People Engagement Index
Introduction
The People Engagement Index is UNDP's primary measure of organizational health and employee satisfaction. It provides a holistic view of how employees perceive their workplace experience across two critical dimensions: engagement and inclusion. This comprehensive metric helps UNDP leadership understand the overall state of the workforce and identify areas for improvement.
The index is derived from data collected through the Glint platform, which administers completely anonymous surveys to ensure honest and unbiased feedback from employees. The anonymity is crucial for capturing authentic sentiments about workplace dynamics, leadership effectiveness, and organizational culture.
Organizational Objective
The organizational objective is to achieve and maintain a People Engagement Index score of 80 or higher across all business units. This target reflects UNDP's commitment to fostering an engaged, inclusive, and high-performing workplace where all employees can thrive and contribute effectively to the organization's mission.
Data
Data Collection
The People Engagement Index data is collected through comprehensive surveys administered via the Glint platform:
Frequency: Surveys are conducted biannually (March and September)
Anonymity: All responses are completely anonymous to ensure honest feedback
Aggregation: Data is aggregated at various organizational levels to protect individual privacy
Response Rate: Tracked separately as a key metric for data validity
Data Structure
The data structure includes:
Business unit identifiers and organizational hierarchy
Individual metric scores for each component
Response rates and participation metrics
Historical trend data for year-over-year comparisons
Gender disaggregated data (where statistically significant)
Data Availability
Due to the sensitive nature of employee feedback, raw survey data is not available in the UNDP Data Warehouse. Instead, aggregated scores are provided at the following levels:
Global/Organization-wide
Bureau level
Country Office level
Department/Unit level (where sample size permits)
Components and Calculation
Overall People Engagement Index Calculation
People Engagement Index = (Engagement Index × 0.5) + (Inclusion Index × 0.5)1. Engagement Index (50% weight)
The Engagement Index comprises 25 key metrics that measure various aspects of employee engagement:
Core Engagement Metrics:
Growth: Opportunities for learning and development
Intent to Stay: Commitment to remain with UNDP
Care: Feeling cared about as a person
Leadership: Confidence in leadership team
Contribution Success: Understanding of individual contribution to UNDP's success
Continuous Improvement: Perception of organizational improvement
Follow Through: Leadership commitment delivery
Resources: Availability of necessary resources
Team Satisfaction: Satisfaction with work team
Belonging: Sense of belonging at UNDP
Team Communication: Open and honest team communication
Organizational Communication: Effectiveness of organizational communication
Purpose: Meaningfulness of work
Empowerment: Decision-making authority
Accountability: Work accountability standards
Pride: Pride in working at UNDP
Strategy: Understanding of organizational strategy
Workload: Manageability of workload
Team Goals: Clarity of team objectives
Fair Evaluation: Fairness of performance evaluation
Recognition: Satisfaction with recognition received
Action Taking: Belief in survey follow-up actions
Role Model: Leadership by example
Initiative: Encouragement for innovation
Respectful Treatment: Treatment with respect and dignity
Each metric is scored on a 0-100 scale, and the Engagement Index is calculated as the average of all 25 metrics.
2. Inclusion Index (50% weight)
The Inclusion Index comprises 9 key metrics that measure workplace inclusivity:
Core Inclusion Metrics:
Psychological Safety: Ability to express thoughts without fear
Trust: Trust among team members
Opinions Heard: Feeling that opinions are valued
Camaraderie: Quality of working relationships
Valued Teammate: Feeling valued as a team member
Challenge Status Quo: Freedom to challenge existing practices
Connection: Connection to colleagues
Respectful Team: Respectful treatment within team
Constructive Conversations: Ability to have difficult conversations constructively
Each metric is scored on a 0-100 scale, and the Inclusion Index is calculated as the average of all 9 metrics.
3. Well-being Index (Not included in overall score)
While not part of the People Engagement Index calculation, the Well-being Index is tracked as a supplementary metric with 5 components:
Care: Feeling cared about as a person
Belonging: Sense of belonging
Workload: Manageability of workload
Respectful Treatment: Treatment with respect and dignity
Recognition: Satisfaction with recognition
Response Rate Tracking
Response rate is a critical factor in ensuring data validity and is tracked separately:
Response Rate Calculation
Response Rate = (Number of Responses / Total Invited) × 100Response Rate Benchmarks
Excellent: >75%
Good: 60-75%
Adequate: 50-60%
Poor: <50%
Year-over-Year Comparison
Response rate trends are monitored to ensure:
Consistent or improving participation
Statistical validity of results
Representative sample of the workforce
Gender Difference Analysis
Each metric includes gender difference analysis where statistically significant:
Format: Deviation from organizational average by gender
Reporting: F: +/- X / M: +/- Y
Significance: Only reported where sample size permits meaningful analysis
Purpose: Identify potential gender-based disparities in workplace experience
Traffic Light System
The People Engagement Index uses the following traffic light system:
Green
≥80
Target achieved - Strong engagement and inclusion
Yellow
65-79
Requires attention - Moderate engagement/inclusion
Red
<65
Critical - Immediate intervention needed
Component-Level Traffic Lights
Individual components (Engagement and Inclusion) use the same thresholds:
Engagement Index
≥80
65-79
<65
Inclusion Index
≥80
65-79
<65
Bureau and Country Office Calculations
For bureau-level and country office aggregations:
Individual office scores are weighted by the number of survey respondents
Bureau averages are calculated using weighted averages of constituent offices
Minimum response rate thresholds apply for inclusion in aggregated scores
Limitations and Considerations
Current Limitations
Survey fatigue may impact response rates over time
Cultural differences may influence interpretation of survey questions
Aggregation may mask variations within large units
Time lag between survey administration and action implementation
Data Privacy Considerations
Individual responses are never accessible
Small units (n<10) may have results suppressed to protect anonymity
Gender disaggregation only shown where statistically significant
Future Improvements
Planned Enhancements
Integration with real-time pulse surveys for more frequent monitoring
Advanced analytics for predictive insights on engagement trends
Correlation analysis with other performance indicators
Enhanced action planning tools based on survey results
Under Consideration
Expansion of Well-being Index weight in overall calculation
Addition of new metrics based on evolving workplace priorities
Integration with exit interview data for validation
Machine learning models for identifying engagement drivers
Useful Links and Resources
Glint Platform: Access the survey platform (requires UNDP credentials)
Survey Schedule: Biannual surveys conducted in March and September
Support Contact: For questions about the survey or results, contact the People Analytics team
Action Planning Resources: Templates and guides available on the HR Portal
Best Practices: Review successful engagement initiatives from other UN agencies
Related Indicators
Engagement Index - Detailed breakdown of the Engagement component
Well-being Index - Supplementary well-being metrics
Gender Parity - Gender representation metrics
Turnover Rate - Employee retention metrics
Vacancy Rate - Position fill rate metrics
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