Measurement is always a hot topic in employee experience and employee engagement. It can be a challenge to know where to start and how to measure the impact of your efforts, but demonstrating how your efforts positively impact the organisation is critical. The starting point is often your engagement survey, and while achieving a top quartile Employee Index is commendable, it doesn’t fully capture the actual benefits to the business.
A better way is to start by identifying the specific changes you want to bring about via your focus on EX and engagement. Consider the direct business outcomes you want to impact, such as decreasing employee turnover or enhancing productivity. These outcomes are relatively easy to measure. You might also focus on specific organisational changes, such as the adoption of new company values, a successful business transformation, or relocating offices. Measuring the success of these initiatives can be more complex. At People Lab, we use our ‘engagement curve’ model and methodology to simplify measurement and demonstrate progress and impact. The starting point is always to get clear on the change you want to see as a result of your EX and engagement efforts. But this is sometimes a difficult question to answer.
The People Lab Engagement Curve can be used to help design and measure your progress and impact. We use the curve at the outset of any programme to establish objectives, and then to track and monitor progress throughout the programme. This model can be used across a number of initiatives and programmes, including (but not limited to) an ‘approach’ or ‘process’ (such as reward and recognition programmes or performance management), or full culture change programmes (such as launching new values, or employer branding).
The stages of change
There are a number of stages required to successfully deliver change and ensure your work has the intended impact. For example, initially we need to support awareness and understanding of the change required, then work on positive perception, adoption and ultimately internalization, where the change becomes embedded.
Often the approach to facilitating change focuses on ‘awareness’ and ‘understanding’, but we know that this is not enough. Organisations don’t just want employees knowing about a change, they want them to fully embrace change, have positive perceptions of it and understand what it means for them (both in their teams and as individuals). They should know what part they have to play and truly live and breathe it, until it just becomes ‘the way we do things around here’
Considering the Engagement Curve when designing your measurement approach
Measuring engagement and adoption using the curve is helpful to not only track progress and measure success but also to ensure any remedial action can be taken during the change programme.
There are a different ways in which we can use the engagement curve to measure change:
Example 1. Integrate into existing measures
You can design questions to use in any existing research or processes. For example this could be as part of your employee engagement survey, or used in one to one interviews. The answers will help you determine where employees are on the curve.
Here are a few example questions from a new values roll-out programme which help to establish progress against the curve
‘Using a scale of 1-5 (1 strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree), how would you rate the following statements;
‘I could name our 4 company values’ (demonstrates awareness and understanding)
‘I strongly believe in our new company values’ (demonstrates positive perception)
‘I understand what I need to do to demonstrate [company value] within my role’ (demonstrates understanding and the start of adoption
‘I can confidently demonstrate how I am living the company values’ (demonstrates adoption and best practice)
‘here are some examples of how I am living our values’ (open response demonstrates behaviour change)
Example 2. Create a bespoke engagement curve measure
You can also create a stand-alone tool to measure progress. This can work well as a pulse check tool to track progress. A further option can be to ask employees to indicate where they believe they are on the curve as part of a workshop or team meeting.
How to use the curve to move people from ‘understanding’ to ‘internalistion’
The model not only helps you to understand where employees sit on the curve, it also helps you to plan activity and tactics, both at the outset and during the programme.
Simply put, you can use the insight from this model to measure and understand what the focus should be for each stage of the employee journey.
At People Lab, we are world-leading experts in measuring employee experience and engagement. If you would like to have a chat about your approach and how to improve it we’d love to hear from you.
We also have a host of measurement resources available for members of The EX Space, including ready to go diagnostics, and more example of how to use the engagement curve. Find out more or sign up here.
