HRIS Play 8/10: How to measure employee wellbeing

Ever wonder why employee well-being is such a hot topic these days? Well, let's break it down.

When your employee productivity tracker suddenly shows better numbers, do you just sit there scratching your head or do you dig a bit deeper? I mean, have you ever thought about how employee happiness and productivity correlate?

Turns out, there's a pretty solid connection. McKinsey even says that ignoring stuff like stress and burnout could end up costing us millions each year. Crazy, right?

Now, here's the kicker - well-being programs for employees aren't just a fluffy feel-good thing.

Think about it: employees’ absenteeism, presenteeism, all those metrics - they're all tied to how your team's feeling. Happy team, productive team. Simple as that.

So let’s get cut to the chase and know how to measure and control employee well-being.

Scenarios

- Gauging overall staff satisfaction and engagement levels.

- Identifying factors that cause high cost of employee turnover.

- Ensuring a safe and healthy work environment.

Actions

Learn what factors affect a team's health

Get familiar with the health risk factors. Suss out how poor workplace culture affects employee well-being in the workplace.

Set some goals

What's our main objective here? Reduce chronic absenteeism? Boost engagement? Whatever it is, let's make sure it lines up with what the company needs.

Consider real-time data analytics tools

What sets the best corporate wellness programs apart from the average ones is the tool to actually measure satisfaction levels.

If your HRM system offers an extra tool with survey capabilities, you're in luck. For example, Workday's got Peakon, a nifty little platform for gathering feedback and boosting engagement. You can also consider new tools like 15Five, Emplus, SurveyMonkey.

Craft effective surveys

- Create a workplace well-being questionnaire

We can craft questions based on key indicators like well-being program participation, turnover, absenteeism, and satisfaction. And don't forget about those well-being factors like sleep, exercise, and last vacations — they're crucial too.

Here is a list of 46 employee well-being factors singled out by the OECD (2023).

- Choose the right measurement scale: numbers vs. words

Well, a number scale can be a bit, well, subjective. A 5 on a scale from 1-10 might mean different things to different folks. So, consider going with a word scale.

- Choose the right measurement scale: 3/5/7-point scale

- With a 3-point scale, it's like everything's either great, terrible, or just okay. But let's be real, life's not that simple.

- A 5-point scale isn't much better; you'll probably end up with a bunch of moderate or average responses.

- So, aim for a 7-point scale. It gives more room for nuance. But it might cause survey fatigue.

Analyse the cost of return

By tying program metrics to organisational goals, we can see where we're making an impact. Keep an eye on things like insurance claims, hospitalisation rates, and output to measure success.

Take action

Use your findings to make informed decisions. Oh, and don't forget to loop in workers — they should have access to their own well-being data to help guide their choices.

Real-life example

Check out Microsoft—they're all about using data to improve the employee experience. With tools like Microsoft Viva Insights, they're giving personalised statistics and insights on employee happiness and productivity on a dashboard. They also provide recommendations and opportunities on the same platform. It's like having a virtual well-being coach to help you navigate your workload.

So, there you have it. Well-being surveys, data analysis, and action. It's the key to unlocking a happier, healthier workplace.

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