5 Key Reasons to Conduct Employee Engagement Surveys

Organizations prioritizing employee engagement understand the contribution it makes toward talent strategy development, the role it plays in developing a differentiated employer brand, and the impact it has on productivity and other operational metrics.  Employee engagement data helps organizations understand where to invest their resources to achieve a positive, inclusive, and career-enhancing work culture. Simply stated, it is the source data to create a motivated and committed workforce that actively engages employees, improves business outcomes, and creates a thriving work environment.

Conducting engagement surveys helps gather insight into what is important to your employees. However, what can engagement surveys measure, and what will the feedback allow you to do? Read on to discover the different levels of employee engagement and five key reasons why you should administer employee engagement surveys in your organization.

What is employee engagement?

Employee engagement refers to employees’ emotional commitment and dedication toward their work and organization. It goes beyond mere job satisfaction and encompasses the extent to which employees feel connected to their work, are motivated, and stay aligned with the goals and values of the organization.

Engaged employees are enthusiastic about their work, feel a sense of purpose and fulfillment, and are willing to go the extra mile to contribute to the success of their organization. They are more likely to be productive, innovative, and committed to delivering high-quality results. Employee engagement is not solely dependent on financial rewards; it is also influenced by factors such as purpose, a supportive work environment, clear communication, opportunities for growth and development, recognition, and a sense of belonging.

Levels of Employee Engagement

Employee engagement can be categorized into different levels based on the degree of commitment and involvement employees demonstrate. While other models and frameworks exist, here are four standard levels of employee engagement:

• Engaged: Engaged employees are highly committed, motivated, and enthusiastic about their work. They have a strong emotional connection to the organization, align with its values, and actively contribute to its success. Engaged employees often go above and beyond their job requirements, willingly collaborate with colleagues, and consistently seek opportunities for growth and development. They display high levels of productivity, creativity, and loyalty.
• Not Fully Engaged: Not fully engaged employees may be satisfied with their work, but they lack the same level of passion and dedication seen in engaged employees. They fulfill their job responsibilities adequately but may not proactively seek additional tasks or opportunities to contribute beyond what is required. They may be content with the status quo and show less initiative in driving innovation or improvement. While they may not be actively disengaged, their potential for more significant impact and productivity remains untapped.
• Disengaged: Disengaged employees feel detached and lack commitment toward their work and the organization. They may exhibit signs of apathy, low morale, and decreased productivity. Disengaged employees may feel disconnected from the organization’s goals and values, and their dissatisfaction can manifest in absenteeism, low motivation, and a negative attitude toward their work. If their concerns are addressed, their disengagement can help team morale and overall organizational performance.
• Actively Disengaged: Actively disengaged employees are not only disconnected and disinterested in their work, but they may also actively express their dissatisfaction and undermine the organization’s goals and initiatives. They may exhibit disruptive behavior, resist change, spread negativity among colleagues, and harm team dynamics and overall employee morale. Actively disengaged employees can significantly hinder productivity and create a toxic work environment if their concerns are not addressed effectively.

5 Reasons to conduct employee engagement surveys

1. Measure employee engagement: Measuring your organization’s key drivers of engagement will allow you to assess where your employees currently fall on the engagement scale as described above.  The process of measuring engagement also includes an assessment of performance across the key dimensions that comprise the employee experience within your organization.  Organizations typically include dimensions like career development, well-being, leadership, work environment, inclusion, equity, and belonging, to name a few.
2. Define the factors most affecting engagement:  Most engagement survey projects include a key driver analysis that identifies the areas and items that are most affecting an employee’s level of engagement.  Focusing organizational action plans around these key drivers ensures that organizations are spending time and resources on the areas that are most critically impacting the employee experience and have a higher rate of impact on factors that affect retention. 
3. Measure performance over time:  Through the employee engagement survey process, organizations collect data that provides tangible objectives for change. Assessing engagement will also allow you to identify areas of best practice within your organization. A specific department might rate very high on engagement, and by analyzing the data, you can gain insight into how they are achieving it and implement best practices throughout the organization. In subsequent measures, you can manage the impact that action planning is having on the employee experience and, by extension, retention.
4. Give employees a voice: Engagement surveys are crucial because they give employees a venue for open feedback. The Voice of the Employee (VoE) is critical to the development process because it gives your workforce a direct voice to the management team. Being actively involved in the planning process makes employees realize they have a stake in the company and that their opinions are valued.
5. Demonstrate the contribution that engagement has on organizational metrics:  More and more organizations are also leveraging linkage studies to connect employee engagement data to operational metrics like safety, absenteeism, productivity, and quality, to name a few.  Linkage analysis can identify additional levers that managers can pull to improve metrics that are typically included in their performance reviews.  When there is that kind of connection between employee engagement and impacting operational metrics, you have truly established employee engagement as a change agent within your organization.