How to Analyze Employee Performance Ratings in Engagement Survey Analytics

Overview

Every organization wants employees to perform well. But performance isn’t only about putting talented people in the right roles. It’s also shaped by the environment and culture around them. Analyzing employee engagement survey feedback by performance levels reveals valuable insights to strengthen culture, drive performance, and retain top talent.

Step 1: Upload Performance Rating Data

If performance ratings are included in your HRIS integration feed, this information automatically appears as a demographic in Quantum Workplace.
Reach out to support@quantumworkplace.com if you are interested in loading in this data and have questions or need support.

Step 2: Explore Perceptions

Before diving in, it can be helpful to identify what questions you hope to answer. For most organizations, these are often:

Does our work environment and culture enable and recognize strong employee performance?
Are top performers at risk for leaving? What factors may cause them to leave?
Is our approach to performance management effective? Do employees have clarity and receive coaching to drive their performance?

Take Action: To gain answers and insights, navigate to the Questions Report and then apply a slice to your performance rating demographic.

While analyzing all engagement survey feedback by performance level is valuable, certain questions are especially insightful in signaling where action may be needed. Let’s take a look at a few examples.

For Top Performers (i.e., your highest rated performers):

Survey Question	Why It Matters	Common Actions to Consider
I have opportunities for advancement or promotion.	Top performers often want visible career paths.	Help top performers envision their career path, learn skills, and develop as they grow their career.
My immediate manager regularly coaches me on my job performance.	Coaching top performers helps sustain high performance.	Ensure managers spend adequate time with their top performers and not just employees needing improvement.
If I contribute to the organization’s success, I know I will be recognized.	Performance impact is celebrated, reinforcing their contribution matters.	Celebrate impact through frequent, personalized recognition.
I trust this organization to be fair to all employees.	Perceived unfairness can negatively impact engagement and push top performers to seek opportunities elsewhere.	Align talent decisions and investments such as merit increases and awards to performance.
It would take a lot to get me to leave this organization.	Signals commitment and risk for turnover.	Reinforce loyalty with commensurate growth, recognition, and rewards.

For Solid Performers (i.e., employees who are meeting expectations or fall between low and top performers):

Survey Question	Why It Matters	Common Actions to Consider
My immediate manager cares about my development.	Builds motivation and capabilities to grow beyond “meets expectations.”	Give managers the tools and resources to have effective, regular development conversations with their team members.
I have opportunities to learn new skills that will help me succeed.	Learning drives improved performance and future readiness.	Help employees learn and sharpen relevant skills in the flow of their work.
I clearly understand how my performance is measured.	Without clear criteria, solid performers can’t see what it takes to reach the next level.	Share examples of high performance and clarify what distinguishes “good” from “great.”
I understand how I fit into the organization’s future plans.	Illustrates how their contributions today matter in the future.	Highlight how employees’ current work connects to future priorities and what skills or focus areas will be important to develop for the future.

For Low Performers (i.e., employees who fall below expectations or need performance coaching):

Survey Question	Why It Matters	Common Actions to Consider
My immediate manager regularly coaches me on my job performance.	Coaching is critical for performance improvement.	Ensure employees receive consistent, specific feedback and have opportunities to discuss their challenges or progress with their manager.
I clearly understand how my performance is measured.	Employees need clear expectations to know what is required to meet standards.	Increase clarity on performance expectations through clear goals, frequent feedback, and when needed, performance improvement plans.
I have the materials and equipment I need to do my job well.	Lack of resources can limit performance.	Remove barriers and ensure access to tools.
My job allows me to utilize my strengths.	Perceptions may differentiate if employees are in the wrong role or in the right role but limited by barriers such as rigid processes or rules.	Reevaluate role fit and reduce constraints that may prevent employees from applying their talents and skills.

Step 3: Gain Context from Open-Ended Comments

Analyzing open-ended comments by performance level adds context to the quantitative data, further revealing patterns that may warrant action.
Similar to the previous step, apply a slice by your performance rating demographic to view comments by rating. This step is best when you plan to read individual comments.
Additionally, you can apply a filter to zoom into a particular performance rating group. You can then use Comment Summaries or Ask AI to better understand comments from that specific population.

Here are a few common themes to look out for:

For high performers:

Stress or workload concerns (being asked to do more to make up for lower performers)
Fairness or accountability issues (frustrations if poor performance is tolerated or merit increases not being differentiated by performance level)

For low performers:

Ineffective aspects of the performance management process that might negatively impact performance (lack of coaching, clarity, or alignment with manager)
Mentions of specific barriers holding back performance, such as lacking specific training, equipment, software, etc.

For all employees:

Ideas to strengthen a healthy culture of performance, such as how to make performance conversations more effective or better align goals
Concerns such as bias or favoritism that may signal culture or legal risks

Step 4: Dive Deeper into Retention Risk

Hone in on your high-performing talent and intervene before it's too late. Here, you can see that filtering to a department shows where there's a concentration of risk and allows Roger to uncover opportunities most relevant to this group.

Strengthen your retention efforts by understanding risks within your top and solid performers. Retention Radar will provide you with real-time Flight Risk predictions and what is influencing risk.

Insights surfaced from Retention Radar can support you in Performance Review and Talent Review cycles, as well as managing Succession Planning.

Reach out to your Customer Success Manager to learn more about Retention Radar.

Step 5: Take Action and Track Impact

Analyzing employee engagement survey feedback by performance level is only valuable if it drives action. Once gaps and opportunities become clear:

Tailor strategies: Apply differentiated support for top, solid, and lower performers rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.
Align with talent priorities: Use insights to refine recognition, career pathways, performance management practices, and manager training and enablement.
Leverage technology: Use technology for employee goals, development, performance reviews, and feedback to drive employee performance and give managers the tools they need to effectively coach employees.
Track Progress: Repeating this analysis each engagement survey allows you to track progress or determine where additional or new efforts may be needed.

Connecting employee performance rating data with employee engagement survey feedback allows you to take targeted strategies that strengthen retention of top talent, keep solid performers engaged and growing, and ensure lower performers receive clarity and coaching. Over time, this builds a culture of thriving teams.