Using Technology to Drive Employee Engagement

Tom Lee, TCU Vice President of Human Resources

Business Case for Improving Employee Engagement

Employers throughout the country can attest that employees with higher levels of engagement tend to be more productive, have greater levels of job satisfaction, and are more loyal to their employers. Furthermore, employers with more highly engaged workforces also generally have lower turnover rates, higher customer satisfaction, and stronger financial performance.  So, when examining the data, it’s safe to assume that engagement is a key driver of overall organizational culture, and employers with good culture tend to have great engagement scores along with higher levels of financial performance. 

The question then becomes, how do employers measure engagement, then establish strategies and tactics to improve or maintain high levels of employee engagement? 

Challenges for Improving Engagement

One of the major challenges towards   improving employee engagement has been the recent transition to remote working. Previously, managers could implement tactics and strategies designed around a stationary, present workforce. Now, managers are challenged with effectively managing a remote workforce, while also trying to maintain a high level of engagement. Managers must make sure they are connecting on a personal level through virtual check-ins and virtual after-hours events, and most importantly, that there are constant and open lines of communication. Employees must feel they are being heard and that their thoughts, ideas, and concerns matter. Managers must ensure that employees feel they are a part of the organization and its mission; that they are in fact, an important part of its success and that the organization recognizes their contributions.

Using Technology and Analytics to Measure Engagement

In 2019, TCU decided to partner with a large survey provider to assist in measuring our team member engagement and develop tactics and strategies to determine the most effective course of action in the event our employee ratings weren’t where we wanted them.

“Employees must feel they are being heard and that their thoughts, ideas, and concerns matter for the organization.”

During this process, the provider instituted a short survey designed to measure multiple aspects of engagement, including the employee’s thoughts about their work environment, their supervisor, coaching and development opportunities they’d received, rewards and recognition, and the strength of their connection to the overall mission of the organization.

The survey was sent to all employees of the organization with a specific deadline to submit their thoughts. The survey triggered automatic weekly reminders for employees, and they were sent a reminder when the deadline approached. We were able to capture a significant amount of data that allowed us to create multi-level reports based on the reporting structures of the organization. We were also able to drill down multiple levels throughout the organization to review more in-depth department-or manager-specific data.

Once the results were tabulated, the survey provider met with our Human Resources team to discuss the scores, findings, trends, and data from the survey. After the data had been analyzed, our Human Resources team then met with our managers to discuss how to interpret the data and emerging trends we found from our employees.

Developing an Engagement Strategy Based on the Data and Analytics

Once we had dissected the data and developed custom reports to meet the needs of the organization, management developed a comprehensive strategy to improve overall employee engagement. After understanding the data and its implications, we felt it was critical to not just aim to improve the scores, but to achieve actual improvement in overall employee engagement. 

To accomplish this, we first needed to determine what employees were telling us they wanted in a culture. We found the message was very clear; employees wanted immediate recognition for jobs well done, open communication within the organization, opportunities to do their best work along with the tools necessary to achieve this goal, and opportunities to advance.

Now came the difficult part, strengthening the fabric of our culture and improving engagement. One tactic we have found to be successful, is that when we implement a change that is directly related to a common message, we tell employees that they spoke, and we listened.

We rolled out a plan that demonstrated our commitment to their needs. We have since implemented a new rewards and recognition platform where managers can reward employees immediately through a system with gifts and thank you messages that the entire organization can see. In addition, we are implementing a talent management and succession platform that will enable us to better centralize organizational and professional development, while also providing better transparency to our employees.

Commitment to Engagement is an Ongoing Process

During our three-year journey, we learned many important lessons. Feedback is an invaluable resource and utilizing technology and survey tools provides robust reporting with the capability to drill down to the deepest levels of the organization and ultimately, simplifies the survey process.

We found that a partnership with a survey tool provider to assist with interpretation of data is essential, provides a much deeper level of understanding and yields a wider array of metrics to analyze. Similarly, a company needs an effective tool to survey and truly measure employee engagement.

Additionally, partnerships with providers who also have training and educational resources within their technology infrastructure are beneficial. This training provides managers the tools to implement recommended tactics designed to address specific challenges within their departments that may be interfering with engagement.

Lastly, it’s important to be transparent to employees during this process. Be prepared to address any opportunities and consistent themes that you get from engagement surveys and make sure to follow up with employees and communicate next steps.

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