Benchmarking
The Employee Engagement Benchmarks Q1 2024
Gain valuable insights for measuring your team’s engagement levels, drivers, and eNPS trends with our benchmark data – collated from over 500,000 employee responses from various industries and organisations. This data is from January to March 2024 (Q1 2024).
See the latest benchmarking results for your industry*
*Rolling 12 months ending March 2024
Engagement Index
Hive’s Engagement Index is made up of the responses to 3 core questions measuring Pride, Advocacy and Loyalty across an organisation (measured on a scale of 0 to 10 with a result of 7 and above indicating a positive score).
Compare your organisation’s Engagement index against the benchmark to get a snapshot of how your employees are feeling.
Not sure what your score is? We can help.
In Q1, the Engagement Index shows a minor but positive increase to 7.1, reflecting an improvement in overall employee engagement.
While loyalty held steady at 6.4, advocacy rose slightly to 7.3 (from 7.2), indicating increasing employee endorsement of the organisation. Most notably, pride grew to 7.6 (from 7.3), showcasing a boost in employee satisfaction and attachment to the company.
These metrics paint a promising picture across different industries, suggesting positive changes in organisational culture and how employees feel about their work. It’s clear that the strategies aimed at boosting engagement and creating a supportive environment are hitting the mark. Organisations are really tuning in to what their employees need and want, which is leading to a workforce that’s more engaged, loyal, and proud. This just goes to show how crucial it is to put employee satisfaction and engagement front and centre for organisational success.
Let’s take a closer look at the Q1 data… The industry trends for Engagement Index (EI), in the Education sector, the EI has dropped from previous quarters, standing at 6.8. Whilst it’s not a completely negative overall score, this indicates a slightly lower engagement level compared to the overall benchmark of 7.1. This suggests that there may be challenges or fluctuations within the sector, potentially related to changes in educational policies or ongoing strikes around pay and work-life balance.
On the other hand, Housing Associations exhibit a robust Engagement Index of 7.7, signalling a healthy level of employee engagement. Their eNPS score of +29 falls into the “very good” category, indicating strong employee satisfaction and advocacy. This likely reflects deliberate efforts within Housing Associations to enhance employee wellbeing, communication, and organisational culture.
Similarly, the Professional Services industry, despite experiencing a slight decline from its previously high Engagement Index (EI), still boasts a strong EI of 7.7. Coupled with the impressive eNPS score of +31 suggests outstanding levels of employee satisfaction and advocacy. This improvement in employee sentiment could be attributed to strong leadership, discussions about integrating AI to streamline work processes, and corresponding training initiatives.
Top 5 engagement themes to emerge from Q1 2024
1. Confidence, Motivation and Communication (Strategic Direction)
2. Growth and Development
3. Autonomy and Empowerment of Meaningful Work
4. Wellbeing and Balance
5. Relationships
Top 5 engagement themes to emerge from Q1 2024
1. Confidence, Motivation and Communication (Strategic Direction)
2. Growth & Development
3. Autonomy and Empowerment of Meaningful Work
4. Wellbeing and Balance
5. Relationships
employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
January - March 2024
(Q1 2024)
Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) is an internationally recognised measure of engagement using the question ‘How likely are you to recommend our organisation as a good place to work?’ with detractors, passives and promoters. A positive score means an organisation has more advocates (promoters) than it does detractors. It is measured on a -100 to +100 scale.
What does a good eNPS score look like?
+41 and above is outstanding, +21 to +40 is very good, -10 to +20 is a typical score and finally -11 and below is a low, concerning score.
The overall increase in eNPS benchmarks shows there’s been a positive shift in employee sentiment as reflected by the increase in the overall eNPS benchmarks, now standing at 7. This uptick suggests a general improvement in how employees perceive their workplaces, and that employees are feeling more connected and engaged with their work and workplaces.
Among the industries, several have witnessed a notable rise in their eNPS scores, further contributing to the overall increase. For instance, Housing Associations have seen a significant improvement in both Engagement Index and eNPS scores, indicating a deliberate focus on initiatives aimed at enhancing employee satisfaction and advocacy. Similarly, the Professional Services industry, despite experiencing a slight decline in Engagement Index, has shown a remarkable increase in eNPS.
These trends underscore the importance of ongoing efforts by organisations to prioritise employee satisfaction and engagement, as reflected in initiatives addressing workplace culture, communication, leadership, and opportunities for growth and development. The rise in eNPS across industries indicates that organisations are increasingly recognising the value of investing in their employees’ wellbeing and creating environments where they feel valued, supported, and motivated to contribute positively.
Further analysis from our People Science team
Throughout Q1 numerous free-text questions have been asked to employees so that organisations can deep dive into employees’ thoughts, feelings and opinions surrounding specific topic areas. Of the range of questions asked, the most popular question categories were:
- Enhancing the employee experience
- Feedback and suggestions
Enhancing the employee experience
Example questions:
- How might senior managers/leaders improve employee experience here?
- What could we change to make your working experience better?
- What are the things we could do better for our staff?
- How can we improve collaboration between teams to help us work better together?
Popular themes:
Communication
Working relationships
Collaboration
Resources
Increased pay
and reward
Ways of working
Feedback and suggestions
Example questions:
- What are the things we are doing really well here?
- What makes a good day at work for you?
- Is there anything we have missed that you would like to be asked about in future surveys?
- Is there anything you’d like to tell us?
Popular themes:
Increased pay and reward
Workload management
Communication
Teamwork
Work ethos
Working relationships
Wellbeing
Work-life balance
Further analysis from our People Science team
Throughout Q1 numerous free-text questions have been asked to employees so that organisations can deep dive into employees’ thoughts, feelings and opinions surrounding specific topic areas. Of the range of questions asked, the most popular question categories were:
- Enhancing the employee experience
- Feedback and suggestions
Enhancing the employee experience
Example questions:
- How might senior managers/leaders improve employee experience here?
- What could we change to make your working experience better?
- What are the things we could do better for our staff?
- How can we improve collaboration between teams to help us work better together?
Popular themes:
Communication
Working relationships
Collaboration
Resources
Increased pay and reward
Ways of working
Feedback and suggestions
Example questions:
- What are the things we are doing really well here?
- What makes a good day at work for you?
- Is there anything we have missed that you would like to be asked about in future surveys?
- Is there anything you’d like to tell us?
Popular themes:
Increased pay and reward
Workload management
Communication
Teamwork
Work ethos
Working relationships
Wellbeing
Work-life balance
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