Top 5 metrics to track employee engagement

Imagine only checking in on your sales metrics once a quarter–or just once a year. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right? 

In our fast-paced business world, certain key performance indicators (KPIs) require regular attention to ensure you’re meeting company goals. 

Now, apply that same logic to tracking employee engagement. 

According to Gartner, only 31 percent of employees report being engaged by, or enthusiastic about, their work. “Figuring out how to actually impact employee engagement is a huge priority because it has a significant impact on several key business outcomes,” says Keyia Burton, senior principal, advisory in the Gartner HR practice. 

Regularly tracking employee engagement through multiple metrics is crucial to a company’s success. It nurtures a thriving, productive workplace and helps manage costly problems like turnover and absenteeism. 

Let's dive into ways to track employee engagement with insights from ZayZoon’s own HR pro–because driving productivity and creating savings in your budget is a win-win. 

What is employee engagement? Why does it matter?

Engaged employees are enthusiastic and involved in the workplace. Gartner reports stellar results for companies with engaged employees, including the following:

• 81 percent decrease in absenteeism 
• 23 percent improvement in profitability. 

On the employee side, engaged workers are more likely to have increased retention rates, higher morale, and more productivity. Gallup research analyzing businesses with different levels of employee engagement shows a 21 percent decrease in turnover at organizations with highly engaged employees.

Regular and varied touch points can help you understand your company’s level of employee engagement and address pain points where needed. 

Want to drive results by tracking employee engagement? Let’s dive into some helpful metrics you can start tracking today. 

Ways to track employee engagement

To capture a complete picture, tracking employee engagement regularly and in several ways, including qualitative and quantitative measures, is essential. 

ZayZoon’s People and Culture Business Partner, Jocelyn Meyer, has over ten years of experience creating engaging employee programs and strengthening company culture.

Meyer highlights the importance of aiming for purpose-driven employee engagement measures. “Don't measure a thing if you don't know your “why” for it,” says Meyer. Otherwise, you risk employees feeling like their voice doesn’t matter and losing trust in the organization. 

1. Employee net promoter score (eNPS) 

An employee net promoter score, or eNPS, is a popular tool for understanding employee engagement and experience. 

Modeled after the customer net promoter score, eNPS asks employees simple questions to measure employee satisfaction and loyalty within an organization. 

An example of a question you could ask to gather your eNPS is: 

“On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend [Company Name] as a place to work to a friend or colleague?” 

Learn more about how to collect and understand eNPS scores here.  

Meyer also discusses the limitations of eNPS. “I think the important thing to remember is that you're taking someone's [eNPS] scores at a moment in time," says Meyer. They could just be having an awful day, and their scores are going to be reflected by that. Whereas tomorrow, you could catch them on the best day when they're feeling their best selves.”

Meyer recommends holistically measuring employee engagement instead of using eNPS as “one metric to rule them all.” 

2. Surveys

Pulse surveys are quick touch points that provide immediate snapshots of employee engagement. 

Annual surveys provide a comprehensive overview of employee engagement. 

By running both types of surveys in tandem, you can track long-term trends and collect insights that help guide decisions about possible changes in company culture, policies, and practices. 

To get accurate results, try to find a balance between how often you send out surveys-otherwise, you risk causing survey fatigue.

Also, consider how you ask questions. Since pulse surveys are meant to be quick and easy for the responder, consider using a Likert scale in which respondents rate a statement instead of answering an open-ended question.

Examples of statements you can rate with a Likert scale in pulse or annual surveys include: 

• I feel a sense of belonging at work.
• I have the resources I need to do my job well. 
• I can successfully balance my work and personal life. 

3. Turnover rate

Even the most successful organizations struggle with employee turnover. In fact, 51 percent of American workers are actively looking for a new job. 

However, voluntary turnover rates signal how engaged employees are in an organization. The lower, the better–it could mean that employees are happy at work and choosing to stay in their jobs. 

Turnover rates vary significantly based on the industry, but organizations should aim for 10 percent or lower. 

To find out your turnover rate, divide the number of employees who left during a period of time by the average number of employees in that same period, then multiply by 100

Read our blog "Employee turnover rates explained" for a comprehensive overview of turnover rates and how to calculate them. 

Are you unhappy with your organization’s turnover rate? We’ve got you covered with our blog about how financial wellness programs can increase engagement and decrease turnover.

4. Absenteeism rate

Absenteeism is the frequent unplanned absence of an employee. 

There are many causes of absenteeism, including mental health leave, workplace harassment and poor work conditions, childcare challenges, and–most relevant here–disengagement or a lack of motivation. 

To calculate an absence rate, divide an employee’s absences by their total time period, then multiply by 100.

An absence rate over 1.5 percent is typically considered concerning, but similar to turnover rates, average absence rates vary depending on the industry. 

Want to learn more about absenteeism, its causes, and possible solutions? Read our blog “Understanding and addressing chronic workplace absenteeism” for more information. 

5. Check-ins and stay interviews

Another helpful marker of employee engagement is an informal conversation that opens up a two-way communication channel. 

Individual meetings with employees can provide personalized insights that help identify successes and pain points. In these discussions, you can ask probing questions that help you understand the root causes of disengagement.

While managers and employees regularly hold one-on-one check-ins, you can also consider organizing ‘stay interviews.’ While exit interviews are conducted with departing employees, stay interviews help employees express their opinions and feel valued while active in the organization. 

As we mentioned earlier, it’s essential to have an action plan for addressing feedback gleaned from stay interviews. It’s also imperative to work towards a culture of psychological safety–these meetings are only valuable if employees feel free to speak out without negative consequences. 

Key drivers of employee engagement

So you’ve measured employee engagement and possibly got less-than-favorable results. What now?

Our research, which surveyed 3250 employees, found that the top four critical drivers of employee engagement are:

• Work-life balance: 27.52% (756 respondents)
• Salary & wage: 25.72% (707 respondents)
• Career development opportunities: 21.33% (586 respondents)
• Workplace culture: 17.47% (480 respondents)

When employees are satisfied in these areas, workplaces thrive with engagement and productivity. 

Connect employee feedback to the key drivers lacking in your organization and address them with long-term engagement strategies. Depending on the feedback, strategies can include recognition and rewards programs, growth and leadership opportunities, initiatives that encourage work-life balance, financial wellness initiatives, revisiting your benefits package, and more. 

Looking for more information on the best benefits to drive employee engagement, acquisition and retention? Check out our comprehensive report, which surveyed 300+ employees about today’s top employee benefits. 

ZayZoon’s earned wage access drives employee engagement and retention

ZayZoon offers earned wage access (EWA) at no cost to employers. Our EWA platform drives engagement through financial wellness by giving employees flexibility over when they access their paychecks. 

Give employees the freedom to manage their finances themselves, and you’ll see higher levels of engagement. The number of employees using ZayZoon’s EWA who are satisfied at work is 17% higher than those who are not. 

At ZayZoon, we work with you to deliver exceptional employee experience solutions. 

Book a free demo to learn more about how ZayZoon can boost your employee engagement strategy!