There is no single metric that should always be prioritized. Numerous studies highlight different factors that people value the most: salary, work-life balance, purpose, goals, growth, etc. For example:
- 35% of employees prioritize salary and work-life balance.
- In the book Why We Work by Barry Schwartz, the most relevant factors are purpose, impact and recognition.
Both approaches are valid, but the conclusion is that there is no universal factor—what people value depends on factors such as:
- Age
- Tenure
- Role
- Organizational context
- Company culture
That is the reason why at Nailted we choose to give equal weight to all engagement metrics, as their impact varies depending on the group profile.
The first step we recommend is to perform good data segmentation, as this will help you detect meaningful patterns, understand context, and better define priorities. Here are some segmentation examples you can use:
- By tenure (new hires, long-term employees).
- By age or generation (Gen Z, millennials, etc.)
- By department or team (Tech, Product, People, etc.)
- By performance level (key people, high performers, etc.)
What strategies can I use to decide which metrics to improve first?
Below are several complementary strategies you can apply depending on your context to improve metrics:
- Improve metrics that have been low for X time: Define a threshold (e.g., 6 consecutive months) and prioritize those that are not only low but show no signs of improvement. This helps tackle chronic issues that may be hurting motivation and workplace climate.
- Focus on key people: Create a group of individuals with high impact, informal leadership, or high performance, and improve the metrics that matter most to them. Investing in their wellbeing often creates a positive ripple effect across the team.
- Prioritize metrics that are low across groups: If a metric like Direction or Recognition is low in all teams, take global action. Cross-functional improvements tend to have higher visibility and wider acceptance in the organization.
- Target groups with multiple low metrics: Instead of tackling just one metric, identify teams or segments with several simultaneous alerts. This can help prevent talent loss or widespread demotivation.
- Address the metrics furthest from the benchmark: Compare your results with Nailted’s benchmark values and aim to reduce the gap. This can help enhance your competitiveness and employer branding.
- Focus on the lowest-scoring metrics: Evaluate the absolute score of each metric and focus on the ones with critical values, even if they’re not widespread. This can help resolve high-risk emotional or relational issues.
What concrete actions can improve metrics and participation in Nailted?
One of the most effective actions we've observed is to implement recurring 1:1 meetings between managers and each of their team members. These meetings offer multiple benefits:
- Foster trust
- Improve active listening and communication
- Help detect issues before they escalate
- Increase participation in Nailted
💡The meetings should be recurring, human-centered, and not just operational.