Measuring employee satisfaction is important to understand the current state of the business. However, how do we determine satisfaction? It is a hard measure and turns out to be difficult to measure. This has resulted in a switch in measurements, supported by the use of academic research. Research shows that employees are more satisfied when they have been engaged with their work. This brings us to the next question: how to measure employee engagement?
The engagement of employees
If research shows that engaged employees are more satisfied, how does this engagement start? First off, it relates to the relation of the core values of the company and the people that work there. When employees feel aligned with the mission, vision, and core values, they are more likely to be engaged and work together for the common cause. As you can imagine, a survey that indicates the question “do you feel aligned with the company’s mission?” will be more effective than “how happy are you with your work?” It is more likely to result in an honest answer that helps you to understand their engagement.
Beyond the company values
The company mission, vision, and values are just the start. Next, it is important to know how they feel about the work that they are conducting. Do they feel that they add value? What are the potential bottlenecks in their work? What gives them satisfaction when performing their work? Combining these questions (and answers) helps to provide insights into employee engagement.
Do not get worked up by reinventing the wheel
Employee engagement is a well-studied subject that helps you to learn from others that are working in the field. Besides that, there are several companies active in the field of employee engagement. These companies offer standardized surveys that can help you to gather input from your employees. Although surveys can be good on a large scale, it is also recommended to have individual conversations with employees to understand their needs. Having managers talk to their team members helps to gather this understanding. Combining this with a high-level survey across the company can provide you with a complete view.
Analytical tools at your disposal
When you select a partner that is active in the employee engagement space, they will offer more than surveys. The surveys are automated and feed into a database that allows for analytics. Dashboards can show you insights into the data and help managers to grasp what is happening across the organization. Another upside is the use of follow-up steps. As these companies have experienced similar challenges in other organizations, they can help you to increase the engagement among employees and actively follow up on the actions set out. This helps to shape an engagement program that will help you to create a happier and more productive workforce.
Want to learn more about engagement among employees and how it can work for you? Check out the website from Effectory, a leader in the field of engagement. They offer lots of different tools and methods as well as tips and tricks.
