Most businesses collect and analyze countless data: revenue per employee, gross profit margin, cost per lead, customer retention, EBITDA, Net Promoter Score, and so much more.

But what people metrics are businesses tracking to provide critical insight into their business operations?

It’s proven: Businesses that collect, analyze, and act upon their people data have more productive and engaged employees. According to Gallup, highly engaged teams show 21% greater profitability—making engagement metrics vital for business leaders to keep tabs on.

7 types of people data you need to measure

If your business isn’t collecting people data yet, here are seven places to start:

Behavioral data

This data identifies someone’s natural drives and preferences as they relate to work. It can help you hire people suited for a job, manage them according to their needs, and handle interpersonal conflict that may arise from behavioral differences.

Cognitive data

Cognitive data measures an individual’s ability to understand complex ideas, adapt effectively to their environment, learn from experience, engage in various forms of reasoning, and overcome obstacles through contemplation.

Cognitive ability has a strong correlation with job success. If an employee doesn’t match the cognitive requirement of the role they’re in, they’ll struggle to succeed, ultimately leading to disengagement or high turnover rates.

Employee experience survey data

Employee experience surveys help business leaders gain feedback on what employees think it’s like to work at a particular organization. This allows senior leaders to understand areas of the business where the work experience needs to improve, so employee engagement can increase

Sales figures

Sales figures tell you more than how much money the company stands to make in a given time period. They can also shed light on any potential engagement issues. 

Research by Gallup reported that highly engaged organizations average 20% higher sales than their disengaged peers.

Performance metrics

Performance reviews are most frequently used to assess an employee’s effectiveness to determine appropriate next steps with regards to training, development, and employment with the organization.

Performance reviews can also provide valuable insights into the employee experience. If a high-achieving employee’s performance has taken a nosedive, it could indicate there are issues with the organizational culture leading to disengagement, or an amorphous role that’s grown out of control.

Dig deeper into what may be impacting your employee’s performance other than their own efforts. If an employee’s manager, team work dynamic, or role has changed, inquire into their feelings about the changes and how they’re being impacted. 

Customer satisfaction data

Customer service is closely linked with employee engagement. Engaged employees care about their work, going above and beyond to put in discretionary effort. This discretionary effort is what makes an impact on customers, making them feel valued and appreciated. 

If your customer satisfaction numbers aren’t where you’d like them to be, use this data to probe deeper. Are employees disengaged? Or is there a possibility current employees aren’t a behavioral match for a customer service role? 

Exit interviews

All information is data—even if it’s not a quantifiable metric. Exit interviews provide feedback on the employee experience and what may be driving turnover. The goal is to determine if an employee’s departure is connected to a larger engagement issue or if there was a poor fit.

When you measure what matters, you can make the right changes.

Once this data is collected, it can be used to diagnose people problems that may be leading to disengagement. From there, a data-driven action plan can be put together to resolve those issues—ultimately helping your business perform better and be more profitable.