Spotting the Warning Signs Earlier: How Employee Engagement Data Can Reduce Attrition

Why Measuring Employee Engagement Is Important

Employee engagement is one of the strongest predictors of whether people will stay or go. Measuring it gives leaders visibility into where people are happy, and where there is friction. Regular pulse checks are important where action is needed before resignations begin.

But engagement scores alone only show the what's going on; they tell you that something is wrong, not why. Without understanding the emotions behind the numbers, leaders are left guessing where to act.

By measuring how people feel, not just how engaged they say they are, Inpulse can uncover the emotions driving satisfaction or dissatisfaction. Whether employees feel valued, anxious, or overlooked, those emotional insights reveal the real causes of disengagement and help leaders take meaningful, targeted action to reduce attrition.

The Cost of Ignoring Early Signals

When feedback about workload, recognition, or growth is overlooked, frustration builds and trust erodes. Over time, people disengage, performance dips, and departures begin.

The financial impact is significant. According to CIPD, replacing an employee costs an average of £25,000 in recruitment, training, and lost productivity, rising to over £100,000 for senior roles (ACAS). But the real cost is cultural: each resignation drains experience, weakens morale, and increases pressure on those who stay.

Why People Leave, and How Engagement Data Reveals It

Inpulse data from the past two years mirrors national trends. Among employees planning to leave within 12 months, the top drivers were:

• Career Opportunities (35%)
  Limited paths for advancement, inconsistent manager support, and a perception that promotions depend on popularity rather than performance.
• Reward (28%)
  Pay and benefits lagging behind growing workloads and responsibilities.
• Recognition (27%)
  A lack of meaningful acknowledgment from leaders, leaving people feeling unseen and undervalued.
• Workload (24%)
  Unsustainable demands causing stress, fatigue, and poor work-life balance.

These themes are measurable through engagement surveys, often surfacing months before attrition spikes.

The Question That Predicts Retention

To uncover risk early, go beyond satisfaction scores. Ask forward-looking questions which can be used as conversation starters such as:

“I can see myself working here in 12 months’ time.”

Follow this with a branching question that asks why they might leave. Analysing the responses by team, role, or demographic helps reveal where and why flight risk is emerging.

It is equally important to track the “neutral” population. We call this population 'conflicted'. They have potential to be swayed into the positive population, but could easily swing into negative. These are people who say, “I enjoy working here, but…”
That “but” often contains the earliest signs of disengagement.

Connecting the Dots

Engagement data becomes powerful when viewed as a continuous story, not a snapshot.
By combining regular pulse results with exit survey data, you can see not only who leaves, but why, allowing for proactive, targeted action.

When engagement dips, recognition falls, or confidence in leadership drops, it’s rarely isolated. Those trends signal where people need more clarity, feedback, or support. Addressing them early builds trust and shows employees their feedback leads to change.

The Manager Effect

Managers are the most influential factor in retention. Research shows 70% of the variance in engagement can be attributed to the manager, and Inpulse data reveals that strong leadership capability can boost engagement by more than 40%.

When managers act on feedback, show appreciation, and support development, they create the connection and purpose that keep people committed.

Final Thoughts

Our Inpulse employee engagement surveys aren’t just diagnostic tools; they’re predictive ones. By listening continuously and responding quickly, organisations can spot warning signs long before people start updating their CVs.

Ultimately, reducing attrition starts with understanding emotion, how people feel about their work, their leaders, and their future. When engagement data drives early action, it doesn’t just save costs... it builds loyalty, trust, and a culture people want to stay part of.

Ask yourself this, what’s really more expensive: investing in understanding your people's emotion, or replacing the people who’ve lost faith in you?

Need help understanding your people? Book a demo so we can show you how we've successfully helped HR leaders and managers transform their organisations.