Amy
17 Apr 2024

Data-driven Employee Engagement

Fostering employee engagement stands as a pivotal goal for HR and People teams. Yet, the mere act of conducting surveys falls short if not coupled with a profound dive into the data they yield. Enter impact analysis, the compass guiding your teams towards actionable insights derived from surveys.

Employee surveys

Why Regular Surveys Matter

Employee surveys serve as a pulse check for HR and People teams, offering valuable insights into the overall sentiment and satisfaction levels among employees. They provide a platform for employees to voice their opinions, concerns, and suggestions. Some companies advocate for conducting these anonymously, to create a safe space for everyone to share their true opinions. SurveyMonkey suggest that anonymous surveys gather more engagement and participation than attributed surveys.

A few reasons why more surveys is better for you:

  1. Locating pain points fast: Surveys help identify areas of concern or dissatisfaction among employees, whether it’s related to workload, company culture, leadership, or compensation. If you have a regular survey running once a week with just a few questions, you’re providing your teams with a simple outlet to voice their concerns as they occur, giving you a chance to address them instantly.
  2. Driving change: Armed with data from surveys, HR and People teams can pinpoint specific areas that need improvement and tailor interventions accordingly. Your proactive approach will demonstrate a commitment to addressing employee concerns and enhancing the overall employee experience. Setting goals based on these survey metrics can become a great measure of your HR and People teams’ success.
  3. Boosting morale: Surveys are a great addition to your toolkit, as they help in strengthening a culture of trust and engagement. By actively soliciting employees’ opinions, you will

However, merely conducting surveys and collecting results isn’t enough. The data you are left with needs to be reviewed and analysed to produce actionable insights. And you need to be ready to act on the findings – whether it is celebrating success or following up on tougher conversations with your teams.

Understanding Impact Analysis

Impact analysis, also known as correlation analysis, involves examining the relationship between different survey variables to uncover patterns and connections. It goes beyond simple descriptive statistics to identify causal relationships and assess the impact of various factors on overall engagement levels.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Define Key Variables: Start by identifying the key variables or factors that may influence employee engagement. These could include factors such as workload, communication, career development opportunities, work-life balance, and managerial support.
  2. Collect Data: Administer surveys to gather data on these variables. You need to make sure that the data collected in your survey is suitable for conducting this analysis. Therefore, use scale questions with numerical values: On a scale from 1-5, how satisfied are you with your current workload? 
  3. Analyse Correlations: Once the data is collected, conduct correlation analysis to examine the relationships between different variables. This involves calculating correlation coefficients to determine the strength and direction of the relationships. Each correlation is represented by a figure called the correlation coefficient which can range from -1 to +1, with positive scores indicating a positive relationship between the pairs of variables, while negative scores indicate a negative relationship.
  4. Identify Impact: Based on correlation coefficients, assign Impact: For anything below 20% is Insignificant, 20% to 40% is Low, 40% to 60% is Medium and anything above 60% is High. For example, a question that has a High Impact on overall Engagement score would mean a positive relationship, and would indicate that you should concentrate more effort in raising this metric to ensure your Engagement goes up.
  5. Take Action: Armed with insights from the impact analysis, your HR and People teams can develop targeted strategies to address areas of improvement and capitalise on strengths. Whether it’s implementing training programmes, revising policies, or enhancing communication channels, interventions should be data-driven and tailored to the specific needs of the organisation.

The Power of Data-Driven Insights

By harnessing the power of impact analysis, organisations can unlock a wealth of actionable insights to drive employee engagement and satisfaction. Rather than relying on guesswork or gut feelings, decision-making becomes informed by empirical evidence and objective analysis.

In conclusion, conducting regular employee surveys is just the first step towards fostering a culture of engagement and empowerment. To truly make an impact, organisations must delve into the data, uncover patterns, and take decisive action to address areas of improvement. By embracing impact analysis, HR and people teams can unlock the full potential of their workforce and drive sustainable business success.