Employee engagement is critical for any organization regardless of industry or size. If employees aren’t engaged, they won’t be motivated to produce their best work. In turn, this will have a massive impact on the service your clients and customers receive.

So, how can you improve engagement and ensure employees remain engaged? We’ll explore how you can improve employee engagement at your organization, including the tools you can use to measure employee engagement and expert strategies to improve engagement. 

For a deeper dive, check out our whitepaper, Employee engagement strategies to build successful L&D programs.

Employee engagement measures how invested and committed employees are to their work and the success of your business. When employees are engaged, they’re proactive, enthusiastic, and committed to their role, which helps your business grow and achieve its goals.

Employee engagement is important because it:

Improves customer service and customer loyalty

No single role or department is responsible for ensuring employees are engaged, it’s a shared responsibility across the organization. For example: 

The senior leadership team must provide all necessary resources and employee engagement tools so employees have the opportunity to engage.

Managers should work with employees to offer support and guidance where necessary.

HR should provide support, such as a robust onboarding process, training and development opportunities, and a rewards and recognition program. 

Employees are also responsible for their engagement, which they can improve by developing a growth mindset.

Leadership's role in improving employee engagement

It’s everyone’s responsibility to contribute to employee engagement. This includes your senior leadership team, who should actively connect with their workforce to ensure engagement.

Leaders must lead by example, displaying the behaviors and mentality they expect from others. When leaders are engaged, employees are more likely to be engaged too. As part of this, leaders should create a supportive and inclusive environment to foster a positive workplace culture.

Regular communication should always be a priority. For instance, discuss goals and objectives with employees, specifying how their work contributes to broader business goals. Leaders should also encourage personalized learning, which not only helps employees achieve their personal goals but also contributes to your organization achieving its goals. It’s a win-win!

Expert strategies to improve employee engagement

There are plenty of ways to improve employee engagement. Below are four ways your business can improve employee engagement.

Having a strong, dependable, and accessible leadership team is critical. When leaders show how much they value their employees’ development and wellbeing, and communicate openly and regularly, it can positively impact engagement.

As part of this, ensure employees feel heard. Inviting feedback and input is one thing, but implementing that feedback is far more likely to increase engagement and ensure employees feel valued.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to learning and development because all employees are at different stages of their careers and have unique goals and interests. Personalized development at scale may sound expensive and time-consuming, but it doesn’t have to be. When employees are encouraged to learn in ways that interest them and align with your business goals, it will keep them engaged and help your business achieve its goals.

There are plenty of ways to give employees learning opportunities, such as: 

Making training accessible and simple, such as through a learning management system

Ensuring employees don’t fear making mistakes

Providing employees with the time they need to develop their skills and knowledge

Rewarding and recognizing employee achievements can be a huge motivator. The majority of rewards don’t even need to be monetary (though this helps). They can be something as simple as a shout-out. Gamification is another excellent option, which offers a fun and competitive edge to learning and can also increase engagement. 

Another fantastic way to recognize employee achievements is by promoting from within. This motivates employees to continue developing because they can see it pays off. Promoting from within is also more cost-effective than going through an expensive and laborious recruitment process.

4. Build an inclusive and positive workplace culture

When employees are happy with their work environment, they’re more likely to engage. To achieve this, focus on ensuring employees feel valued and heard, as well as promoting inclusivity, offering more flexible work arrangements, encouraging a healthy work-life balance, and providing a range of benefits. Wellbeing is also key, so providing employees with tools and resources to manage their mental health, wellbeing, and stress can all help prevent burnout and reduce absenteeism.

Tools to help you measure employee engagement in learning programs

To ensure your engagement strategies are successful, there are several tools you can use to measure engagement, including:

Analytics and reports, which are simple to produce and give you comprehensive data, particularly if your business utilizes an LMS

Surveys and questionnaires so employees can provide specific feedback

Skills and knowledge development and implementation

Inspired to boost engagement? Download our whitepaper, Employee engagement strategies to build successful L&D programs, to get started! Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

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We’ll explore how you can improve employee engagement at your organization, including the tools you can use to measure employee engagement and expert strategies to improve engagement.

Top ways to improve employee engagement in learning programs

We’ll explore how you can improve employee engagement at your organization, including the tools you can use to measure employee engagement and expert strategies to improve engagement. 

 Top ways to improve employee engagement in learning programs

Welcome back to another exciting edition of The Extra Mile, where we interview Go1 customers and their Customer Success Managers (CSMs) about their relationships, challenges, learning goals, and everything in between. 

If you haven’t already, take the time to catch up on previous editions of The Extra Mile, where we’ve chatted with Mandy Rutherford from Wave Utilities and Dan Ritchie from H2M Associates, along with their wonderful Go1 CSMs. 

This time, we’ll talk to Susana Pires, Group Health and Safety Manager at ASL Aviation, and her Go1 CSM George Ellison-Bunce, about their first impressions, goals, and what the future holds. 

According to Susana, ASL Aviation partnered with Go1 for two key reasons. Firstly, they were on a mission to optimise their internal tools and systems, including their learning platform, which they had failed to make the most of. 

“Many years ago, ASL developed an internal [learning] platform, but it reached a point where innovation, standardisation, modernization, and creativity was needed. This was all triggered by an internal project that aimed to optimise and standardise tools and systems,” she said. 

Additionally, Susana had a list of non-negotiable requirements. ASL Aviation wanted a partner that offered 24/7 support, had an easily navigable platform, and allowed ASL to create and upload its own content. In Go1, they found a partner that ticked all these boxes — and many more.  

“Go1 was able to fulfil all our initial requirements: easy to navigate the platform, availability of content, possibility to create and upload our own content, and 24/7 support,” she added.  

With these goals established, George and Susana’s professional relationship was off to an excellent start. 

Susana had nothing but good things to say about her first impressions of George, recalling, “George is friendly, knowledgeable, customer-oriented, open to suggestions, always willing to help and find solutions to questions or challenges presented.” 

George returned the favour, recounting, “My first impression of working with ASL was that Susana had a very clearly defined vision for the platform and its requirements.” Susana’s vision and dedication made George’s job much easier, ensuring they always had clear goals to strive for. 

From this point, their relationship has gone from strength to strength. George outlined his process for building relationships with customers to ensure everyone receives a bespoke CSM experience that suits their needs.

“I approach working with every new customer with a really open mind — I don't want to presume I know everything about them, or what elements of Go1's solution will work best to support their requirements,” he said. 

“To achieve this, I hold several discovery sessions with my clients to ask a tonne of questions to really dig into the core reasons for partnering with Go1, and how we can work together to achieve success.

“I also don't take myself too seriously and always take a personable approach — I'm not one for an overly professional attitude for the sake of it. Also, if they like cats that helps.”

George’s efforts never went unnoticed or unappreciated, with Susana explaining that their relationship evolved “greatly” over time. 

“We have regular meetings to discuss any issues, suggestions, challenges, or just to follow-up on actions/steps to improve,” she said. 

Throughout all this, meeting ASL Aviation’s learning goals remained front of mind. Before long, this was a resounding success.

When asked whether working with Go1 helped her team set and meet achievable learning goals, Susana answered enthusiastically: “Yes!”

“We were able to include, in the yearly key performance indicators, goals and objectives for training, which are measured quarterly and presented to the executive board. We were also able to develop an internal training matrix that we aim to implement early 2024 to all our entities worldwide,” she elaborated. 

Most importantly, the response from employees was overwhelmingly positive. 

“The [learning] benefits we have seen were improvements in certain areas (links, drop down menus, etc.), the development of our own training processes, and the positive feedback from employees using the platform.”

To learn more about how Go1 helped ASL Aviation meet its learning goals, check out our case study on ASL Aviation. 

As with any L&D project, challenges are likely to arise. However, through careful planning and clear communication, both parties overcame these obstacles.

As Susana recalls, finding the right training content to suit her team’s learning needs was initially challenging. However, George was extremely helpful by suggesting lots of relevant material. Moreover, ASL Aviation faced challenges using their SSO feature and integrating with other platforms, which remains an ongoing task.

Thankfully, these challenges rarely lasted long. When asked how they problem-solved when issues arose, Susana responded: “very rapidly.”

“George was able to either support us in getting things done, or contacting the technical specialists that were able to support us,” she added.

From George’s perspective, problem-solving is simply part of the job. He emphasises that each client is different, so active listening is the best way to overcome challenges.

“CSMs at Go1 take the time to fully understand the goals and objectives of the organisation they're working with to ensure value is delivered through Go1's solution. This takes place across the whole working relationship with our customers, through regular check-ins and agreed cadences,” he said.

“Through having these regular check-ins we're able to focus on what's working, and adapt areas where success hasn't quite taken off yet to create meaningful, measurable impact.”

Throughout this process, Susana has learned many new things to take ASL’s L&D offering to the next level. 

“[I’ve learned] how to better use the platform, some tricks and tips on how to navigate the platform or upload training material, the possibility to use different training formats (interactive, document, video, etc.) and how to explore additional features such as the calendar planning,” she said. 

And the best news is that this is only the beginning of the relationship between Go1 and ASL Aviation! Susana noted that she is “extremely satisfied with Go1”, which is why she recently proposed a long-term, 5-year contract renewal. 

For George, this is fantastic news, as he looks forward to working more with Susana and the entire ASL team.

“I really, really enjoy working with Susana — she's very driven, incredibly personable, and a joy to work with,” he said. 

The feeling was mutual, with Susana singing the praises of her Go1 experience so far. 

“We would like to emphasise the empathy and the sympathy of the team, the constant willingness to assist us, and the happy faces we see every time we meet online. Well done Go1 team!,” she said. 

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

We’ll talk to Susana Pires, Group Health and Safety Manager at ASL Aviation, and her Go1 CSM George Ellison-Bunce, about their first impressions, goals, and what the future holds.

The Extra Mile: How Go1 helped ASL Aviation take the next step on their L&D journey

We’ll talk to Susana Pires, Group Health and Safety Manager at ASL Aviation, and her Go1 CSM George Ellison-Bunce, about their first impressions, goals, and what the future holds. 

Meet some of our fabulous Content Partners!

Real Schools is dedicated to elevating school culture by emphasising Committed Teachers, Caring Students, and Connected Communities. Their online professional learning courses, led by founder Adam Voigt, guide educators to achieve school success by focusing on these key elements. By recognising the inevitability of conflicts in classrooms, the courses promote restorative practices as an alternative to punitive measures, fostering relationship-building, harm repair, and community cohesion. By participating in Real Schools' courses, teachers gain valuable insights to make a meaningful impact on their school's overall atmosphere and student experience.

Real Schools on EC Premium

SharingStories Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation with a predominantly First Nations board, collaborates with First Nations communities across Australia to safeguard and enhance language, stories, and cultural heritage. Working with 17 language groups since 2012, the foundation utilises art, new media, and vibrant technologies to record, interpret, and share cultural knowledge. The foundation offers a course focusing on using their Cultural Scan and Five Pillars Framework to assess and analyse current school practices affecting educational outcomes for First Nations students, community engagement, and the employment/retention of First Nations staff. Participants will reflect on strategies to improve the engagement and academic achievement of First Nations students, culminating in the development of a comprehensive school action plan promoting staff cultural responsiveness, creating culturally safe learning environments, fostering community partnerships, and enhancing cultural awareness and respect within the school community.

Conexiones: The Learning Sciences Platform, spearheaded by co-founder and Harvard University Extension School instructor Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa, pioneers an interdisciplinary approach to advancing learning sciences. Tokuhama-Espinosa presents two transformative courses at the intersection of neuroscience and teaching. In the first, she delves into six universally confirmed principles about the brain, guiding educators on practical applications for student-teacher interactions and teaching methodologies. The second course focuses on dispelling learning myths, equipping teachers at all levels with essential tools to modernise practices using insights from the learning sciences. Conexiones, with its international team, remains a global leader in enhancing educational quality, offering expertise in skills development, research, and advisory services.

BTS Spark, a not-for-profit education coaching practice embedded in the award-winning global leadership consultancy BTS, is dedicated to supporting school leaders and educators worldwide. With highly qualified leadership coaches, BTS Spark collaborates with schools, universities, education departments, and professional associations globally. Presenting over a dozen courses on EC Premium, BTS Spark features renowned educators like John Hattie, Pasi Sahlberg, Peter DeWitt, and Andy Hargreaves. Operating in Australia, the UK, the US, and Canada, BTS Spark's global coach team spans 37 countries, offering support to education leaders across six continents and in 34 languages. 

The Centre for Transformative Teaching and Learning

The Centre for Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL) envisions a world where teachers comprehend each student's learning brain, striving to elevate teacher effectiveness and student achievement. Established in 2011, CTTL ensures St. Andrew’s PS-12 teachers receive training in Mind, Brain, and Education Science. Recognised globally, CTTL joined Research Schools International in 2013 and received the IMBES Mission Award in 2016. Their three courses on EC Premium address critical aspects of effective teaching: the first focuses on creating a safe and inclusive learning culture; the second emphasises redesigning classrooms for optimal student engagement; and the third encourages a fundamental mindset shift by aligning teaching roles with neuroscience principles, fostering transformation in how educators approach teaching and learning.

Our Featured Playlists are included in all schools’ Learning Hubs and are a great way to see a variety of high-quality content from different providers, all with just one click!

As the school year draws to a close and we find ourselves busy with events and even prepping for 2024, we must take time to ensure our wellbeing is at the forefront. The courses curated for the Protecting Your Wellbeing playlist will help you discover the keys to prioritising mental and physical health. Offering expert insights on nurturing educator wellbeing, combating burnout, embracing self-care, implementing psychological first aid, practising mindfulness and yoga, mastering time management, and more, this playlist equips you with essential tools and strategies to thrive both inside and outside the classroom. Take a proactive step towards investing in your wellbeing, unlocking benefits not only for yourself but also for your students.

At Urangan State High School, the staff ensures a safe, supportive, and inclusive culture that fosters a sense of belonging and purpose for all; enabling them to celebrate successes as members of a dynamic, cohesive community. In doing this, Urangan helps to discover the best within all students through high-quality educational and social experiences that expose them to new ideas, new ways, and new possibilities – ultimately supporting every student to have opportunities for ‘what comes next’.

The EC Premium initiative for Urangan State High School is designed to aid staff in fulfilling this mission and is structured around three primary pillars: Urangan’s Just Cause, the AITSL Teaching Standards, and Growth Objectives for all school staff.
 Urangan State High is set to launch EC Premium with its entire staff in January 2024, and we’re excited to stand by them as strategic partners in this educational journey.

In November, we're shining the spotlight on some awesome Content Partners including SharingStories Foundation, our First Nations representation. As the year draws to a close, dive in to our featured playlist full of teacher wellness strategies.

The EC Premium Content Insider – November 2023 edition

Building a learning culture at your organization is vital to ensure your employees deliver quality work on time and within budget. With a learning culture, employees can also apply their creativity and innovation to help keep up with competitors in an ever-evolving business landscape.

However, creating a culture of learning can be challenging, particularly if employees are disengaged, as 85% currently are, globally. Disengaged employees typically lack the motivation and drive to proactively learn, meaning they’re less likely to make the most of L&D programs and retain information.

So, how exactly do you engage employees and build a learning culture? We’ll analyze the importance of building a culture of learning via your employee engagement strategy, including actionable tips to engage employees.  

For a deeper dive, check out our whitepaper, Employee engagement strategies to build successful L&D programs. 

Defining employee engagement and culture of learning

Employee engagement and a culture of learning feed into one another, contributing massively to the overall success of your business. Without one, the other cannot thrive.

Employee engagement simply means how invested employees are in both their roles and the success of the business. Engaged employees want their team to succeed and understand that their work makes a difference, which encourages them to develop and upskill. They’re more likely to be productive, efficient, and innovative, and less likely to seek employment elsewhere.

A culture of learning develops when employees proactively look for opportunities to learn and develop their skills and knowledge. Naturally, the more employees learn, the more likely they are to perform in their roles. A learning culture also encourages collaboration, teamwork, and communication, thereby enhancing your organizational culture and increasing employee engagement.

The importance of employee engagement in a learning culture

Employee engagement and a learning culture go hand in hand. It’s almost impossible to have one without the other. If employees aren’t engaged, you cannot foster a learning culture because disengaged employees don’t have a learning mindset. On the other hand, becoming engaged encourages employees to adopt a learning mindset, which helps them proactively seek development opportunities.

When employees are engaged, it can improve the following areas, which all help foster a strong learning culture:

Further, employee development and upskilling allow your organization to promote from within more often, which increases retention and prevents lengthy and expensive recruitment processes. Engaged employees can also do wonders for customer retention.

For more information, check out our blog on why employee engagement is important for improving customer retention.

The consequences of a poor learning culture

Just like plenty of positives come from having a strong learning culture, many negatives come from a poor learning culture. In fact, a poor employee engagement culture can actively harm your business. For example, a report from Breathe HR found that poor workplace culture costs the economy £20.2 billion a year.

As well as the financial impacts, lack of engagement may also impact your business in the following ways:

Reduced adaptability or even resistance to change

How to improve engagement and create a culture of learning

Your business doesn’t need to reinvent itself to boost company culture and employee engagement. There are plenty of ways to improve engagement that your business can quickly and affordably implement.

Your leadership team plays a crucial role. Without leading by example, how can they expect their employees to engage? Leaders should demonstrate how individuals can make a difference and ensure open, honest, and regular communication. 

Additionally, leaders must be prepared to invest. This includes offering access to learning technology and tools (such as a learning management system to streamline the process) as well as providing learning resources and ensuring employees have enough time to learn. Further, encouraging continuous professional development will emphasize that learning doesn’t need to be assigned. Rather, it can be autonomous and self-directed.

Rewards and recognition are another way to improve engagement. This doesn’t always mean monetary rewards, either. Shout-outs and gamification are great ways to engage employees in learning without significant investment. Similarly, collaborative learning not only improves engagement but also boosts teamwork and communication.

Offering employees the tools, resources, and time they need to improve engagement is one thing, but it’s also important to measure engagement so you know your strategy is effective. To measure employee engagement and identify what’s working and what’s not, explore the following tips:

Learning analytics and data, which is easy to pull and comprehensive if your organization uses an LMS

Surveys and questionnaires, which can be anonymized to encourage honesty

1:1s and reviews, to encourage direct feedback on individual experiences

The overall performance of the business since implementing changes

To learn more, read our blog on how to measure employee engagement. 

Inspired to boost engagement? Download our whitepaper, Employee engagement strategies to build successful L&D programs, to get started! Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs. 

We’ll analyze the importance of building a culture of learning via your employee engagement strategy, including actionable tips to engage employees.

The role of employee engagement in a culture of learning

We’ll analyze the importance of building a culture of learning via your employee engagement strategy, including actionable tips to engage employees. 

Fun fact: Microsoft Excel is the most searched term in the Go1 Content Library. Rather than having your employees search the internet for random videos, why not send them to the experts at one of our top content providers who can give your employees the right level of information, every time? You can check out the Go1 playlist Get Savvy with Spreadsheets: Excel Essentials as part of our 12 Months of Learning.

Check back in December to see our 2024 12 Months of Learning!

What content providers should you check out this month?

Topic coverage: MS 365, MS Teams, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS OneNote, MS SharePoint

80+ courses in Premium ranging from 20 minutes to 3 hours in duration

Top courses: Microsoft 355 Basics, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Outlook 365, Microsoft PowerPoint 365, Microsoft Excel 365

Courses utilize animation and include a final quiz

Topic coverage: IT Software, Data & Analytics, DevOps, Networking

230+ courses in Premium ranging from 12 to 600 minutes in duration

Top courses:  Excel, Cyber Security for End Users, Microsoft 365 Teams, Adobe Photoshop CC

Topic coverage:  IT Software, Microsoft Products, Programming and Web Development, Management

240+ courses in Premium ranging from 15 to 259 minutes in duration 

Top courses: Plan Your Day in 18 Minutes; Mastering Data Analysis; Think Outside of the Box with Six Thinking Hats; How to Say "No" Professionally; Solve Problems Creatively with P.O.W.E.R.

What new content providers have been added to the Content Hub?

Topic coverage: Building and Construction Compliance

60 courses in Premium, ranging from 60 minutes in duration

Top courses: Sustainability Part Two: Operational emissions

What great new content have our current content providers added to the Content Hub?

Coorpacademy added a variety of new courses in English, French, and German, spanning a wide range of topics, from CSR and generative AI to disability awareness.

isEazy continues to expand its offering with 55 new courses on leadership, wellbeing, and more!

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs. 

In November, we're highlighting some great new content providers as well as an update on the 12 Months of Learning playlists and some fun facts.

The Go1 Content Insider - November 2023 Edition

Engaged employees are the foundation of any successful organization. Without engaged employees, it’s impossible to thrive as a business. Yet, in recent years, several concerning employee engagement trends have emerged. For example, Gallup’s 2023 State Of The Global Workplace report found that “85% of employees are not actively engaged or are actively disengaged at work,” resulting in $7 trillion in lost productivity. That’s right, $7 trillion. With a T. 

To break this down further, Gallup found that:

18% of employees are actively disengaged at work 

Just 15% of employees are actively engaged at work

At Go1, we believe engaged employees are essential, so we want to redress this worrying trend. 

That’s why we’ve created our new eBook, Employee engagement strategies to build successful L&D programs, packed with tips, tricks, and insights to help managers boost employee engagement. But that’s not all, to accompany the eBook, we’re also launching a new blog series covering the ins and outs of employee engagement. 

In this first blog, we’ll focus on measuring employee engagement. We'll start by analyzing the state of employee engagement, before outlining three essential strategies to measure employee engagement. 

Then, in the coming weeks, we’ll expand on this with blogs on improving employee engagement in remote workplaces, the role of employee engagement in creating a culture of learning, and setting employee engagement goals that lead to business growth. Be sure to check back in regularly so you don’t miss these blogs and more! 

Ready to enhance your engagement? Start here. 

Before we examine strategies to measure employee engagement, it’s important to set the scene by outlining the state of workplace engagement. Unfortunately, as mentioned, the current state of employee engagement is not encouraging. Just 15% of employees are actively engaged at work.

Among disengaged employees, 59% say they regularly feel stressed at work. What’s more, SHRM finds that just 29% of employees are satisfied with the career advancement opportunities their company offers, leading to lower engagement. 

Largely, poor employee engagement falls on managers. 75% of disengaged employees blame their managers or broader company leadership. To make matters worse, 25% of employees say they don’t trust their employer. It’s difficult to engage with someone you distrust. 

Perhaps more concerningly, only 22% of companies say they know what drives their employee disengagement. This is bad news, as it’s impossible to rectify employee disengagement if you can’t identify the root causes. 

Moreover, 90% of leaders think having an employee engagement strategy improves business success. Yet, only 25% have one. Likewise, 87% of HR managers agree that improving employee engagement is one of their most important training goals. Despite this, 36% say increasing employee engagement in learning is also one of their biggest challenges. These stats tell a troubling story: there is a significant disconnect between what businesses want and what employees experience. While most teams want to increase engagement, it seems few know how. 

The current state of employee engagement leaves a lot to be desired — to say the least. Fortunately, it’s not all doom and gloom. When teams put in the effort to actively engage employees, the results can be astonishing. 

For example, Gallup found that teams that rank in the top quartile for employee engagement experienced the following benefits: 

These figures speak for themselves — the benefits of employee engagement are something every business leader should strive to emulate.

So, what can teams do to improve engagement and reap these benefits? For starters, 92% of employees believe well-planned employee training programs positively impact their engagement, while 80% say learning and development opportunities would help them feel more engaged at work. 

Further, 37% of employees say ‘more recognition’ would be the most important thing a manager or a company could do to improve employee engagement, making this the most popular response in a recent survey. To build on this, research shows that 84% of highly engaged employees were recognized the last time they went above and beyond at work, compared to just 25% of actively disengaged employees. In other words, a little bit of recognition goes a long way. 

To learn more, download our eBook, Employee engagement strategies to build successful L&D programs. 

3 essential strategies to measure employee engagement

As demonstrated, the benefits of employee engagement are significant. So, to help you boost engagement and reap these rewards, let's analyze three ways to measure employee engagement.

Surveys are arguably the most common and popular tool for measuring employee engagement. Most employees will have taken a pulse survey throughout their careers. When used correctly, employee engagement surveys are incredibly valuable. Yet, surveys are often misused and misunderstood as a tool for measuring employee engagement.

For example, 58% of employees wish their company conducted employee engagement surveys more frequently. Despite this, only 21% of companies conduct engagement surveys three or more times a year. Worse still, 36% of employees say they either don’t have a feedback program at their company or aren’t aware of one.

Here, a significant disconnect between employees and managers emerges. 48% of senior managers say engagement surveys are highly valuable, whereas 45% of employees say surveys have little or no value. Similarly, 52% of senior managers feel engagement surveys provide a very accurate assessment, whereas 48% of employees believe the surveys do not provide an accurate assessment. 

Why is this disconnect so apparent? Because many employees believe engagement surveys don’t lead to any actionable change. Just 20% of employees believe their manager would act on the results of an engagement survey. Unfortunately, they’re not wrong, as 27% of managers admit they never review survey results, while 52% say they have reviewed survey results but taken no action.

As a result of this disconnect, just 25% of employees feel like the feedback they receive from their managers is frequent enough to help them improve and reach their goals.

So, what can companies do to enjoy the benefits of employee engagement surveys? According to The State of Employee Feedback Survey, the number one thing (68.4%) employees need to feel heard is for their company to take feedback seriously and implement meaningful change. Yes, it really can be that simple! 

To learn more, check out our article on why listening to employees is essential in the modern workforce. 

2. Use technology to measure engagement 

The world of work is continually evolving, with technology gaining primacy in more and more aspects of workplace life. Measuring engagement is no exception. 

Many powerful tools help businesses measure employee engagement. As Culture Monkey explains, “by leveraging technology and utilizing data analysis techniques, organizations can accurately measure employee engagement and make the necessary changes to their workplace culture to maximize employee satisfaction and productivity.”

Similarly, eLearning Industry puts it in no uncertain terms, stating, “for organizations looking to improve employee engagement and organizational performance, leveraging technology is a must.” 

However, many companies fail to harness the full power of technology for measuring employee engagement. A recent analysis by Gartner found that just 16% of employers use technologies to monitor their employees' engagement levels. Likewise, 64% of HR leaders say an always-on feedback tool is essential for an engagement program, but only 20% have this kind of tool in place. 

On the other hand, when teams do harness technology as part of their engagement program, the results can be monumental. For instance, TriHealth, an award-winning American healthcare company, implemented an engagement tool featuring a powerful audience manager and AI-powered content delivery, which led to a 164% increase in engagement in a year. 

Ultimately, these statistics present an opportunity for teams that are looking to gain a competitive advantage. Technology can be a powerful ally to boost employee engagement, yet few teams currently utilize engagement tools to their full potential. As such, using technology to measure employee engagement can not only boost engagement but also give you a leg up on your competitors. 

To learn more, read our article on how technology has changed the way we learn. 

As mentioned, to boost engagement, employees want to feel heard. Additionally, they also want more recognition and want their feedback to be taken seriously. Stay meetings and 1:1 meetings tick all three of these boxes. 

While you’re probably familiar with 1:1 meetings, stay meetings are less common. As BuiltIn explains, “a stay interview is a conversation with a high-performing employee with the goal of discovering what they like about their role, and what they would like to change. Stay interviews are an opportunity to both uncover what motivates that employee and to also build trust with them as a manager.” 

Currently, just 28% of organizations say they currently use stay interviews. Although, organizations that don’t use stay interviews may be missing out, as research shows stay interviews can reduce turnover by at least 20%.

Moreover, a massive 70% of employees wish they could spend more time with their managers to create a stronger connection with them and the organization. Whether this is achieved via stay interviews, regular 1:1 meetings, or something else entirely, this is a statistic businesses cannot afford to ignore if they want to boost employee engagement. 

Additionally, a survey on workplace rewards and recognition found that 43% of employees want to receive recognition privately in a 1:1 meeting with their manager. If you’re a manager, keep this in mind the next time you walk into a 1:1 or stay meeting with an employee.

Again, the message is clear: to accurately measure employee engagement, managers should spend more one-on-one time with employees, dedicating time to listening to their suggestions, recognizing their contributions, and ensuring employees feel heard. In turn, this will lead to more open, honest, and productive conversations about engagement. 

At Go1, we believe engaged employees are essential. So, we'll analyze the state of employee engagement, before outlining three essential strategies to measure engagement.

How to measure employee engagement

Renowned British educationalist Dylan Wiliam champions ongoing assessment to enhance teaching, emphasizing timely, specific feedback, student involvement, and instructional adjustments based on assessment data. His principles foster discussions in classrooms and encompass feedback, student engagement, and refining instruction. On EC Premium, explore a wealth of Wiliam's resources covering diverse educational topics, including learning intentions, formative assessment, teacher learning communities, and cognitive load theory.

Dylan Wiliam on EC Premium

The Australian Football League (AFL) has launched a three-stage Professional Development program for primary school teachers across Australia. Through EC Premium, you will gain access to webinars, resources, and courses aligned with the Australian Professional Standards for educators. These sessions combine theoretical AFL programming with practical applications, providing insights into effective teaching methods for Health and Physical Education. The approach not only covers essential skills and game-sense strategies but also equips educators and aspiring teachers with the theoretical underpinnings for implementing effective HPE teaching in classrooms.

Kirstin Bourne, a bespoke education consultant specializing in literacy, offers tailored resources and training for schools and educational organizations, both in person and online. Her expertise spans the development of online training modules, whole-school disciplinary literacy strategies, and custom professional development for English departments. On EC Premium, Kirstin's course delves into addressing literacy challenges, providing methodologies to support students in comprehending and engaging with the subject-specific literacies they study. Her sessions equip educators and schools with strategies to enhance teaching, learning styles, and foster a deeper understanding of subject literacies for improved student engagement.

Discover how to deliver high-quality literacy instruction for all students by delving into the science of reading with Lyn Stone's new course, Reading for Life. This comprehensive guide effectively bridges the gap between research and practice, translating academic findings into practical, ready-to-use techniques. With a linguistics degree from University College London and a background in speech and language settings since 1994, Lyn creates research-informed professional development for teachers and other education professionals with the goal of helping teachers awaken linguistic curiosity in their students. 

Effective communication is pivotal for success in personal and professional relationships. It extends beyond information-sharing, delving into understanding emotions and intentions. This playlist equips you with tools to unleash your full potential in communication, enabling trust-building, inspiration, and goal achievement. Whether providing feedback, crafting impactful emails, or managing expectations, mastering these skills allows you to communicate with impact in any scenario. By honing these abilities, you'll forge connections, fortify relationships, and drive positive change. 

Deniliquin High School is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school, located in Deniliquin, a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. The school prides itself in providing a broad academic education in a supportive and positive environment. 

To ensure all staff members, from the business manager to the biology teacher, have access to relevant professional learning opportunities, EC Premium will be offering unlimited access to a wide range of educational content from esteemed providers like University of Melbourne, Dylan Wiliam, Dr. Selena Fisk, and Parent TV, benefiting the entire staff at Deniliquin High.