The Engagement Equation: Metrics, Leadership, and Impact | In Conversation with Christie Hoffman

The future lies in finding the right tech to help HR professionals move faster.

Imagine this: you’ve just been hired as the HR lead at a rapidly growing company, and one of your many responsibilities is to “fix the disengagement issue – our employees are unhappy.” The CEO presents this as your problem to solve, offers no support or involvement, yet expects a solution ready to be presented at the next leadership meeting.

The truth is, employee engagement isn’t a one-dimensional problem that can be solved with a single approach. It’s influenced by multiple factors, involving various stakeholders, with leadership being one of the most crucial. Moreover, engagement shouldn’t be an afterthought, only addressed when things are so bad that you’re forced into action. It requires a proactive, ongoing strategy to prevent disengagement from spiraling into turnover.

Disengagement is like a disease. Without diagnosing the root cause, it will continue to spread, eventually leading to the downfall of the organization—quite literally. So, how did we get here, and why?

I recently spoke with Christie Hoffman, an HR thought leader, who shared her insights on navigating these challenges.

Q: How can HR proactively identify and address disengagement before it becomes a bigger issue in the workplace?

Christie: Well, first let’s talk about being reactive in HR – that’s mostly what HR does. HR is constantly interrupted—putting out fires, dealing with emotional turmoil like someone going on a PIP, onboarding a new hire, answering questions about 401(k)s—you name it. There’s no time left to actually change the business for the better because you’re stuck just in the “run the business” mode. 

When you’re fully and properly staffed, you can run the business while also changing it for the better. You can think about the future while keeping the day-to-day operations smooth. That’s what I call a proactive approach.

To address disengagement proactively, you need to effectively put forth the issue with your executives, in the way they would understand it. 

• Start by leveling with them: “What we’re doing isn’t working. Our people are disengaged, and the data from our surveys backs this up.” 
• Next, highlight the financial impact—disengagement is costing the company money. 
• If you can get this data -> show them the link between a drop in Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) and missing revenue targets. 
• By highlighting these factors, you can clearly show that: when employees aren’t fulfilled -> customer churn increases and the -> company’s performance suffers. 

In my community, I emphasize the importance of using these key points to teach HR how to capture executives’ attention—because, ultimately, money is their priority. A proactive approach involves demonstrating that HR is their strongest ally in achieving business goals. 

Q: How can HRs respond to not getting buy-in from leaders for employee engagement initiatives?

Christie: In my community, we provide a lot of scripts for dealing with scenarios like when a CEO might say, “You don’t need a budget.” You can respond with, “Well, in alignment with your priority of revenue, I want to ensure we achieve those targets.” 

• Understand what matters to them: Find a way to ask leaders what they care about. Figure out their top metrics—it might be revenue, customer growth, CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost), or something else. There are all these industry-specific words, and once you learn a few, you can have those important conversations. I can even share the cheat sheet for free on LinkedIn. 

• Learn the language of revenue: But it’s not just about learning general business terms; it’s about understanding the specific language your CEO uses. We also have a cheat sheet that lists the top revenue terms you should know. If you can speak their language, you’ll be in a better position to argue for budget and advocate for HR initiatives.

• Keep working on the relationship: Yes, it can be intimidating. CEOs aren’t always easy to approach. I’ve met many, and they each have their own quirks and personality traits, often rooted in their own life experiences. But building that relationship is crucial. You need to figure out what makes your CEO tick, what words they respond to, and how you can communicate in a way that gets them to really hear you.

Q: What metrics do you believe are most effective in measuring employee engagement? 

Christie: If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said engagement surveys are key—and that’s still true—but there’s a much deeper answer I’m excited to start sharing. 

For simple, basic insights:

eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score), which is essentially a version of three surveys you can send asking, “How likely are you to recommend this company as a great place to work?” you should be sending that quarterly. This allows you to track and benchmark how employees feel over time.

eNPS is just one piece of data to tell you how bad disengagement is and where it’s at. There are other surveys—like engagement surveys and pulse surveys—that I recommend sending at specific intervals to figure out what’s actually wrong. eNPS tells you how bad the situation is overtime, while the other surveys help you identify the root causes.

For linking employee engagement with business outcomes:

eNPS + Revenue + Turnover + Customer Data. Now, if you combine eNPS with revenue, turnover, and customer churn data, you start telling a comprehensive story with your data—one that touches many parts of the business. How are employees doing? How much money are we making? How many customers are we losing? How many people have left because they’re fed up? 

These are all interconnected, and while it may sound very employee-centric, remember that these employees are your revenue drivers.

When you pair the more qualitative data, like employee sentiment, with quantitative metrics like turnover and customer churn, you’re armed with powerful insights. Now you have the executives’ attention. You can say, “These numbers are not good, and I know you care about revenue and customer churn, so let’s talk about a go-forward plan. I’m your partner in cracking the nut of the people’s issues, which is the revenue answer you’re looking for.”

Q: Do you think eNPS surveys tell the true story? How can we get employees to take these surveys seriously?

Christie: Here’s something I’ve noticed at many organizations: employees often don’t take that question seriously. HR friends, you need to over-communicate the importance of these surveys to your employees. 

At your all-hands meetings, you need to be there saying something along the lines of, 

“Hey everyone, based on our last eNPS survey—which, thank you for taking—I know that question may seem silly, but I need that data to do my job for you. I know we’re interrupting your day with this survey, and I know you might think the question is repetitive, but I really need you to understand that I see that data, and I use it to have important conversations with leadership. So, thank you for always taking that survey. It’s my way of checking in with you, like, how are you doing? If you don’t tell me how you’re doing, I can’t help.”

Q: What emerging trends and technologies do you think could have a more positive impact on employee engagement or addressing disengagement? =

Christie: One trend I’m already seeing being done well is 

1. The integration of AI into survey tools. A great example is a company called Wrenly.ai. It’s a survey tool focused on employee health—not physical health, but more like emotional and mental well-being. What’s cool about it is that it analyzes the data for you, similar to how we discussed using ChatGPT to sift through survey feedback. Wrenly does that automatically and even suggests what solutions you could present to executives. 
2. Finding the right tech is key. You shouldn’t have to remind employees to take a survey—your tech should handle that. You don’t need someone’s job to be chasing survey responses; you need tools that integrate with Slack that can seamlessly (and anonymously) handle those pesky reminders. But stepping back for a moment, you need to pair the right tech with a deep understanding of how to drive engagement effectively.

3. Understanding frameworks like the Employee Hierarchy of Needs is crucial. Even though that information has been around for a while, it’s still very relevant. For example, you wouldn’t start a recognition program at the very beginning of your company’s existence if there are no goals or structure in place yet. Once you grasp these fundamentals and pair them with the right technology, you’ll learn by doing, and the impact you make will be significant.

This is really the golden age of HR. We’re moving toward being seen as a profit center, the ultimate ally in the business. And I’m genuinely excited for the future of HR!

Q: Are there any resources or tools you’d recommend for HR professionals looking to better understand and address employee disengagement?

A: There are definitely some other great resources out there. 

• Engagement academy is my community-led course for anyone on the hook to drive engagement. I offer resources that can help you think for yourself and learn the critical business skill of troubleshooting your own unique disengaged workforce, to make the greatest impact to employees and the bottom line of the business.
• I highly recommend anything by Josh Bersin. His book Irresistible is fantastic. It breaks down what makes an organization truly appealing to employees—what makes them want to stay and engage. It’s a layered, thoughtful conversation that’s really valuable.
• Gallup is another go-to resource. They’ve been studying disengagement for 40 years, so they really know their stuff. Their research is thorough, easy to digest, and rooted in real data. I base a lot of my work on what I’ve learned from Gallup. They publish an annual report on global trends, like the 2024 Trends Report, and these are based on actual data.

Q: How do I start solving for engagement when leadership wants results but isn’t providing clear direction?

Christie: You need to clarify exactly what your leadership means by “solving for engagement.” Go back to them and ask specific questions: 

• What exactly are you looking for? What does engagement mean to you?
• Are you expecting a certain numerical improvement against metrics such as revenue? 
• Do you want to see a particular impact on the team or company culture? 

Without those answers, you can’t effectively tackle the problem.

Q: What advice would you give to an HR professional who is trying to engage a disengaged workforce with unsupportive leadership? 

Christie: Step one, and this is crucial: Understand whether your leadership is truly on board with addressing this issue. If you’ve already talked to your executive team and they’re dismissive or uninterested in what you’re saying, you need to reevaluate your position.

Approach your executive with this mindset: “We’re on the brink of something important here. I need to understand how our revenue drivers are feeling and identify what’s blocking them from doing their best work.” If your leadership shuts that down, doesn’t value your input, or isn’t open to understanding how engagement impacts revenue, that’s a red flag.

Don’t stick around in a company where the executive team doesn’t get it or won’t listen to you. I’m not suggesting you rage quit on the spot, but recognize that you might be in the wrong place.There are organizations out there that understand that putting people first ultimately drives revenue. Your skills are needed, and the right team will see you as a critical partner in that mission. So, make sure you’re working for a leader who gets it and values you.

Leaving doesn’t have to be dramatic—it can just be a simple decision to let go of what isn’t serving you, so you can find a place that values what you bring. It’s okay to leave and find a company that aligns with your values and where your strengths will be appreciated.

If you’re worried about failing the people you’ve worked so hard to hire by abandoning them, reposition it as leading by example—if HR voluntarily leaves, employees always see that as a signal that something isn’t right, but not with that HR leader. That’s true leadership. 

Q: How can AI play a role in addressing disengagement, which is so intangible? Are there different use cases we might be overlooking?

Christie: 

Use Case 1: Use AI to learn how to communicate with your CEO

Imagine you need to tell your CEO something sensitive, like, “Hey, we’ve got some data back that shows employees are upset—when can we talk?”. You don’t want to just shoot that message off in Slack. Instead, you can tell ChatGPT, “This is the demeanor of my CEO; I’ve just sent out a survey, and I need to get time with them in a way that won’t make them feel triggered or anxious about what I have to say.” ChatGPT can help you craft a message that’s more likely to bring your CEO into that meeting with an open mind. 

Use Case 2: Use AI to analyze employee surveys and feedback

Let’s say you’re exhausted and don’t want to wade through all the emotional, negative comments in your employee surveys. 

1. You can copy and paste that qualitative feedback into ChatGPT and say, “There are no employee names or IDs here, but can you sift through this and identify the patterns?” ChatGPT might tell you, “Burnout was mentioned 17 times,” and you can confirm that pattern.
2. Once you’ve identified the patterns, you can ask ChatGPT, “What are some ways we could solve this?” or if you decide to send a quicker pulse survey to learn more, “what are some open-ended questions I could ask employees to understand what’s driving their burnout?” 
3. Afterward, you can even have it help you create a slide deck for your executives. It can structure the presentation, starting with something like “The ROI of Employee Engagement,” which you might not have thought to include. ChatGPT will suggest what you should say based on your survey data, the solutions you’re proposing, and how it all ties back to revenue. It essentially storyboards the deck for you, helping you level up as a leader.

I always tell people, “AI isn’t going to replace you, but someone who gets better at using AI will.” They’ll be better at their job because they know how to leverage these tools. So, AI has many use cases—writing, research, analysis, and planning. It’s your Swiss army knife. AI helps you go faster—but remember, it’s still you who’s in control, prompting it to work for you.

There’s all this fear around AI being too hard to use, but honestly, I’ve never used a prompt in my life. I just talk to it like I would text you or send you an email. You can take the conversation wherever you want with ChatGPT, and if it doesn’t get it right the first time, you can say, “That’s not what I meant—actually, it’s this,” and keep refining the conversation until you get exactly what you need!

If you are an HR or People leader, and want to collaborate for an article – let’s chat!