You can’t improve what you don’t measure. And when it comes to employee engagement, there’s a lot to measure. Sure, engagement is a feeling — but KPIs are how you find the facts hiding underneath.
Are your people inspired or just in survival mode? Are recognition efforts sticking, or skimming off the top? Tracking the right engagement KPIs helps you figure out what’s working, what’s flopping, and what just needs a snack break before it gets back on track.
This article walks you through 20 essential employee engagement KPIs that help HR leaders and managers do more than guess — they help you shape your workforce. Because when you’ve got a pulse on your people, you can fuel the behaviors that lead to real results.
So, let’s dive into the metrics that matter.
Engagement isn’t just about performance dashboards and productivity charts. It’s also about emotion. The warm, fuzzy stuff that determines whether people feel valued, supported, and — dare we say it — happy at work.
These KPIs help you take the emotional pulse of your organization. And if the heartbeat’s off, it’s time to dig deeper:
These aren’t just feel-good metrics — they’re business-critical. Because when your people feel supported, seen, and satisfied, everything else starts to fall into place.
Behind every employee who leaves, there’s a story. And behind every employee who stays, there’s usually a reason, too. Engagement lives in those reasons — and so do some of your most important KPIs.
These metrics help you track what’s keeping people connected to your company — and what’s nudging them toward the exit:
Retention metrics don’t just tell you who’s walking out the door — they help you understand why. And when you pair them with action, they can help you turn the tide.
Engagement isn’t just a vibe — it’s a verb. It shows up in the day-to-day: in conversations, collaboration, and those small but meaningful moments where people go beyond their job descriptions.
These KPIs shine a light on how engaged your employees really are — not just how they say they are:
When employees are truly engaged, it shows. These KPIs help you see that energy in action — and catch the quiet moments where it might be slipping.
While engagement is rooted in connection, recognition, and culture, it also plays a starring role in outcomes. When employees are truly engaged, the business feels it — in the KPIs that show up on executive dashboards.
Here’s how to track whether engagement is driving real, measurable performance:
These metrics don’t just reflect what people are doing — they reflect how they feel while they’re doing it. And that’s what makes them essential to shaping a workforce that performs with purpose.
KPIs are powerful. They highlight trends, reveal gaps, and show you exactly where to focus. But at the end of the day, they’re not just numbers on a dashboard — they’re signals from real people, living real experiences inside your organization.
Employee recognition gives those numbers context. It turns data into action, and metrics into meaning. Because while it’s critical to keep a pulse on performance, retention, and sentiment, it’s even more important to remember what those metrics represent: people who want to be seen, heard, and inspired to do their best work.
Need help tracking the right KPIs — or better yet, moving them in the right direction? Let’s just say Achievers has a thing for turning values into behaviors into results.
Magic not included — just science. And a whole lot of recognition.
See how grocery retailer Sobeys boosted engagement across 134,000 employees with Achievers
Discover what’s driving employee experience in 2025 — and what’s next
Written by
Kyla Dewar
Discover how easy recognition can be with Achievers
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