Measuring employee engagement is one of the few ways a business can determine if its benefits packages, values and people strategies are working for the current group of employees (‘Higher levels of employment engagement is a mission worth taking on’, Personnel Today, 7 August).
It’s easy to put in HR programmes and presume success, but without the 360-degree engagement measurement, how can management be sure the plan is working?
People stay for many reasons, and low turnover figures can catch a business unaware if the staff are disengaged but staying put – perhaps for security, a bonus or some other reason.
If the market then frees up and there is no longer a good reason to stay, the effects of sudden movements can be extremely damaging – not only to business continuity, but to morale.
Companies that understand and use employee engagement measures are in a much better position to play to their strengths, working on improving the lower-scoring items, and are fully aware of how stable their employees really are.
Measuring employee engagement is one of the most useful tools HR has that really makes a difference to the bottom line.