KPI: Employee Engagement
Owner |
Human Resources |
Data Sources and Collection |
The source of data is an employee engagement survey, administered through a human resources contractor at first, with follow-up surveys that can be handled by the Human Resources Department |
Reporting Frequency |
As often as necessary if human resource problems need greater clarity and a course of action. |
Why This KPI Is Useful
Employee engagement measures the level of commitment employees have for their job. Employee engagement surveys are an alternative to employee satisfaction surveys. The two surveys may seem similar, but they are not. They differ in profound ways. The management consulting firm, Custominsight, describes the differences as follows:
Employee satisfaction covers the basic concerns and needs of employees. It is a good starting point, but it usually stops short of what really matters. . . . It does not address their level of motivation, involvement, or emotional commitment. For some employees, being satisfied means collecting a paycheck while doing as little work as possible … Employee engagement goes beyond activities, games, and events. Employee engagement drives performance. Engaged employees look at the whole of the company and understand their purpose, where, and how they fit in. This leads to better decision-making … Engagement is a key differentiator.1
Unless senior management is solidly behind the concept of measuring employee engagement, this KPI should be reserved for use as a problem-solving tool. Imagine a serious decline in business coupled with growing human resource problems. There’s a good possibility the two issues are linked. This can be evidenced in data from the financial KPIs, customer service KPIs and the “KPI Human Resource Summary,” all in Volume 1. The Employee Engagement KPI may provide the causes to this complex problem. It is a deeper dive into the human resource health and morale of an organization.
Objective
Learn how many employees are actively engaged in their job and how many are not. This KPI can be a standard measuring tool for Human Resources, a problem-solving tool or both.
When used, at some point there should be an objective to create a work environment where the number and percentage of engaged employees increases. The expectation is that overall business performance will improve. In 2018 the Gallup organization researched the national statistics on engaged employees and had these findings:
• The percentage of “engaged” workers in the United States (those who are involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace) is now 34 percent.
• Gallup also reported that 16.5 percent of workers in the United States were “actively disengaged.”
• Those who are “actively disengaged” (have a miserable work experience) is now at its lowest level (13 percent). The current ratio of engaged to actively disengaged employees is now 2.6-to -1. Gallup reports this ratio is the highest ever surveyed.
• The remaining 53 percent of workers fall in the “not engaged” category. This does not mean their work performance is unsatisfactory. Rather, they simply lack any strong emotional attachment or detachment to their employer. Gallup notes that these are the employees likely to leave for better employment opportunities.
Managing Unfavorable Conclusions and Inferences
In this circumstance, it is assumed that an employee engagement survey was conducted after an unfavorable Human Resources Summary was exposed by KPI review. I don’t believe that an unfavorable conclusion or inference drawn by a large fraction of actively disengaged or not engaged employees can be solved rapidly. Fixing this requires the full attention of senior management. First, see if financial trends and productivity trends are unfavorable. If this is the case, you indeed have a corporate morale and culture problem. It takes a concentrated effort to cure this; structural reorganization, targeted training programs, personnel actions, and finally setting new goals and objectives with a schedule for continuous review and adjustment.
How to Calculate and/or Organize Data
There will be calculations and analysis when the survey is completed. Employee engagement survey questions should be developed specifically to measure job performance, competency, and the sense of pride and fulfillment that comes from the organization’s success. A human resources contractor with experience in launching the survey program and interpreting survey scores (1 to 5) should be hired to start. Interpretation of scores is important, a score of 4 on one question may be judged as good; however, it may not mean the same thing on another. Engagement surveys should be statistically validated and benchmarked against other B2B organizations. (It is doubtful whether other convention centers have conducted these surveys.) Without these things, it is difficult to know what you are measuring and whether the results are good or bad. The business research firm, Gallup, developed an excellent employee engagement questionnaire called the “Gallup Q12 Index.” It, is brief and to the point, and can be viewed through an internet search.
Presentation Notes and Formats
A statistical table showing actively engaged, engaged, and not engaged numbers and percentages of employees. This should be accompanied with a brief narrative of why and how the survey was conducted.
1 Custominsight. undated. “What is Employee Satisfaction?.” https://custom-insight.com/employee-engagement-survey/what-is-employee-satisfaction.asp (accessed October 2019).