In our recent article on human resources key performance indicators we discussed the value of employee engagement as a metric.
Employee engagement can be one of those tricky measures that can be calculated in a variety of different ways. A great many consultancies have popped up with a sole intention of assisting companies with this question – but is it really that complicated or difficult?
Perhaps one of the easiest ways is to use readily available tools such as questionnaires and surveys. By choosing an off the shelf solution, and to get the most value from it companies will need to ascertain the perceived elements that drive engagement within their company and how the solution will help.
For some, developing a custom-tailored tool set to calculate employee engagement, may find benefits over commercially available products by being more specific and granular about the specific business being assessed. Custom solutions can drive greater levels of participation and as a result, enhanced accuracy.
If developing your own bespoke engagement solution doesn’t excite you (or if you don’t have the time to) it can be easier to use and off the shelf package or consultancy. Many commercial packages will derive data from a common set of questions such as
* Do I know what’s expected of me
* Do my opinions count
* Do I have opportunity to develop
* Do I have the right tools to do my job
* Do I get levels of praise
* Am I cared about as a person
There is a variety of evidence that shows that employee engagement can be measured with a minimum set of questions however this doesn’t stop some companies from posing hundreds. Your company will need to ascertain its objectives and evaluate the quantity of questions ensuring they drive an appropriate level of focus.
Of course, the most important result from effective employee engagement is enhancing decision making and goal setting for employee-related strategy.
In terms of where data is captured, companies can find that there are a number of key points where this could be achieved many of which could be more beneficial than a general survey as they enable you to follow up to gain further detail about specific problems. For example, interviewing leavers from your organization can be a key opportunity to gain insight into how employees feel within your business. For example there can be immense value from simply asking a person why they are leaving his or her job.
Of course just collecting the data is one part of the task what you Do with the data is equally important. It is vital that you act on the recorded data to drive improvement in this valuable area.
Have some thoughts on employee engagement? How does your company measure it? We would love your feedback in the comments section below.