Using Data to Improve Retention and Engagement 

Talented employees have much more power than they did 50 years ago. Access to information and the growth of professional networking has created to a job market that is more transparent. As a result, employees now feel much more confident switching companies, which has led to a massive increase in their bargaining power. It’s perhaps no surprise then, that “retention and engagement” has risen to the second most pressing issue in the minds of business leaders (according to Dupress).

Firms now need to work much harder in order to attract and retain their top talent. No longer is it a viable HR plan to rely on stereotypes when implementing changes to management practices: people want to be treated as sensitive and creative individuals, and if they don’t feel like their needs are being listened to, they will leave.

So what can business of today do to ensure they make their organisation an attractive place to work? Just like a lot of things in today’s business world, it comes down to data. In order to build a company where people actually want to come to work every day, management need to have the right data in order to leverage what it is that engages and makes employees feel valued.

How to Capture Employee Engagement Data

Companies are now investing in analytics tools to help them figure out why people choose to leave and what they can do about it. Software like real-time employee engagement surveys – which provide employers with up-to-date analytics on the health of their organisation – and emotion monitoring apps, like Celpax and emooter, are all great ways for companies to tap into the mood of their workforce.

But there are many other types of free employee data that can be used to gauge employee satisfaction. Retention and attrition rates, responses to benefits, and responses to pay increases are all great sources of information that can help business figure out what drives their employees.
In addition, holding regular focus groups and having a ‘hands-on’ attitude to management, can help to feed important anecdotal information into the HR decision making process. It is these habits that ultimately help business leaders define the topics of purpose, engagement, and culture within their company.

How to Apply Employee Engagement Data

As well as management drawing their own conclusions, a good idea is to make the data public within your company. By sharing data trends at, say, a monthly employee meeting, further feedback can be given from employees themselves on the areas that need improvement. Not only does this make management better informed, but the transparency also makes employees feel valued and more committed to seeing their organisation improve.

Crunching statistical data (i.e. attrition rates, responses to benefits), on the other hand, should be the sole remit of upper management, but this doesn’t mean a dialogue can’t be struck up with employees on what changes they’d like to see. Use data insights to come up with a choice of benefits and changes, then allow employees to make the final say on changes they’d actually like to see.

Author: Luke Rees

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net