Most companies devote so much time and attention to surveying employees that they overlook other sources of insights. What’s more, they fail to use the insights they do collect to make employee experience (EX) improvements.

That’s why Sam Stern and I published a new report called “EX Measurement Best Practices: New Data Sources, New Insights, And More Accountability” with answers to these two key questions:

  • How can you measure EX efficiently and in a way that better reflects what matters to employees?
  • How can you translate the data into actions to create better employee experiences?

In this first blog, we’ll share three important takeaways for how to measure EX. Look to the next installation of this blog for key takeaways on acting on the data. And if you want all the insights, data, and examples, read our report.

1. Build An EX Measurement (EXM) Framework

The EXM framework is a 3×3 matrix, covering three types of metrics, measured at three levels.

3 levels and 3 types of metrics for employee experience measurement

 

2. Streamline, Customize, And Modernize Surveys, And Make More Of The Open Data You Collect In Them

When Allstate Northern Ireland launched surveys, it skipped the traditional rating scale questions. Instead, the insurance technology firm used a new type of open-text question. These questions are based on the qualitative research method “memory writing” and ask employees to recall their first 90 days at Allstate NI. Text analytics vendor Adoreboard then analyzed the employee comments using its emotion analytics platform Emotics. It found that new joiners felt less trust and joy and that recent graduates were apprehensive about their new job based on the current onboarding and induction process.

3. Take Advantage Of Other Data Sources Like Workplace Analytics

Macy’s, for example, used a workplace analytics tool to analyze the amount of time employees spend in meetings. The campaign, called “Time Is Money,” reduced the number of meetings by an average of 4 hours per week, per employee. The additional time in their days made employees feel more productive. And the way the company shared the data with employees and left them to determine how best to reduce the number of meetings made them feel more empowered.

Regardless of how you measure EX, keep in mind that every survey question asked or data point collected from employees is an implied promise that you will do something with the data.

In our next post, we’ll share how to keep that promise by taking appropriate actions to use measurement data to make EX improvements.