Driving Workplace Success: Six Key Employee Engagement Metrics to Track

Employee engagement, a term often bandied about in the corridors of HR departments, goes far beyond mere job satisfaction. It encapsulates the level of an employee’s emotional connection and commitment to their organization, influencing their willingness to contribute to its success. A truly engaged employee is not just satisfied with their job but also understands their role in the bigger picture, actively going above and beyond to drive the organization's goals.

As an HR leader, your responsibilities includes continually monitoring engagement levels and making data-driven decisions to enhance it further. Leveraging employee engagement metrics can help you take the pulse on your organization’s health, devise effective plans, and ensure that your most valuable asset — your employees — are genuinely engaged and committed to their work.

1. Employee Satisfaction

Satisfaction isn’t everything in employee engagement, but it’s certainly an important aspect. Overall satisfaction levels in an organization can be an effective gauge of employee engagement. It represents the extent to which employees are happy or content with their jobs and work environment. High levels of employee satisfaction can lead to increased motivation, better work performance, and lower turnover rates, all of which contribute to the overall success of an organization.

One of the most effective ways to gauge employee satisfaction is through employee surveys. These surveys can be anonymous, encouraging more honest and open feedback, and can be conducted periodically — for example, every quarter or twice a year. Some examples of questions you could ask in an employee satisfaction survey include:

1. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with your job?"
2. "Do you feel that your work is valued and recognized?"
3. "How satisfied are you with the communication and feedback from your manager?"
4. "Are you satisfied with the wellness program offered by our company?"
5. "Would you recommend this company as a great place to work to your friends?"

Remember, the goal of these questions is not just to obtain a satisfaction score but to identify specific areas of satisfaction or dissatisfaction. For this reason, it can be beneficial to include open-ended questions or a comment section for employees to provide more detailed feedback. 

2. Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)

This metric captures the willingness of your employees to recommend your organization as a place to work. A high eNPS score suggests that your employees are not only engaged but are also enthusiastic promoters of your company, willing to vouch for it in their personal and professional networks. On the flip side, a low score could signify underlying issues that need to be addressed to improve employee engagement and satisfaction.

Tracking your eNPS is relatively straightforward, usually accomplished through a single-question survey. Here’s what it typically looks like:

• Present the question: "On a scale from 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend our company as a place to work to a friend or colleague?" 
• Categorize the responses into Promoters (scores 9-10), Passives (scores 7-8), and Detractors (scores 0-6). 
• Calculate your eNPS by subtracting the percentage of Detractors from the percentage of Promoters.

Consider including an open-ended follow-up question like "What is the primary reason for your score?" to provide rich qualitative data to complement the quantitative eNPS score. This allows HR leaders to pinpoint specific areas for improvement and develop targeted strategies to boost engagement. 

3. Retention Rates

Tracking retention rates can provide a clear indication of your organization's ability to keep its employees engaged and motivated. High retention rates can signal a healthy work environment and a strong, positive company culture. Moreover, high retention rates can lead to lower recruitment costs, more stability, and the accumulation of invaluable institutional knowledge.

Calculating retention rates involves determining the proportion of employees who remain with the company over a certain period, typically a year. This can be done by dividing the number of employees who remained at the end of the period by the number of employees at the start of the period, then multiplying by 100 to get a percentage. For instance, if you started the year with 200 employees and had 180 still employed at the end of the year, your annual retention rate would be 90%. 

To understand why an employee stays, consider conducting stay interviews with current employees. This can yield actionable insights to improve your engagement strategies and maintain high retention rates.

4. Employee Turnover

Employee turnover is the flip side of retention and is just as important to track. This metric reflects the number or percentage of employees who leave the company, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, over a given period. High turnover rates can indicate potential problems within the organization, such as lack of interest in the work, leading to lower engagement levels prior to quitting. 

Turnover rates can be calculated by dividing the number of employees who left during a specific period by the average number of employees during that same period, then multiplying the result by 100. For instance, if you started the year with 100 employees and ended with 110, the average number of employees for the year would be 105. If 15 employees left during the year, your annual turnover rate would be approximately 14.3%.

Just as with retention rates, understanding the reasons behind your turnover rates is crucial. Exit interviews can provide invaluable insights into the reasons for departures and highlight areas for improvement. To gain a fuller picture, it's also beneficial to differentiate between voluntary turnover and involuntary turnover. 

5. Absenteeism

Regular, unexplained, or excessive absenteeism can signal low employee engagement levels and dissatisfaction with the job or work environment. It could be due to several factors, including job stress, poor management, health issues, or personal problems. High levels of absenteeism not only disrupt daily operations but also increase workload for other employees, potentially lowering morale and overall productivity.

Calculating absenteeism involves determining the ratio of days absent to total working days over a given period. This can be done by dividing the total number of unexcused absences by the total number of working days, then multiplying the result by 100. For example, say your organization operates on a five-day workweek, and over a period of one month (roughly 22 working days), your team of 30 employees collectively had 45 unexcused absences. The absenteeism rate for that month would be approximately 6.82%.

One-on-one discussions or surveys can be effective ways to gather information on the reasons behind absenteeism and to figure out ways to improve attendance.  

6. Productivity Levels

Engaged employees are typically more motivated and committed, leading to increased productivity and superior performance. Conversely, a drop in productivity levels or performance may be a signal of declining engagement, requiring immediate attention and action from the HR team and management.

Tracking productivity can be a bit trickier than other metrics, as it often varies by job role and industry. For roles with quantifiable outputs, such as sales or manufacturing, it may involve measuring the number of units produced or sold per employee. For other roles, it might involve setting and tracking progress towards individual or team goals, completion of projects within deadlines, or quality of work. 

Drive Employee Engagement with Wellness

Organizations can improve all of these metrics, from absenteeism to satisfaction, with a wellness program. Research has repeatedly shown that prioritizing employee health and wellbeing increases productivity and retention. Companies that offer Wellhub, for example, see their turnover rates drop by up to 40%. 

Connect with a Wellbeing Specialist today for help boosting your employee engagement! 

References

• The Benefits of Employee Engagement. (January 7, 2023). Gallup. Retrieved on July 13, 2023 from https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236927/employee-engagement-drives-growth.aspx.
• What Is Job Satisfaction and Why Is It Important? (May 12, 2023). Positive Psychology. Retrieved July 13, 2023 from https://positivepsychology.com/job-satisfaction/.