← HR Metrics·Engagement & Retention
Survey Response Rate
Percentage of employees completing engagement surveys
How it’s computed
COUNT(responded) / COUNT(invited)
What the evidence shows
Evidence (effect sizes, priors, validity) is syncing from Principia.
What this metric can show you
Survey Response Rate can tell roughly 27 pre-built stories — each a designed scene the data either confirms or it doesn’t. Bring your numbers and the Story Finder runs every one of these shapes against them.
specific to engagement & retention
Engagement is eroding
engagement · T1
It's two companies, split by manager
leadership-quality · T1
Most are fine — a tail is struggling
engagement · T1
On this trajectory, you breach the benchmark
regretted-loss · T1
One condition is the binding constraint
cams · T1
One exit reason towers over the rest
exit-knowledge · T1
Retention is working
retention · T1
The workforce is splitting in two
engagement · T1
Top talent is quietly leaving
regretted-loss · T1
universal shapes — any single metric can take these
A few large values are doing the talking
any focus · T1
A one-time event, not a trend
any focus · T1
It doesn't track — the premise is false
any focus · T1
It's concentrated — one group stands apart
any focus · T1
Scenes are pre-built; your data is the toggle. Browse the full deck or watch one play end-to-end in The Quiet Exodus.
Run it on your data
This metric is computed in the People Analytics Toolbox on your own numbers. See pricing — posted, no quotes.
sources: toolbox:metrics-catalog
What the literature says
The measurement literature behind this signal — sourced, so you can defend it.
“If you sent the survey to 1,000 people and 700 responded, your overall response rate is 70 percent. Without getting into the nitty-gritty math of the situation, you don’t require a 95 percent response rate to have a 95 percent certainty that you know what you need to know. The…”
— People Analytics For Dummiesmatch 65%
“(This period might be increased by a few days if the mailing time—out and in—is more than two or three days.) If the individuals in the survey sample are not identified on the questionnaires, it may not be possible to remail only to non-respondents. In such a case, send your…”
— The Practice of Social Researchmatch 60%
“State the rules clearly. This isn’t a survey among parents for your child’s birthday party. This is a whole lot of working people sticking their necks out for their company — at a minimum, they should be certain that their boss or someone in HR isn’t looking at it and saying,…”
— People Analytics For Dummiesmatch 56%
Resources: People Analytics For Dummies · The Practice of Social Research