Muriel Call, Staff Writer
Employee engagement goes beyond mere job satisfaction or a pleasant work environment. It is about fostering a deep connection and a sense of purpose among employees, which significantly impacts their motivation and performance.
According to the Pew Research Center, when employees find their work meaningful, they experience greater job satisfaction, better engagement, and a stronger sense of organizational loyalty. However, recent findings suggest that there has been another dip in employee engagement, which is a cause for concern for many organizations.
Engaged employees contribute significantly to a company’s success. They are more productive, provide better customer service, and are less likely to leave the company. They are also more likely to go the extra mile, contributing to innovation and the overall growth of the company.
To ensure organizations thrive, it’s essential to assess and enhance employee engagement, considering the valuable benefits it brings. Regular measurement allows organizations to understand their employees’ needs, identify areas for improvement, and track the effectiveness of their engagement strategies.
This is where employee engagement surveys come into play, providing valuable insights and serving as a powerful tool for boosting employee engagement.
The top five employee engagement survey platforms are Lattice, PeopleThriver, Culture Amp, Leapsome, and Trakstar. These tools can help organizations both measure and improve employee engagement.
In this article, we’ll delve into the importance of employee engagement, discuss strategies for improvement, and introduce the top five employee engagement surveys that can help organizations in their quest to boost employee engagement.
Importance of Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is a key driver of organizational success and has a direct impact on an organization’s bottom line. Here are some of the benefits of high employee engagement:
Increased Productivity
Engaged employees are more productive because they are enthusiastic and committed to their work. This improves the quality of employees’ output, as they take ownership of their tasks and are motivated to complete them to the best of their abilities.
Improved Employee Retention
High employee engagement is essential for reducing turnover. Engaged employees feel committed and connected to their organization, which makes them less likely to leave, resulting in decreased turnover costs. Retention helps retain organizational knowledge and expertise, contributing to long-term success and stability.
Positive Workplace Culture
Employee engagement is crucial for cultivating a positive workplace culture. Engaged employees tend to foster a collaborative, cohesive, and supportive work environment through their positive interactions with colleagues. This not only enhances productivity but also contributes to a more harmonious and fulfilling work atmosphere.
Better Organizational Performance
Engaged employees are more likely to be committed to their organization’s goals and values. They understand the bigger picture and see how their work contributes to the organization’s impact. This sense of purpose motivates them to go above and beyond their job requirements, leading to increased innovation and improved organizational performance.
Employee engagement has many benefits and is essential for an organization’s long-term success. It leads to increased productivity, improved employee retention, a positive workplace culture, and better organizational performance. To reap these many benefits, measuring and improving employee engagement should be a top priority for all organizations.
Improving Employee Engagement
Unfortunately, Improving employee engagement is not a one-time effort—it’s a continuous process that requires commitment from all levels of the organization.
Here are some strategies that can help organizations improve employee engagement:
Recognizing Employee Achievements
Recognition is an essential component of employee engagement. When workers receive acknowledgment and appreciation, they are more motivated to actively participate in their roles.
Recognition can be given in various forms, ranging from a sincere thank you to structured recognition initiatives and programs within the organization. This positive reinforcement contributes to a more engaged and productive workforce.
Providing Opportunities for Professional Development
Employees are more likely to engage with their work when there are opportunities for growth and development in their roles.
This could include providing training programs that cater to different learning styles, mentorship opportunities that foster professional relationships and skill development, and clear career progression paths that outline potential advancements within the organization.
Fostering a Positive Work Environment
A positive work environment where employees feel valued and respected can significantly improve employee engagement. This includes promoting a culture of open, transparent communication, collaboration, and inclusivity.
When employees feel supported and appreciated, they are more likely to be motivated and productive. Creating a positive work environment also fosters a sense of loyalty and commitment among the team.
The Role of Leadership
Leadership is one of the main factors that drive employee engagement. When leaders show a genuine interest in their employees’ well-being and professional growth, they foster a culture of engagement.
This can be achieved through open communication, regular feedback, and leading by example. Effective leadership creates a positive work environment and motivates employees to perform at their best.
Regularly Measuring Engagement
A necessary part of the employee engagement improvement process is regularly measuring employee engagement to determine how engaged employees are and where the work may need to be done to improve engagement.
By collecting feedback through surveys, interviews, and performance evaluations, organizations can gain valuable insights that help them make informed decisions to enhance employee engagement and overall productivity.
Improving employee engagement requires a multifaceted approach. Recognizing employee achievements, providing opportunities for professional development, and fostering a positive work environment helps employees engage with their work.
Strong leadership keeps them engaged. Regular measurement and evaluation can ensure employees’ needs for engagement are consistently met.
The Role of Employee Engagement Surveys
To improve employee engagement, you first have to evaluate it, and we know surveys work very well if used properly. These surveys are designed to gather feedback from employees about various aspects of their work experience, providing valuable insights that can be used to improve engagement and performance.
Measuring Employee Engagement
Employee engagement surveys provide a quantitative measure of employee engagement. They allow organizations to track engagement levels over time, identify trends, and measure the impact of engagement initiatives.
This data-driven approach ensures that engagement strategies are based on solid evidence, rather than assumptions.
Understanding Employee Sentiments
These surveys delve into employees’ feelings about their work environment, their relationship with their managers, the quality of the employee experience, and their overall job satisfaction.
By asking the right questions, organizations can gain a deep understanding of what motivates their employees. They can also identify the challenges they face and what changes they can make to improve engagement.
Improving the Work Environment
Feedback collected from employee engagement surveys can serve as valuable input for enhancing the work environment. This may involve making adjustments to physical workspaces, refining work processes, or improving communication and collaboration tools.
Enhancing Manager-Employee Relationships
Employee engagement surveys often include questions about employees’ relationships with their managers. The responses to these questions can provide insights into how managers can better support their teams, foster a positive work environment, and drive engagement.
Improving the Employee Experience
The insights gained from employee engagement surveys can be used to enhance the overall employee experience. This could involve initiatives aimed at improving work-life balance, providing more opportunities for professional development, or recognizing and rewarding employee achievements.
Employee engagement surveys are a valuable tool for assessing and enhancing employee engagement. They offer valuable insights into employees’ sentiments and experiences, guiding organizations in creating work environments conducive to high levels of engagement.
Top 5 Employee Engagement Surveys
Here are our top five employee engagement survey providers.
1. Lattice
Lattice is a well-known provider of employee engagement software and surveys, designed to facilitate effective employee engagement and drive business results. It offers a centralized platform for engagement, performance management, feedback, and continuous improvement.
One of its notable features is the use of AI-powered insights, which provide analysis of key engagement drivers, feedback trends, and research-backed suggested actions. These insights are delivered as soon as the survey is closed, enabling HR professionals to take immediate, effective action.
Lattice also provides real-time data about how employees feel about their work, offering a continuous, real-time understanding of employee engagement, and it has the unique ability to quantify where employees stand in terms of themes and patterns in pulse and Employer Net Promoter Score (eNPS) surveys.
This data-driven approach ensures that engagement strategies are based on solid evidence rather than assumptions. It also helps organizations proactively address employee needs and enhance overall workplace satisfaction.
2. PeopleThriver
PeopleThriver is designed to enhance employee engagement, performance, and retention. It utilizes a scalable system to develop effective managers by focusing on meeting the core needs of employees.
The program uses short surveys to assess how well managers are meeting these needs, which are linked to employee engagement, retention, and performance. This approach aims to facilitate employee feedback and help managers take appropriate action.
Additionally, PeopleThriver provides managers with brief video training on habits they can consistently apply to meet these core needs. The program claims to guarantee a 300% return on investment, showcasing its effectiveness in driving high levels of employee engagement.
3. Culture Amp
Culture Amp is an employee engagement platform designed to help organizations understand and improve employee engagement. It offers customizable survey templates to meet the specific needs of each organization.
The platform utilizes AI-powered analytics to provide insights into employee engagement, helping organizations identify key drivers and areas for improvement.
Culture Amp also provides retention insights to help organizations understand and address factors affecting employee retention. Its action plans are designed to guide organizations in implementing strategies to boost engagement.
Additionally, Culture Amp’s platform is supported by people science, ensuring that the insights and recommendations are backed by scientific research. This approach makes Culture Amp an effective tool for growing employee engagement and driving organizational success.
4. Leapsome
Leapsome offers employee engagement and pulse survey software designed to measure company culture.
The platform provides ready-to-use surveys that can be customized to fit the unique needs of each organization. Its analytics offer insights into employee engagement, helping organizations identify key drivers and areas for improvement.
Leapsome also provides sentiment analysis using Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning technology to analyze and score the sentiment of written responses to open-ended questions. The platform’s actionable analytics help organizations understand engagement drivers that impact performance levels and employee churn, enabling them to develop and retain their teams.
Additionally, Leapsome allows for anonymous conversations with survey respondents on their specific answers, respecting employees’ privacy while gaining a detailed understanding of their needs.
5. Trakstar
Trakstar offers a comprehensive platform for employee engagement reports and analytics. The software enables organizations to analyze pulse survey results and explore engagement scores, response rates, comments, and trends.
Its design aims to assist organizations in assessing the satisfaction and productivity of every individual within their organization. Trakstar’s reports can be utilized to shape an organization’s employee engagement strategy, present findings to stakeholders, and facilitate informed decision-making to cultivate the desired organizational culture.
The software aggregates data from real-life interactions with employees, including information from performance reviews, check-ins, and pulse surveys, to provide an unbiased and comprehensive view of employee engagement.
Trakstar’s employee engagement survey software is positioned as a comprehensive tool for maintaining employee engagement at every stage of an employee’s journey.
Choosing the Right Employee Engagement Surveys
Employee engagement is a critical factor in the success of any organization. Because of this, regularly measuring employee engagement and identifying ways to improve it are critical to an organization’s success.
Engaged employees are more productive, more committed to their organization’s goals and values, and contribute significantly to a positive workplace culture. They are the backbone of a thriving organization.
Employee engagement surveys help us measure and improve employee engagement. They provide valuable insights into employees’ feelings about their work environment, their relationship with their managers, and their overall job satisfaction.
These insights can guide organizations in creating strategies to improve employee engagement, leading to increased productivity, improved employee retention, and overall organizational success.
We have introduced five top-notch employee engagement survey providers: Lattice, PeopleThriver, Culture Amp, Leapsome, and Trakstar. Each of these providers offers unique features and capabilities that can help organizations measure and improve employee engagement.
When selecting a survey tool, organizations should consider their specific needs, work culture, and goals. The right tool can offer valuable insights and drive meaningful changes within the organization.
Muriel Call
Staff Writer / Editor
