Measuring Employee Engagement

How Engaged Are Your Employees?

Employee engagement is a recently hot topic in the business world, and it’s easy to see why. It’s well worth the investment, with reports showing 17% higher production rate on average and a profitability bump of 21%! 
But what exactly is it? How do we measure it, and most importantly, improve?
Unfortunately there’s no cut and dry definition. Some describe it as the passion an employee brings to a project, while others see it as loyalty to the company. 
At Know Your Talents we define employee engagement as both of these and more. Engaged employees are passionate, committed, loyal, and happy – all of which contribute to the success of your organization as a whole. There’s a myriad of factors for improving and maintaining engagement, but the first step is understanding what it means to you.
Employee Engagement at Your Company
Let’s define how engaged employees can impact your business. It can vary depending on industry and purpose. For example, improved engagement for an e-commerce store could result in an obvious bump in daily sales, while a business with long term projects may see happier clients or better quality work. 
Next, recognize where you currently stand. Surveys and one on one interviews are a great start. Career growth opportunities, feedback from managers, mentor options, personal growth, co-worker relationships, and task enjoyment are all factors you might consider asking about. Your research should help you establish a baseline for how employees view these issues, ways they can be improved, and which are most important. 
Now it’s time to make a plan. Which engagement factors are most important to your employees?  Which has the most room for improvement? Find ways to grow in those areas. If career growth is ranked most important, consider setting up one on one meetings to outline steps to grow within the organization, possible mentor opportunities, etc. 
Implement your strategy for a few weeks, then re-administer your surveys to measure progress. If engagement isn’t improving, try focusing on the next promising area. And don’t stop there! Increasing engagement should be a continual effort. Consider implementing quarterly or annual checks to keep employees engaged, interested, and excited to work at your company. 
One key aspect of engagement that many miss is an understanding of employee behavior. Recognizing and leveraging the motivations and strengths of each employee turbo charges the whole process! Not to mention giving insights into communication styles, team dynamics, and more. The Know Your Talents model analyzes behavioral styles and breaks them down into easy to understand segments that can be utilized throughout every aspect of your organization – including employee engagement! Ready to boost the bottom line? We can help you leverage the hidden strengths in your company!