How Understanding Employee Sentiment Now Unlocks Your Future Ability to Attract Top Talent

A clear sign that companies are thriving is when they have the ability to successfully attract and onboard the best talent available. This works whether applicants have sought out the company first, or if they have been head-hunted. The end result is what matters: people have seen something in you that has inspired them, and they have accepted your offer to work for them.

While there are many external factors that contribute to why a company may be deemed attractive to work for, there’s also a great deal that employers can do from the inside.

One of these internal initiatives is when employers take the time to understand employee sentiment. This relates to the overall feeling that current employees have about the company they work for, concerning all the nuances that would explain why they are satisfied or unsatisfied with their job. 

So, let’s have a look at how you can utilize employee sentiment analysis to achieve greater heights for your business and your employees, and prove you are a Most Loved Workplace®  top talent would be proud to work for. 

What Is Employee Sentiment and Why Is It Important?

Employee sentiment is the beating heart of a business. It encompasses and is impacted by:

  1. Attitudes towards company culture, and how people try to be part of it or actively reject it

  2. Employee engagement and willingness to participate 

  3. Employee satisfaction, both towards their position and opportunities, but also satisfaction with the people they work with 

  4. Mutual feelings of respect between employees and employer

  5. Flexibility and commitment to a healthy work-life balance

  6. Whether or not there are career development opportunities

  7. Feelings of belonging and inclusion 

24% report compensation 28% report great benefits 76% report organization lives the values and ethics it espouses 78% report a feeling of value and respect from those in the organization

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Keeping your finger on the pulse of workplace sentiment alerts employers to any potential issues that may be emerging. Whilst this is pertinent all year round, it is particularly important during times of stress or a change in usual practices. 

When you’re observant of employee sentiment, you:

  1. Give your workers a chance to speak up and be heard, which is vital for boosting morale, as it shows that you care about the opinions of your employees

  2. Become aware of your own shortcomings and how best to improve

  3. Get real data, accurate data which you can use in your advertising

  4. Improve your employee retention rates

How Do You Measure and Analyze Employee Sentiment?

Employee sentiment, in theory, is a collection of qualitative data that is relatively easy to analyze, but difficult to measure. 

Questionnaires, scales, and polls help turn this information into quantitative data that is far easier to collect. Additionally, short-form questions are easier to fill out and mean employees don’t have to take the time out of their day to write essays for the sake of the company. 

Here are a few useful ways you can measure and analyze employee sentiment. Each business operates differently, so a range of choices means you can be sure to find something that works best for you and your workers. 

1. Pulse Surveys

At Most Loved Workplace®, we offer a Pulse Validation survey for you to send to your employees. Our services are anonymous, user-friendly, and quick to complete. Moreover, we can do all of the analysis for you, before we release the top 100 Most Loved Workplaces® in our issue of Newsweek Magazine. 

Upon validation, you’ll have the option to add a badge to your website and incorporate our statistics into your employer branding. First impressions are always important. An official certification provides a fantastic look at what could be on offer for any future employees looking to become part of your business. 

A picture of an open laptop with the pulse validation survey pulled up on a browser. Text reads: "Your current love score: 80%" and a red loading bar next to it shows certification status.

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2. eNPS

Your employee net promoter score (eNPS) only asks one question: how likely are you to recommend your employer to a friend? High eNPS scores show that employees value where they work and would encourage other people to work there too. Low scores indicate employees are warning people to stay away. 

3. Online Reviews 

Many websites, such as Glassdoor, Indeed, or LinkedIn allow employees to anonymously or publicly review their employers online. 

When you post a job listing, you may find that a series of stars appear next to the name of your company. Keep an eye on this, as it will be one of the first things job seekers look at when deciding whether or not they wish to submit an application to work for you.