Employee satisfaction: What eSAT is and why you should track it

Businesses across industries have recognized employee satisfaction’s pivotal role in their overall success.

And it makes sense, right?

At its most basic, satisfied employees tend to exhibit higher levels of engagement, commitment, and enthusiasm when serving customers. This leads to more positive interactions, enhanced problem-solving abilities, and increased customer loyalty.

But how do you figure out how satisfied your employees are?

Gauging and improving employee satisfaction can be difficult, but there’s one metric that’s becoming more and more common for tracking employee satisfaction.

That metric is called eSAT. 

What is eSAT?

eSAT stands for Employee Satisfaction. Like the customer-centric version, CSAT (or Customer Satisfaction), eSAT is a method of tracking how satisfied employees are within their role and your company, specifically through the use of surveys. 

eSAT surveys help gain insights into how satisfied employees are in areas like:

• job satisfaction
• work-life balance
• compensation and benefits
• career development opportunities
• relationships with colleagues and managers
• overall organizational culture

By conducting eSAT surveys, you can identify both strengths and opportunities to enhance your employees’ satisfaction and engagement levels.

How is eSAT measured?

eSAT surveys are a series of questions asking how satisfied employees are with their jobs. They can be as brief as one or two questions or have many questions covering a multitude of topics. 

Here’s an example of a simple eSAT survey from Nicereply.

eSAT surveys will often combine numerical or star ratings with written feedback, as you see above. The employee answers are then analyzed to identify trends in both happiness and dissatisfaction. 

You can use the results to develop targeted strategies and implement changes that positively impact employee satisfaction, and as a result, employee performance.

7 reasons you should be tracking eSAT

Tracking eSAT doesn’t just give you a one-sided outcome of happy employees. Satisfied employees have a clear business benefit as well. It’s a true win-win situation. 

Here are seven reasons why you should track eSAT at your company.

1. Improved employee performance

Happy and satisfied employees tend to be better performers on the job. 

By tracking eSAT, you’ll know what you need to do to increase your employees’ overall happiness. Tracking eSAT gives you a holistic view of employee well-being and job satisfaction and gives you direct feedback on what hinders productivity.

This could be anything from a lack of resources to unclear expectations to ineffective leadership. Tracking eSAT allows you to remove the roadblocks getting in the way of employee satisfaction to help you achieve your business goals.

Action is king here. And by tracking eSAT, you’ll know exactly what action you need to take.

2. Better company culture

We all want to work in an open and trusting environment. Tracking eSAT fosters open communication between management and employees. Regular surveys demonstrate that your organization values employee input and concerns and shows a willingness to take action to change things.

This builds trust, encourages transparency, and creates an environment where employees feel comfortable sharing their opinions and ideas, ultimately strengthening the overall work culture

3. Spotting problems before they become problems

Tracking employee satisfaction allows you to identify areas of improvement and address your employees’ concerns before they become larger issues. Proactively addressing the reasons behind employee dissatisfaction helps prevent them from festering and ultimately mitigates the risk of employee turnover.

However, it’s not enough to see how satisfied your employees are once, take action on what needs to be fixed, and then call your work “done.” Employee concerns can change regularly depending on where they are personally and how the company is doing. 

Spot problems before they become problems by keeping a continual pulse on eSAT. Have your employees take regular surveys, use the survey data to spot trends, and regularly check in with your team in 1 on 1’s and team meetings. 

4. Increased employee engagement

Zippia research found that 61% of American employees want to leave their current jobs in 2023. Combine that with Gallup Research showing that the percentage of employees actively engaged at work is only at 33%—lower than it was just before the Covid-19 pandemic—and it’s easy to see the correlation. 

Employees are more likely to be closed off and unengaged if they’re not satisfied at work. 

Satisfied employees, however, are more likely to feel fulfillment in their work. This sense of fulfillment fuels motivation and a deeper commitment to their work, leading to higher levels of engagement. 

Employee satisfaction and engagement are both closely related and can influence each other. But it all comes down to this: When you ask employees to weigh in on what they think of the company, they’ll feel empowered to speak up and help make change.

5. Employees stick around longer

The first four points lead to a very beneficial fifth point. Employees who are satisfied, engaged, and part of an amazing culture stick around longer. And that’s another reason why tracking eSAT is a win-win for both your employees and your business.

Gallup reports that highly engaged teams see 43% less turnover. Not only that, but higher employee retention helps save your business money as well.
According to Work Institute research, losing an employee typically costs approximately 33% of their base pay. That means if you lose an employee making $60,000 a year, it’ll cost you an additional $20,000 to replace them, or a total of $80,000. There’s no question that retaining employees saves your business money. And tracking eSAT will make it easier to do.

6. Increased CSAT and NPS scores

Satisfied employees play a key role in higher Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and Net Promoter Scores (NPS). Here’s how high eSAT leads to an increase in CSAT and NPS scores:

• Better customer interactions. Satisfied employees tend to be more engaged when speaking with customers. They’re upbeat, positive, and enthusiastic in tone, and their satisfaction leads directly to better communication skills, empathy, and a genuine desire to assist customers. 
• Increased product knowledge. Because satisfied employees are more engaged overall, they are more likely to invest the time and effort necessary to thoroughly understand your company’s products or services. This translates to providing confident and accurate customer support, which leads to higher customer satisfaction. 
• Above and beyond support. Satisfied employees are naturally motivated to go the extra mile for your customers. Their work has a sense of ownership that enables them to handle customer issues with a higher level of care, reducing customer frustration and increasing satisfaction.
• Consistent service. Satisfied employees are not only more likely to provide great service and go above and beyond. They’re also more likely to deliver service like that consistently. This dedication to always delivering exceptional service won’t go unnoticed or unappreciated by customers and it contributes to positive CSAT scores. 

7. Higher profitability

High employee satisfaction and engagement have one final benefit for your business: higher profitability. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report shows that companies with engaged workers have 23% higher profits than companies with miserable workers. 

Satisfied employees—and their increased engagement—lead directly to better customer service, higher productivity, increased customer retention, greater and better quality innovation, and reduced turnover costs. The increased cost savings and revenue translate to higher profits for your business.

There’s no downside to higher eSAT

There is no downside to higher eSAT. 

Investing in your employees’ satisfaction is a win-win for both your business and your employees. Employee satisfaction creates a path toward higher employee engagement and retention, a positive work culture, increased customer satisfaction, and greater profitability. 

To get started with eSAT, Nicereply has some great resources to help you send surveys and get the data you need to make a difference in the lives of your employees—and the success of your business.