Data in HR (Part 2)
3 Ways Human Resources Can Use Data to Improve the Employee Experience
4 minute read
When we talk about HR metrics, the first thing that comes to most people’s minds is turnover and retention metrics followed by recruiting metrics. But there are several other metrics that HR can lean on to create a better employee experience. Here are three areas that I think are especially important, but often get overlooked.
1. Metrics to Measure Equitable Compensation
Looking at compensation metrics across departments and the company can be incredibly effective in creating a more equitable pay structure. Nearly all of us work because we must make money, and feeling like we are paid fairly for what we do is of utmost importance. Research has shown that people who understand how they are compensated are more likely to be satisfied with what they make. In addition, more transparent pay has been shown to create more equitable pay based on race, gender, and other potentially discriminatory factors across companies. It also increases trust within organizations and increases productivity.
Many companies are still worried about sharing pay information with employees. However, there are so many benefits and many stages of pay transparency. My favorite model for this is Payscale’s Pay Transparency Spectrum (more on this another time).
This article breaks down some of the ways you can look at your compensation metrics.
2. Metrics to Measure Employee Engagement
Survey your employees. While paid surveys can be a great tool, you can also create surveys on your own to measure employee happiness, engagement, and satisfaction at work. All things that contribute to higher productivity, lower absenteeism and injuries, and a higher likelihood to stay.
One specific example of this are studies by the Queens School of Business and by the Gallup Organization, which state that “disengaged workers had 37% higher absenteeism, 49% more accidents, and 60% more errors and defects. In organizations with low employee engagement scores, they experienced 18% lower productivity, 16% lower profitability, 37% lower job growth, and 65% lower share price over time.”
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a popular yet ineffective tool that companies often use in their pulse survey or integrate into their larger employee survey to get an idea of the employee experience. However, NPS is not the best metric to tell you how happy or engaged your employees are. I write more about that here. Instead, create a company specific survey to best determine employee happiness and engagement.
What questions can you ask in your survey? Some of the best predictors of engagement include employee’s feeling a sense of belonging at work, which has been shown to be measured by their relationships with coworkers and their boss. Questions like, “Do you have a best friend at work?” And “Do you feel comfortable going to your manager with difficult feedback?” are a great place to start.
3. Metrics to Measure Hiring Process Engagement
Your first thought might be how the hiring process can impact the employee experience. Well, as an employee’s introduction to how things are done at the company, I think it’s pretty important. And assessing that experience can tell you a lot about your processes and culture.
There is a lot we can do to improve the hiring process. Interviews have been shown to be one of the least predictive selection tools used to choose candidates who will be successful in a job, and yet we still use them as a primary tool for selecting talent. In saying this, I do not mean that you should eliminate your interviews, simply pair them with other tools of measurement to select the perfect candidate. Yet I digress, this is a topic I will dive into in the future, but for now, let’s discuss how to assess the impact your hiring process is having on new employees.
How do you measure this? Well, first you can survey new hires. I also recommend 30 and 60 day check-ins where you can ask questions like, “On a scale of 1 to 5, how did your interview process go?” “What would you improve about the interview process?” and “Did the length of the interview process feel appropriate?” And although I talked about not using retention numbers, I do think it is very important to look at your turnover for employees in the first 90 days of employment.
When assessing these metrics, one of the most important things is to continue to measure over time. This is the best way to see if actions you are making have an impact on your employees.
Looking at metrics like retention, attrition, time to fill, and other common HR measurements are still important. However, using additional metrics to dive deeper into some of your HR policies and practices is particularly effective at determining employee engagement and being on your way to improving the employee experience.
