Employee engagement is the secret to organisational success. We all know that. It’s linked to higher profits, productivity, and a happier workforce. That’s why it’s something which leaders will keep on pursuing – especially in these uncertain times, as it’s also closely connected with employee retention.
To boost employee engagement, you need to measure it first. That’s why we created our Employee Engagement Survey Guide – so you can learn everything you need to know. Download it now, or keep on reading for advice about using engagement surveys to raise your retention rates.
What’s the link between retention and engagement?
It’s not surprising that engaged employees are less likely to quit. In fact, research shows they’re 87% less likely. After all, ‘engagement’ in this sense means feeling connected to the organisation you work for. Why would you leave a job like that?
Sending a survey means you learn what drives (or hinders) engagement. And that means understanding how to boost employee retention, as an outcome of that.
How to use our engagement survey to understand retention
1. Send our engagement survey
Our engagement survey combines a full scan of your organisation with a number of research-led engagement questions – there’s a number directly related to retention, so you can get the most relevant results possible.
Choosing, tailoring, and sending the survey takes just 15 minutes. That makes it the fastest, most reliable way to get an understanding of your people.
2. Get actionable people insights
As soon as the survey closes, you’ll get instant insights. On your customisable dashboard you’ll see how you scored – from your overall engagement score, to how you measured up in the ‘stay’ dimension (which relates to employee retention).
From there, it’s easy to dig deeper. Compare departmental or demographic breakdowns, view the top 10 themes people discuss, and understand what’s driving high or low scores.
3. Make the changes you need to
From those insights, you’ll understand what engages your employees. You’ll also identify the priority areas you need to focus on – the ones that are causing the most issues, and therefore require the quickest action.
It’s also easy to share these people’s insights, thanks to report-building tools. That means setting up and communicating action plans for managers becomes simple. Because that’s the key to making change happen.
4. Match with metrics like ‘churn rate’
However you measure retention or attrition in your organisation, you can look at those metrics alongside your engagement survey feedback. That gives you an even clearer picture of how the two relate.
That will give you a way to get backing for your change-making initiatives. The costs of low retention are well known, whereas the benefits of engagement are more abstract, so it’ll give you a clear way to show the impact of intended changes.
5. Start the process all over again
The most crucial part of the process is to rinse-and-repeat. Listening to your employees isn’t a ‘to-do list’ activity: it’s something you need to stay on top of, so you can adapt and adjust to the situation as it rapidly changes.
After you’ve had time to implement changes, run the survey again. Ideally, you’ll see improved scores – validating your efforts so far – and get more ideas for improving your organisation, boosting engagement, and raising retention rates.