How to Design Employee Engagement Metrics that Get Noticed
Everyone knows: Data drives decisions. Solid data builds credibility, buy-in, and support for any project or initiative, so having a comprehensive plan for monitoring and tracking your employee engagement metrics and reporting results is key.
Keep in mind that what you want to achieve in the end helps to inform what you need to do in the beginning – and all the way through. It’s important to create a robust measurement strategy as you begin to plan a major change or launch event, and remember these essential best practices:
- Gather baseline data wherever possible
- For reporting purposes, limit your focus to a manageable number of metrics
- Use data to make system or plan adjustments, as needed
- Communicate results widely; focus on business value and success stories to ignite new usage across your organization
Designing Employee Engagement Metrics That Get Noticed: Intranet Redesign Project
In our recent work with a large, global organization that was upgrading its static corporate intranet to a highly scalable and sustainable collaboration tool, Blue Beyond recommended three types of metrics to track and demonstrate their progress – and, ultimately, their value:
- Project Outcomes – Did we do what we set out to do?
Sample Measurement Strategy: How many outdated sites/pages were sunset by a specific date? How many new content developers were onboarded? How many stakeholder alignment sessions were completed on time? Was the project completed on budget and on time? - Employee Adoption – Are people embracing the new approach?
Sample Measurement Strategy: What percentage of employees visited the new intranet on day one; in the first week; first month, etc.? How many click-thru’s did the email announcement prompt? How many employees added their profile into the online people directory? How many employees attended launch training? - Value Creation – Are we achieving our ultimate goals to work smarter, innovate faster, and connect better and more broadly?
Sample Measurement Strategy: Is the new intranet saving employees time? How much? Are employees finding internal experts to help them solve problems faster? Do employees feel greater access to – and stronger connection with – their global colleagues?
TIP: Always measure project outcomes, including meeting major project milestones along the way. Even if the adoption outcomes or value creation outcomes are not quickly attained, the project outcome metrics will demonstrate the valuable progress made by the team.
What Gets Measured Gets Done
When you align your project goals to how you will measure success, you have a better chance of achieving it – because what gets measured gets done!
Some of the most compelling data comes from before-and-after input. Review the baseline data you gathered at the start of the project. For instance, have you implemented an employee involvement survey that provides insight related to your goals? Does it ask about cross-business collaboration or tools that help people do jobs more efficiently?
Chances are, your organization has captured data that will help you measure and demonstrate the impact of your initiative. You just have to find it. A good place to start is your HR or Internal Communications teams. If relevant data isn’t available, can you create a compelling case to have a question or two added to any upcoming surveys? Alternatively, if you do not have any baseline metrics, consider quick polling questions that can be worded to provide a “before/after” comparison. For instance, how would you rate your experience with the new intranet versus the prior intranet?
Once you’ve established the relevant metrics you want to track, you need to determine how you will capture this data. Is there an existing process that can be used for this purpose? What data is already easily generated and tracked through your online platform? What requires a new process or survey mechanism? Will you need people or new resources to help gather anecdotal feedback?
Meaningful metrics can demonstrate real value for your project, lend credibility if you need additional resources, or discover data that tells you it’s time to change course. Establishing what gets measured from the start rather than scrambling to find proof points later will be worth the effort.
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