productivity. You can calculate the employee turnover rate by:
‘N’ of employees who left voluntarily in the given period/ ‘N’ of employees in the same given period x 100
It will let you know how much your employees are engaged and satisfied at their workplace. Better retention allows you to keep your top talent for a longer period. Also, ensure that you check the demographics data as well. For example: If more women are resigning from their job. Figure out the reason and act upon it.
- Employee absenteeism: Engaged employees rarely take unplanned leaves. Higher absenteeism percentage could be because of poor working conditions, lack of work-life balance, or bad leaders. You can measure employee absenteeism rate by:
No. of absent days/ No. of available work in a given period
Consider a higher absenteeism rate as a warning sign. Understand the issue through one-on-one meetings or pulse surveys and act upon it. Make sure that their opinions matter and are valued at the workplace.
- Health and wellness: This is one of the underrated metrics of employee engagement. When employees are engaged, It regulates their stress levels and health. Measuring it will let you know how every employee feels throughout the year.
Disengaged employees have episodes of anxiety, stress, and burnout. To avoid this, give them frequent breaks. You can give them vacation time once or twice a year. Conduct various fun sessions and workshops so they remain focused and productive.
in a nutshell
Engagement for employees is as important as profits for the company. Ensure that you measure them now and then. It may seem a complex task initially, but it will be all worth it.