How Often Should You Measure Employee Engagement?

I recently did a keynote speech at a private event where we discussed corporate culture and employee engagement. I learned that one organization is measuring their culture just every two years by using a survey of around 120 questions. I was completely shocked! Why only every two years? That isn’t often enough to check the pulse of an organization, especially since the workforce is changing so quickly. Do they really need to ask that many questions to gather the information that is needed? But how often to measure employee engagement and how many questions to ask is the wrong place to start this process. There is no golden rule… just start with the basics and core components. What is it that you are trying to measure and learn about your organization? What are the fewest questions that you can ask to learn this?

Some organizations may want to check their pulse every week or every quarter, some every other quarter. You may want to try using an app to ask 4-6 questions on a regular basis. Then every six months you can use a longer, more formal survey. And again annually, do something different to measure employee engagement. Several companies like Cisco and GE have regular, real-time check-ins where they can converse. Many keep an ongoing dialogue that may not even need to be structured and formal. You just have to figure out what works for you and go with it. Be sure that you are getting enough information to drive the change that you want to see within your organization. I like to compare this to a sports team. Any team will have constant communication about their performance, challenges, and opportunities. They don’t succeed by evaluating their successes and problems just once every two years, and neither will you!

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Jacob Morgan is a keynote speaker, author, and futurist. You can invite Jacob to keynote your next conference, subscribe to his videos on Youtube, check our his podcast, or subscribe to his newsletter!