The Case for Employee Engagement Benchmarks

Without benchmark data, HR directors can only guess whether their company's employee engagement levels are high, average, or low.

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Industry benchmarks provide a starting point for conversations about what “good” looks like and where there is room for improvement. They also help HR directors make the case for investments in employee engagement initiatives. When budgets are tight, HR directors need to be able to show how their proposed initiatives will impact the company's bottom line. Industry benchmarks can help them do that.

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Numbers may be misleading

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Benchmarks provide a way to connect the numbers you get from your employee engagement surveys with something more tangible and actionable.

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Let’s take an example. Suppose that your most recent employee engagement survey shows an average overall score of 8.1 out of 10. This might make you feel good, but if the average engagement level for companies in your country and industry is 8.4, then you might want to take a closer look at your results to see why you’re not doing as well as other companies. 

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Benchmark data can help you to set realistic goals

Another benefit of benchmark data is that it can help you to set realistic goals for improving employee engagement. While it’s always good to set high goals, it’s important to make sure that those goals are realistic. Otherwise, you may end up disappointed and discouraged. The benchmark provides you a realistic number to use as an anchor when setting your own goals. For example, in an industry where the average score is 7.2, a goal of 8.0 is realistic and ambitious, while in an industry where the average score of 8.8, a goal of 9.3 or higher is more realistic. 

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Make the right comparisons

When comparing your company to peers in your industry, try to narrow down your peers by these dimensions:

• Country

• Company size

• Industry vertical

• Public or private

• Profit or nonprofit

Engagement patterns vary widely across these dimensions. For example, the average score across startups and large companies may be different. Similarly the average score across banks, medical care, and technology companies may be different as well.

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Use benchmark data to prioritize across engagement drivers

Employee engagement is influenced by a long list of drivers, including: meaningful work, relationship with immediate manager, relationship with teammates, organizational wellbeing, feedback, recognition, compensation, and many others.

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Benchmark data can help you prioritize which engagement drivers to focus on. To do this, you’ll want to look at the breakdown of scores for each driver and compare it to the average score for that driver across your peers.

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This exercise will help you identify engagement drivers that fall below your industry’s average and subsequently choose the drivers you wish to focus on.

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For example, let’s say that the average score for the driver “recognition and awards” is 9.2, but your company’s score for this driver is only 7.8. This indicates that you may want to focus on this driver in order to improve employee engagement. 

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Conversely, if the average score for the driver “compensation and benefits” is 6.2 but your company’s score is 6.3, then you may want to focus on other drivers as there is less room for improvement in this area.

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Benchmark reports for Saudi Arabia and Egypt

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And to end on a happy note of good news… 

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Engagesoft has just released the first ever employee engagement benchmark reports for Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The reports provide deep insights into how employees in Saudi Arabia and Egypt feel about their work, how engagement in each country varies across industries, genders, company sizes and other factors. The reports provide average engagement score data across more than 30 engagement drivers in each country.

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If you are an HR professional or organizational leader, contact us today to obtain your free copy.

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Conclusion

Industry benchmarks can provide a valuable perspective on your company’s employee engagement levels. They can help you to set realistic goals, prioritize across engagement drivers, and make the case for investments in employee engagement initiatives.

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