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How to Measure Employee Engagement

Employee Engagement

How to Measure Employee Engagement

Employee engagement strategies are only as good as the results they deliver. Here's how to measure employee engagement to determine whether your efforts are paying off for your business.

Employee engagement is a concept in which business owners and employers take a proactive role in creating a more satisfied and enthusiastic workforce.

Engaged workers are more committed to the company, its mission, and its customers. In theory, increased employee commitment should translate into real results for the business.

Measurement is a common problem for employers who take employee engagement seriously. Anecdotal evidence is sketchy and the strategies that work for one employer can't be expected to deliver similar results elsewhere. Measuring the impact of engagement efforts in your workplace is critical, but the issue is finding measurement techniques that provide a true reflection of your workers' level of commitment.

Engagement measurements strategies aren't as simple as generating a report from your accounting database. To accurately measure employee engagement, owners and employers need to take a more holistic approach that incorporates a variety of tools and techniques.

Bottom line impact. For business owners, the most important measurement of the effectiveness of an employee engagement strategy is the company's bottom line. Engaged workforces are 20% more productive than non-engaged workforces, so you should eventually see across the board improvement in sales, production and other core business areas.
Workforce indicators. Although they won't send you a memo, your employees will tell you when your engagement efforts are paying off. Signs like personal commitment, creative problem-solving and personal buy-in to the company's strategic plans are clear indicators of engagement success.
Employee surveys. Many employees gauge the effectiveness of engagement initiatives with employee surveys. An anonymous survey gives employees the opportunity to offer feedback about their attitudes toward the company and how committed they are to the mission. In some instances, it may be appropriate to conduct surveys before and after a major engagement initiative to evaluate it effectiveness.
Employer effort. At the end of the day, the best measure of employee engagement may be the amount of effort you're putting into it. If you feel like you're doing everything you can to encourage engagement, you're probably on the road to improvement. On the other hand, if you feel as though there are major gaps in your engagement strategy, it's time to redouble your efforts and make engagement a higher business priority.