What do employee insights mean?
Employee insights are a deep understanding of employees’ experiences, needs, motivations, engagement levels, and challenges within an organisation. These insights are generated through the systematic collection and analysis of data related to employees, such as feedback from surveys, performance data, information from performance reviews, and observations of the work environment.
Similar to customer insights, employee insights are about going beyond superficial information to truly understand what drives employees’ behaviours and attitudes. The goal is to create a workplace where employees thrive, develop, and perform at their best.
The purpose of employee insights
The primary purpose of working with employee insights is to create a work environment and a culture that promotes engagement, well-being, and productivity. Specifically, employee insights aim to:
- Improve employee engagement: Identify drivers and barriers to engagement and take action to strengthen it.
- Increase productivity and efficiency: Understand what helps or hinders employees from performing their work in the best possible way.
- Reduce staff turnover and increase retention: Identify risk factors for employees leaving and create strategies to retain talent.
- Strengthen leadership: Provide leaders with insights on how they can better support and develop their teams.
- Improve organisational culture: Gain a deeper understanding of the prevailing culture and how it can be developed in the desired direction.
- Promote well-being and reduce stress: Identify factors that affect employees’ health and well-being.
- Support talent development and career planning: Understand employees’ ambitions and development needs.
Employee insights are crucial for building an organisation where people want to work and give their best.
How are employee insights generated and used?
Employee insights can be extracted from a range of different sources and through various analysis methods:
Data sources:
- Employee surveys: Regular engagement surveys, pulse surveys, onboarding and exit surveys.
- Feedback from managers and colleagues: Performance reviews, 360-degree feedback.
- Performance data: Goal and result data.
- HR data: Information on sick leave, staff turnover, training participation.
- Qualitative feedback: Comments in free-text responses, focus groups, individual interviews.
- Digital Employee Experience (DEX) data: Insights into how employees experience the technology they use.
Analysis methods:
- Quantitative analysis: Analysis of survey data to identify trends, significant differences between groups, and correlations (e.g., between engagement and productivity).
- Qualitative analysis: Thematic analysis of free-text responses and interview data to understand the ”why” behind the numbers.
- Segmentation: Analyse differences in experiences and engagement based on, e.g., department, role, age, or length of service.
- Predictive analysis: Use data to predict, e.g., the risk of staff turnover.
The insights generated should form the basis for concrete action plans and initiatives aimed at improving the employee experience.
The benefits of focusing on employee insights
Organisations that systematically work to generate and act on employee insights can achieve a range of positive effects:
- Higher employee engagement and motivation: When employees feel heard and their needs are met, their engagement increases.
- Improved productivity and performance: Engaged employees are often more productive and deliver better results.
- Reduced staff turnover and recruitment costs: An attractive workplace retains talent.
- Stronger organisational culture and better collaboration: Increased trust and openness.
- Increased innovation and creativity: Employees who are content and feel safe dare to take initiative.
- Improved employer brand: An organisation known for taking care of its employees becomes more attractive in the job market.
- Better customer experiences: Satisfied and engaged employees tend to deliver better service to customers.
Employee insights – The building block for a thriving workplace
Understanding your employees in-depth is no longer a ”nice-to-have” but a ”need-to-have” for organisations that want to be successful and sustainable in the long term. Employee insights provide management with the basis needed to make informed decisions that strengthen both the individual and the organisation. It is about creating an environment where people can grow, develop, and contribute with their full potential.
Brilliant Future are experts in helping organisations to collect, analyse, and act on employee insights. Our platforms and methods provide you with the tools you need to build a workplace where engagement and performance go hand in hand.