Canadian HR Reporter

F E AT U R E S F E AT U R E S EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT By Nina Freier A re your employees truly engaged? How do you really know? In a typical organization, HR conducts an employee engagement survey to determine what drives em- ployees to do their best at work and contribute to the success of the organization. But this survey gives only a partial view of the full picture. To get a more in-depth, holistic view of employee engagement, organizations need to look at the following fi ve sources to gain a complete picture. Employee engagement surveys is practice is a well-recognized method for assessing the level of employee engagement. How- ever, to be effective, the sur- vey should follow these best practices: • It needs to be conducted on a regular basis. • The engagement questions need to remain consistent year- over-year for the purposes of benchmarking and comparison. • The process must be truly confi dential. • ere needs to be a mechanism to share the results and use the feedback in order to implement positive changes. Failure to keep the process con- fi dential and make changes based on feedback will see participation rates drop and employees jaded about the process. Employee referral rates Look at employee referral rates for open positions and determine if they at least meet market stan- dards. Referral rates for typical organizations are between 24 to 33 per cent, according to the 2013 Oracle white paper e Shortest Path to Better Hires: Best Practices for Employee Referral Programs. If you have a highly engaged orga- nization, it should be signifi cantly higher. ere is some accountability on the employee's part for the success and happiness of the referrals who get hired. Engaged employees who enjoy their work are more likely to recommend their orga- nization to family and friends. If employees are not engaged, they are not going to recom- mend family and friends to come and work for the organization. Looking at referral rates will give an indication of the level of engagement. Exit interviews If an organization is not conduct- ing exit interviews, it is something to seriously consider. Exiting em- ployees can provide valuable in- formation and insight into the in- ner workings of an organization that it may not otherwise receive. Exit interviews can provide key information on the work environ- ment, HR programs and policies, leadership styles and employee morale. All of this information feeds into employee engagement and provides the organization with valuable information and the opportunity to make chang- es based on what was learned through the exit interviews. Social media What is your employer and CEO approval rating on crowdsourc- ing sites such as Glassdoor.com or CareerBliss.com? Employers should be looking at this informa- tion because both current and for- mer employees are going to these sites to post about their employ- ment experience. More and more jobseekers are researching companies on these sites to determine whether they want to work for a particular or- ganization. About 50 per cent of individuals used Glassdoor dur- ing their job search, according to a 2014 study of 4,633 respondents by SoftwareAdvice.com. A regular review of these types of sites will provide insight on how current and former employ- ees feel about a workplace and their level of engagement. is information can be used in con- junction with other feedback to review programs and policies for any modifi cations. Absenteeism, disability claims One area many organizations are unlikely to consider as an engage- ment indicator is absenteeism or disability claim rates. However, these provide deeper insight into hidden issues that impact employ- ee engagement. A high rate of absenteeism costs an organization when it comes to productivity, but it also puts an increased burden and more stress on those who are at work. Absen- teeism was 37 per cent higher in organizations that ranked in the bottom 25 per cent for employee engagement, according to a 2009 study in the United States by Gal- lup and the University of Iowa titled Q12 Meta-Analysis: The Relationship between Engage- ment at Work and Organizational Outcomes. Also, employers should look through their disability claims — why are employees on short-term disability? Is it stress? Is it a criti- cal illness? If employees are highly stressed, they are not focused and engaged while at work. There may be programs or supports that can be provided through an integrated employ- ee family assistance program (EFAP) that prevents them from going out on a leave. e 2014 Morneau Shepell study e Re- turn on Investment for Employee and Family Programs found 46 per cent of EFAP users indicated they would have been absent from work had the EFAP services not been available. Providing support and work- life balance programs to employ- ees will increase their engagement within the organization as the em- ployer demonstrates care for their total well-being. Looking at all fi ve of these in- dicators will provide a more com- prehensive and in-depth under- standing of employee engagement versus just looking at the results of an engagement survey. Statistics clearly support the value of invest- ing time and energy to ensure you have a highly engaged workforce as they are more productive and committed to the success of the organization. Nina Freier is a Toronto-based senior strategic human resources leader with over 18 years of experience, including as director of talent acquisition at ADP. Credit: KreativKolors (Shutterstock) HR should consider more than just annual survey results when it comes to employee engagement What is your employer approval rating on crowdsourcing sites?

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