Dr. David Weiss is a leader in the field of Canadian Human Resources research. In 1999, his book, High-Impact HR Transforming Human Resources for Competitive Advantage, was published. In it, he describes the employee life cycle as one of ‘Hatch-Match-Dispatch’ which must be supported by the Human Resources function in order to be aligned with organizational strategy. His writing, at the time, was revolutionary.
Twenty years later, the concept of the employee life cycle is more important than ever. It provides the framework to measure the effectiveness of the Human Resources function, through the lens of employee engagement.
A recent article published in Fast Company, provides us with a synopsis of how metrics and measures can, and should, be used to track employee engagement from the beginning to the end of the employee life cycle.
Click here to read the article.
As noted in the article, employee engagement is not just about ensuring that the workforce is ‘happy’ by providing a ‘fun’ environment. Happiness is an elusive thing to measure. It does not assess whether or not the workforce actually is productive or involved with the achievement of organizational goals and objectives. What the Human Resources function can assess is the level to which employees feel connected and involved with the organization at any point during their personal journey within the organization. From the entry point into the organization, Human Resources can measure recruitment and on-boarding strategies. At mid-point, through communication, feedback, and usage tracking, Human Resources can assess the effectiveness of rewards strategies, training, and career development. At the exit point, Human Resources can evaluate the gaps between the expected level of loyalty and commitment to the organization and the reality that causes employees to leave, voluntarily or involuntarily.
Throughout all of this, what Human Resources is measuring is the level of commitment to organizational culture which is the metric for evaluating employee engagement.
The field of Human Resources research continues to develop through the analysis of applicable measurement and metrics. Twenty years from now, perhaps this will lead us to capturing the elusive goal of evaluating employee happiness.
Discussion Questions:
- The article refers to eNPS. What is it and how does it link to the measurement of employee engagement?
- Identify three specific Human Resources initiatives you think can be measured to evaluate employee engagement at the mid-point of the employee life cycle.
- Besides exit interviews, identify two additional Human Resources initiatives that can be measured at the end of the employee life cycle.
- Identify the types of tools or systems that are needed to track employee engagement from the beginning to the end of the employee life cycle.