9.0 Measuring and Monitoring Employee Well Being

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In recent years, organizational success has become more significant with employee wellness and mental well-being, especially in the banking sector, a competitive and high-stress environment. Caring for employees is not only good for them but also necessary to improve work engagement, productivity, and retention. However, organizations must first measure what matters to manage it. This is where the leaders and HR team need to leverage the timely and accurate tools, robust metrics, and continuous feedback loops to get to know how and why employees feel that way.

Tools and Methods to Assess Employee Well-Being and Engagement

To properly assess employee well-being, it’s essential to mix measurable and subjective approaches. While workloads in the banking sector are often intense and performance-driven, these fine-grained tools will be able to identify stressors, burnout risks, and state of engagement well before crisis level.

Employee Surveys and Indexes

The use of annual or quarterly employee engagement surveys continues to be a very popular tool. Tools like Gallup’s Q12 Employee Engagement Survey and the WHO-5 Well-Being Index are used across industries like banking to measure emotions and satisfaction at work (Gallup, 2023; WHO, 1998). These tools help organizations assess not only the level of engagement but also psychological well-being, purpose, and social support. 



Pulse Surveys

Pulse surveys are short, frequent check-ins that provide real-time employee insight. In the rapidly evolving banking industry, they help manager track deviations in employees’ moods, motivation, or stress, before it affects performance (Qualtrics, n.d.)

Digital Analytics and Well-Being Apps

The banks are now using an AI-driven platform, Microsoft Viva Insights, that analyzes collaboration patterns, email overload, and meeting fatigue to measure levels of digital exhaustion. Based on these insights, leaders can manage workload before burnout happens (Microsoft Viva Insights Change the way your workplace works E-book, n.d.)

One-on-One Interviews and Focus Groups

Besides surveys, a research tool like individual interviews and focus groups provides context and qualitative data that numbers misrepresent. These discussions are especially useful in revealing hidden issues regarding leadership, culture, or mental health stigma in the workplace (CIPD, 2023).

The Role of Feedback in Cultivating a Supportive Work Culture

Collecting data is just the first step; using that data in a better way brings in the difference. In the banking industry, where there are firm hierarchies partnered with high expectations, creating an open feedback culture can act as a game changer.

Transparent Communication cycles

When they see their input lead to changes, trust can build. For example, the Lloyds Banking Group has rolled out employee listening tools that helped them make decisions around hybrid working policies, resulting in increased satisfaction scores (Lloyds, 2022). Feedback isn’t just collected; it’s actioned

Leadership Responsiveness

When leaders take timely, visible action on the concerns of their people, a culture of well-being can flourish. As per a McKinsey report (2022), organizations in which leadership responded to mental health feedback noted a 25% increase in engagement levels.

Continuous Improvement Culture

Using feedback to adjust policies, workloads, or to change wellness programs leads to improvements over time. Fostering a culture that ‘tests and learns’ helps keep the organization dynamic as employee needs change (Burris et al., 2024)

Nurturing an Environment of Emotional Security

Feedback systems check how safe people feel trying out new ideas or voicing their concerns. In banking, which has a risk culture, cultivating this safety is necessary to enable well-being and innovation at the same time (Edmondson, 2018).

Measuring employees' well-being is more than just number crunching. By harnessing survey and interview data, analytics, and feedback to steer cultural change, banks can create an environment in which employees feel heard, favored, and engaged. In an area where humans are such an asset, the capacity to listen, respond, and evolve can become a big advantage.


References List

·      WHO (2024). The World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5) = World Health Organization.  [online] Available at: https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/mental-health/who-5_english-original4da539d6ed4b49389e3afe47cda2326a.pdf?sfvrsn=ed43f352_11&download=true.

· Qualtrics (n.d.). What is an employee pulse survey? [online] Qualtrics. Available at: https://www.qualtrics.com/experience-management/employee/what-is-employee-pulse-survey/.

·   Microsoft Viva Insights Change the Way Your Workplace Works E-book. (n.d.). Available at: https://adoption.microsoft.com/files/viva/insights/How_Microsoft_uses_Viva_Insights.pdf [Accessed 12 Apr. 2025].

·  CIPD (2023). Health and Wellbeing at Work. [online]   CIPD. CIPD. Available at: https://www.cipd.org/globalassets/media/knowledge/knowledge-hub/reports/2023-pdfs/8436-health-and-wellbeing-report-2023.pdf.

·  Lloyds Banking Group Social Sustainability Report 2022 Building an inclusive society. (n.d.). Available at: https://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/assets/pdfs/who-we-are/responsible-business/downloads/2022-reporting/2022-lbg-social-sustainability-report.pdf

·  McKinsey Health Institute (2022). Addressing Employee Burnout: Are You Solving the Right Problem? | McKinsey. [online] www.mckinsey.com. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/mhi/our-insights/addressing-employee-burnout-are-you-solving-the-right-problem.

· Burris, E., Thomas, B., Sodhi, K., and Klinghoffer, D. (2024). Turn Employee Feedback into Action. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2024/11/turn-employee-feedback-into-action

· Edmondson, A.C. (2018). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. [online]   Google Books. John Wiley & Sons. Available at: https://www.google.lk/books/edition/The_Fearless_Organization/aZZxDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

Comments

  1. Madhavi JayasingheApril 14, 2025 at 11:01 AM

    This is a well-rounded approach to assessing employee well-being and engagement in the banking sector. The combination of surveys, pulse checks, digital analytics, and personal feedback offers a comprehensive way to understand employee experiences and needs.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sadaniwijewickrameApril 14, 2025 at 11:50 PM

      I greatly appreciate your kind statements and considerate suggestions. I’m very happy you see the plan complete. I felt it was important to show how these different methodologies (surveys, pulse checks, and digital analytics) can help form a more holistic picture of what employees are experiencing. Receiving feedback is not usually common these days, but it always helps. Thank you so much for interacting with the post and for your valued feedback.

      Delete
  2. Melaka PushpasaraApril 15, 2025 at 3:13 AM

    A well-rounded conclusion that ties together the critical aspects of employee well-being, mental health, and engagement in the banking industry. The emphasis on proactive measures and organizational support highlights the path forward. Perhaps discussing the role of leadership in fostering a supportive environment could further enhance the conclusion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sadaniwijewickrameApril 16, 2025 at 1:11 AM

      Thank you very much for your kind feedback. I’m happy that the conclusion was well-rounded and impactful. You are 100% correct. Leadership creates a mojo zone, which serves as a catalyst towards employee well-being and engagement. As mentioned by Edmondson (2018), psychological safety created by inclusive and empathetic leadership is a critical factor that allows employees to voice concerns, innovate, and flourish at work. The 25% improvement in employee engagement is a benefit of leadership responsiveness to mental health feedback (McKinsey, 2022). I could emphasize this more explicitly in the future. I truly appreciate your suggestion.

      Delete
  3. Nuwan Asanka 2020April 15, 2025 at 5:38 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tasni YoshiniApril 15, 2025 at 11:45 AM

    The article is a wonderful play between data and empathy that reminds us that genuine support for employee well-being in the banking sector is an equal mix of science and art. You really covered and explained not just the tools: surveys, analytics, interviews, etc.; but also the wider need for change in actions based on the data that includes leadership responsiveness and cultural shifts. When well-being is being measured inside such a critical island, it doesn’t matter as much whether it’s all about the metrics- it’s about intently listening and caring leadership. According to Edmondson (2018), psychological safety makes everything else possible for learning and innovation. If banks become good at feedback loops and emotional safety, they will not only be able to retain talent-they will unleash the full human potential. Great work!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sadaniwijewickrameApril 16, 2025 at 1:54 AM

      Thank you very much for your generous and helpful comments. I really appreciate the way you highlighted the essence of the blog, which suggests how employee well-being in the banking sector, for example, is a data and a sensitive matter. You hit the nail on the head , while it is always great to get visibility through metrics such as surveys, pulse checks, digital analytics . Their power lies in when leaders do something about it with intent.

      As you rightly pointed out, Edmondson's (2018) work on psychological safety is very important. In a banking environment, where risk culture tends to prevail, creating a feeling of emotional safety can cause more learning, collaboration, and innovation. According to McKinsey (2022), actions taken and leadership responsiveness to feedback regarding mental health issues lead to engagement levels increasing by 25% (a further reason to act timely).

      Thank you once again for shedding light on the 'science and art' of workplace well-being; it’s a perspective worth paying more attention to in organizational practice.

      Delete
  5. Chathura ThilankaApril 15, 2025 at 5:50 PM

    Insightful post! Using tools like Gallup’s Q12 and WHO-5 helps banks identify burnout and boost employee engagement effectively.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sadaniwijewickrameApril 16, 2025 at 1:59 AM

      Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. Totally, I think we can use tools like Gallup’s Q12 and the WHO(5) Well-Being Index that tell us about engagement and well-being. Due to the highly stressful and target-oriented industry, the banking sector hugely uses the tools for e-surveys.

      The Q12 of Gallup links to major outcomes such as productivity, profitability, and welfare (Gallup, 2023). Just like Q12, WHO-5 is another important measurement that can help measure emotional wellness, often not measured through WHP. By implementing schemes based on these tools and action-oriented feedback banks, we can help to reduce burnout and promote resilience.

      Delete
  6. The Impact of SUSTAINABLE HRM FOR APPAREL INDUSTRYApril 16, 2025 at 10:09 AM

    Good explains the banking industry using their specific techniques to measure and monitor their people's well-being. Furthermore, do you believe that only these techniques are enough to get better results?
    Commented by Lahiru Randima

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. sadaniwijewickrameApril 17, 2025 at 9:05 AM

      Thank you for your beneficial comments! Your comments really made me think about how banking companies measure and monitor employee wellness through various metrics and performance-related techniques! Using a tool like Microsoft Viva Insights or employee and pulse surveys can help identify stressors and levels of engagement, but these on their own are not a solution, as the banking industry knows.

      Also, there needs to be a more extended focus on the ongoing culture of emotional safety and psychological support. To feel free to admit their own and others’ mistakes, Edmondson (2018) argues that employees should feel secure and safe in order to express themselves. To make sure employees feel heard, continuous feedback loops, transparent communication, and leadership responsiveness are crucial.

      Also, a willingness to act is needed to use these data tools. According to McKinsey (2022), organizations that respond with changes as a result of feedback from employees experience more engagement. Thus, feedback must not only be collected but also worked with quickly and visibly.
      While this is useful, integrating them with leadership training, proactive well-being initiatives, and a feedback culture will ensure more sustainable and effective results.

      Thanks again for the great question It’s a nice thought to reflect on how these methods concerted together can improve the overall well-being of employees.

      Delete

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