HR 101: How to Measure Employee Engagement in 2025

Measuring employee performance as part of a larger performance management strategy is undeniably important, but if that’s the only thing you’re measuring, you’re not getting the complete picture.

To get an accurate and holistic view of how your employees are doing on the job, you have to measure employee engagement too.

Unlike performance which measures output, employee engagement strategies attempt to measure the mental and emotional connection employees have towards the people they work with, the work they do, and the organization as a whole.

That can sound like an almost impossible thing to measure. Exactly how can we measure employee engagement, and how do we know what the data means?

Here are the answers to some common employee engagement questions along with survey tips, assessment insights, and more that will make sure you get the most out of your employee engagement strategy.

Related: How to Improve Employee Satisfaction - 15 Examples

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How to Measure Employee Engagement

In today's dynamic business environment, understanding how to measure employee engagement is essential for any organization aiming to improve performance, productivity, and employee satisfaction. Employee engagement is the level of mental and emotional commitment an employee has towards their work, team, and the organization. Here, we provide a comprehensive guide on effectively gauging employee engagement.

Quantitative Measurement Methods

The first step in measuring employee engagement involves quantitative metrics, which are statistical and survey-based methods that offer numerical data on employee sentiment. Among these methods, the Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) remains popular. By asking employees if they would recommend the company as a good workplace, you can easily measure engagement on a scale of 0-10, categorizing responses into promoters, passives, and detractors.

Qualitative Measurement Techniques

To complement quantitative data, qualitative approaches are crucial. These methods provide insights into the 'why' behind employee feelings and behaviors. Open-ended survey questions, focus group discussions, and one-on-one interviews collect personal, subjective responses that reveal underlying causes of either high or low engagement levels. These data sets allow HR professionals to address specific concerns and foster a supportive work environment.

Combination of Surveys and Software Tools

For a thorough engagement measurement approach, HR teams should integrate both surveys and technology. Surveys, especially short, frequent pulse surveys, help track engagement trends over time. Combining survey data with analysis from HR analytics software can identify patterns and predict future engagement levels. Utilizing employee engagement software from PerformYard, organizations can efficiently capture and analyze both qualitative and quantitative employee feedback.

Moreover, embedding engagement metrics into Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) enables organizations to evaluate engagement alongside performance, offering a holistic view of the workforce's health and productivity.

Additional Metrics and Practices

Beyond surveys, other metrics such as employee turnover rates, absenteeism, and participation in company events can offer rich insights into engagement levels. Also, consider conducting exit interviews to gather information from employees leaving the organization, providing valuable perspectives on possible engagement challenges.

Ultimately, measuring employee engagement requires a multifaceted approach that combines different tools and metrics to gain a complete understanding of your workforce's engagement dynamics. By implementing these strategies, organizations like PerformYard can ensure they are not only measuring engagement effectively but also fostering a thriving, committed workforce.

How Is Employee Engagement Assessed?

No matter what vertical you're in, whether it's healthcare employee engagement or any other industry, a survey is a great place to begin. That’s especially true if you use employee engagement software.

An anonymous engagement survey enables you to ask important questions while encouraging your employees to answer honestly. They don't have to be long or time-consuming, either. You can send out pulse surveys that only take a minute or two to complete, which means you can send them out more frequently throughout the year.

One of the biggest benefits of using the best employee survey software is that the data collected is automatically collated. You can display the results in many different ways without having to manually input or manipulate the data.

Surveys are the most intuitive way to gather employee engagement data, but there are also other ways to measure employee engagement without surveys.

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Other methods include:

• Analyzing customer satisfaction
• Calculating the employee retention rate
• Look into the employee absenteeism rate
• Conduct employee exit interviews

The frequency at which you measure employee engagement will depend on the particular goals of your organization. We recommend sending out an employee engagement survey at least once a year with smaller pulse surveys in between to gauge changes in engagement over time.

Continuous feedback software can be hugely helpful in tracking engagement in real-time. Software that supports one-on-one meetings and check-ins allows you to both formally and informally assess employee engagement all year long. Culture assessment tools are also useful in this area.

How Is Employee Engagement Calculated?

Calculating engagement seems like an impossible thing to measure. The trick is to divide your employee engagement metrics into quantitative and qualitative data.

Quantitative data is the easiest to collect because it uses numbers and figures. The eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score) is a great example of quantitative data that you can collect.

The NPS is designed to determine how satisfied employees are based on whether they would recommend their workplace to others as a great place to work. It is broken down into a scale from 0-10. You can measure exactly how many employees actively promote the company (scores of 9-10), how many are passive about their recommendation (scores of 7-8), and those who would detract others from working at the company (scores of 0-6).

Creating an employee engagement measurement scale for qualitative metrics can be a bit more challenging, but it's just as important.

Qualitative data can help you understand the why behind low employee engagement scores. An easy way to collect qualitative data is to ask questions with open-ended answers. It allows employees to share information that is important to them, and it can highlight the reason for particularly low or high scores.

For example, you might ask employees to first rate their stress levels at work. Then, include the opportunity for employees to provide an open ended response so they can answer why they feel stressed. You might discover commonalities between employees with high self-reported stress levels, as well as commonalities between employees who report low-stress levels. You can then act on those findings to make work less stressful for everyone.

» Employee Engagement ROI Calculator

How Is Employee Engagement KPI Measured?

KPIs are an effective way to measure performance, but they are also among the most effective employee engagement metrics.

Short for key performance indicators, KPIs are quantifiable things you can measure against a set of objectives. For example, an employee who has an explicit performance goal might have two or three KPIs that demonstrate whether or not they have met their goal.

Creating KPIs as an employee engagement tool means finding things to measure that indicate engagement. For example, measuring survey participation can be a good way to gain insights into engagement, regardless of the responses, as it shows employees are engaged enough to provide their feedback. You can also compare the number of successful hires to unsuccessful hires, and you can track internal promotion rates to see who has been successful in their previous and current roles.

By measuring multiple KPIs, you can create a big-picture view of where employees are the most engaged and where your organization is falling short.

Using HR analytics software can make it easier to measure and compare custom KPIs. Data points are automatically stored during the review process so you can track engagement over time, turn data into visual insights, and compare engagement data with other data, like performance, to get a more complete picture of how engagement is impacting your organization.

» How to Change Company Culture: A Step-by-Step Guide

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What are the indicators of employee engagement?

Employee engagement is a crucial determinant of organizational success, reflecting the level of commitment, passion, and enthusiasm employees have towards their work and company. Identifying indicators of employee engagement is essential for human resources professionals working to cultivate a motivated and productive workforce.

1. Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction is a clear indicator of employee engagement. Engaged employees find their work fulfilling and derive satisfaction from their roles. Regular job satisfaction surveys, both broad and targeted, can help gauge how employees feel about their tasks, responsibilities, and the overall work environment.

2. Employee Retention

Retention rates are a powerful metric for assessing engagement levels. High retention often suggests that employees feel a strong connection with their organization. Conversely, frequent turnover might signal disengagement and dissatisfaction. Tracking and analyzing turnover patterns can help identify areas needing improvement.

3. Workplace Attendance

Engaged employees are generally more consistent in their attendance. Low absenteeism indicates that employees are motivated and willing to participate in their work. Monitoring absentee rates can provide insights into engagement levels, and higher than average absenteeism could suggest underlying issues.

4. Productivity Levels

Engagement levels are often reflected in employee productivity. Engaged team members are more likely to exceed expectations and deliver high-quality work. Measurement of productivity not only includes output but also initiative in problem-solving and innovation.

5. Employee Feedback and Participation

The frequency and sincerity of feedback from employees can also serve as an engagement indicator. Engaged employees are more likely to participate in feedback processes, suggest improvements, and contribute ideas. Encouraging and analyzing open communication can help identify levels of engagement.

6. Team Collaboration

Employees who are engaged often show a keen interest in working collaboratively. Observation of team dynamics during meetings, projects, and everyday interactions can reveal how well engaged employees feel with their peers. A harmonious and future-oriented team is usually a sign of strong engagement.

7. Employee Advocacy

Advocacy is a unique aspect of employee engagement where employees actively promote their organization externally. Engaged employees often endorse their workplace to potential hires and speak highly of the company in public forums. Measuring advocacy might include tracking social media mentions or employee referrals.

Incorporating these indicators into your engagement strategies will allow for more tailored and strategic decision making, ensuring that your workforce remains agile, dedicated, and aligned with the organizational goals. Leveraging platforms like PerformYard to aggregate and analyze these metrics can greatly enhance your capacity to understand and improve employee engagement.

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Best Practices When Measuring Employee Engagement

An annual survey is a popular employee engagement best practice and a great way to gather in-depth data from your employees, but employee engagement measurement tools also need to be used throughout the year to get a true grasp of how engaged your employees are.

For example, goal check-in software supports the practice of having managers meet with their employees for just a few minutes multiple times throughout the year. This gives employees a chance to bring up potential problems that could impact their engagement, and managers can help keep employees on track to meet their goals.

Using a software platform also enables you to be at the forefront of performance management innovations. As they evolve, AI-powered tools will be able to supercharge data analysis and provide predictive analytics that will help you identify engagement trends at your organization.

If you’re looking for performance review software that makes it easy to measure employee engagement, look no further than PerformYard. Our employee engagement software was specially designed to be customizable so you can gather important performance and engagement data that is specific to your organization.

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Questions to Measure Employee Engagement

Understanding the level of engagement within your workforce is crucial for the ongoing success of any organization. The process of gauging this engagement starts by asking the right questions. Below, we outline categories of questions that can provide valuable insights into employee engagement.

Connection to Work and Organization

At the core of employee engagement is the emotional and intellectual connection employees feel towards their work and the organization they are part of. To measure this, consider questions such as:

• Do you feel your work has a clear purpose and impact?
• Do you believe in the mission and values of the organization?
• How likely are you to recommend this company as a great place to work?

Relationship with Colleagues and Managers

Relationships within the workplace significantly influence engagement levels. Questions targeting these interactions can reveal much about the social dynamics of the organization:

• How comfortable do you feel about providing feedback to your manager?
• Do you feel supported by your colleagues?
• In what ways can teamwork be improved?

Personal Growth and Development

Opportunities for personal and professional growth are key to keeping employees motivated and engaged. Ask questions that explore this dimension:

• Do you feel that you have opportunities for growth and development within our organization?
• Do you receive regular constructive feedback that helps you improve?
• What additional training or resources would be beneficial to your career progression?

Work Environment and Resources

The physical and virtual environment in which employees work play a vital role in their engagement levels. Questions to address this aspect include:

• Do you have the necessary tools and resources to perform your job effectively?
• How would you rate the work/life balance provided by your role?
• What improvements in the work environment would most help you?

For Human Resources professionals using platforms like PerformYard, leveraging these questions in structured surveys can lead to actionable insights and drive organizational improvements in employee engagement.