How HR Can Use Data to Measure Employee Well-Being

Employee well-being has become the priority — and the sought-after holy grail — of many companies now that the world is slowly getting back to normal. It is not just a  matter of attracting the right talent who can help sharpen your business edge in the post-pandemic era, but having a capable, motivated workforce will keep your company on track. Finally, making sure that your employees are happy, fulfilled, and more than adequately compensated can stave off any temptation they might have in joining the now notorious exodus called the Great Resignation.

Data is the key

People analytics, which many HR professionals and their executives are still trying to understand and implement, will play a key component in measuring employee well-being, both the physical and the emotional. The data derived from a dozen platforms that can gauge talent behavior, coupled with HR Technology, can immediately spot problem areas that have to be addressed. If these areas appear to be a pattern that is happening throughout the entire organization, then major remediation has to be done to win back morale and continue to strengthen productivity.

Tools like absence management software are effective in spotting these patterns that have to be addressed ASAP. They immediately assess the frequency of absences of certain talents, the reasons they give for taking a lot of days off, and their performance after they report to work. HR can immediately see if the behavior happens in certain departments more than others, and single out individuals who are already showing signs of demotivation and burnout.

Employee listening

Another platform is employee listening, a method that HR has already been implementing before the digital age—but this time merge it with tools like stratified sampling and text analytics. The staff do make their thoughts and feelings known, no matter how subtly. AI can run through the official chat groups, message boards, and email messages and detect their sentiments as well as record their opinions on issues like remote work, mental health, the financial pressures brought on by the pandemic, and  so on. The overall pulse of the workforce—whether they remain motivated throughout the challenges or are nearing burnout—can be taken regularly and analyzed both on a macro and micro level. HR can have a clear idea of the overall emotional and mental state of their talents, while preserving their individual anonymity.

Constant conversations

For a more direct conversation with employees to get a more accurate picture of what they are going through, HR can use chatbots and surveys to create a conversation. Privacy is still maintained, while individual staff can air their fears, apprehensions, and anxieties in a safe space. That a human HR professional is at the other end of that screen also gives them the assurance that they are understood, listened to, and cared for.

The Pew Research’s study says that 21% of Americans are experiencing “high levels of psychological distress” because of the pandemic and its adverse consequences. This is a state that they would have to navigate until society returns to normal. It is something that their employers and HR would also have to keep in mind.

Making sure that their workforce’s well-being is holding up (if not improving) will never be easy. But using data analysis to come up with precise information about their emotional and mental state of mind is a step in the right direction.