How do you handle Employee Engagement issues and gaps identified by the metrics?

After engagement issues are identified by the metrics, we see the trend, we dont take actions on all the issues, and sometimes trends could decieve, like taking 2020-2022 of 23 data for analysis is of no use as things are out of control for entire planet, Take 2023 as the base and see the trend, if something is coming out exclusively without a trend, you can proritise and take action, see the result, put the learnings back to the prcess and measure again, see it for 3 years, if things are set, you move to other priorities.

Employee engagement metrics are only one part of the picture (albeit a critical one) if you're looking to drive a culture of high performance. Organisations looking to achieve this also need to be thinking about measuring their culture (behaviours) - in short, how work is getting done, and what might be getting in the way of strategic execution. Only then will you have a holistic picture of how well your organisation is operating and what's getting in the way, both of high engagement but also overall performance. A high performing culture needs to be both employee and employer centric and any measurement approach needs to take this into account to be truly useful.

The first step is to understand the data you have, what's working, what's not working, and the metrics you will continue to measure going forward which align with your goals, values and culture. Avoid survey fatigue at all costs - ensure you have 2-way feedback and communications with employees, and let them know why you're asking the questions, and what actions you will take.

As a successful business partner and head of HR, we received best employee engagement scores for consecutive years best across the 100+countries that we operate in by being in the top !! I always attribute it to our people and to the management because it’s a two hand clap scenario. One offers while the other receives. One gives feedback and the other acts. One performs and the other rewards. So, it’s always a joint effort. All this worked so well because we always analysed our feedback in a molecular way (Ofcourse within confidentiality and personal identity maintained)and acted on it. We got granular in our analysis and we addressed the root of the challenge. We never stayed shy of asking and changing based on feedback where needed.

100% agree. With limited time and resources, it's crucial to prioritize and drive efforts on a few gaps that will bring meaningful change to employees because "if you're everywhere, you're nowhere."

Transparently communicate the findings to employees, emphasizing that their feedback has been heard and that action will be taken to address the identified issues. This step is crucial to maintaining trust and ensuring employees feel valued and heard.

The most interesting part of the survey is actually the IMPACT PLANS! Unfortunately many organisations are just enamoured by the participation rate metric. Well that is a good metric to measure engagement, but that’s the tip of the iceberg. What employees are ant to hear is ‘What do companies do with the survey data?’ It is important like any other feedback mechanism where after the feedback, one would like to know if there are changes. Hence, acting on the survey in my opinion is the most important part because people have taken the time and effort to be give feedback and show that they care for the organisation be hence it’s important that Impact plans are implemented. - get teams from below be involved. - get ideas to be rewarded.

Employee engagement surveys fall flat if they are not planned well and are being conducted as a check in the box. It is only a culminating point of the full employee life cycle. It is a result of the various events that have happened prior to the survey. So it’s important that organisations first build engagement within the organisation by helping people to stay connected and have a wonderful experience. Prepare with sharing a clear policy based on merit and diverse in nature. Have events across all spectrums covering all generational cohorts etc. Encourage meaningful conversations to happen regularly as performance check ins. Reward suitably and timely. After all this is done, then comes measuring success through surveys.

Understand that engagement doesn't begin or end with the survey. The survey is only one of many data points. An organization should embrace all of the data (information) they get regarding employee engagement and culture. And then involve the employees in what ever the plans are going forward. Unless the employees are involved at a granular level you are providing YOUR solutions to THEIR challenges. And that will likely never end in the way you would like.

Don't forget the change planning around employee engagement. The engagement measures are really feedback and are an event within a bigger process. This process needs to be well strategized, aligned (and realigned) with organizational objectives, well communicated, high engagement throughout, cross collaboration with other initiatives and sustainment measures implemented. Engagement isn't an event.