Happiness Index
Our Happiness Index is a critical tool we use to measure the experiences and sentiment of our employees. Through this annual study we gain a broad view of the health of our organisation as well as insight into how employees relate to Etsy’s mission, to our values and to each other.
What we measure
Just as our employees have grown and developed over time, so have the tools we use to measure their feedback. In 2012, we first examined the individual well-being of our employees by using the PERMA framework, developed in conjunction with the Centre for Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. The following year, we looked at our employees’ connections to one another, their sense of belonging, their sense of community and their level of connectedness to coworkers, managers and senior leadership. In 2014, we also explored how employees relate to Etsy as an institution.
In 2015, we took a deeper look at our institutional health and well-being. This year, our Happiness Index focused on employee engagement, which we defined as the level of commitment, motivation and connection employees feel at Etsy. We hypothesized that a happy employee is someone who feels excited by their work, proud of the company’s decisions, connected to the mission, aligned with our values and supported by their colleagues. We measured engagement against company operations, work/life balance and company culture.
Our partner, Culture Amp, conducted the survey to ensure confidentiality. To further protect respondents’ anonymity, we never share data for questions where the sample size was less than four.
Putting these findings to work
All managers receive detailed reports of their team’s responses. They develop action plans to address needs or challenges that are surfaced in the feedback. We also share the company-wide results of our survey with all employees because we recognise that company culture is built by every employee, in every department, at every level of the organisation.
2015 Happiness Survey results
2015 marked our fourth annual Happiness Index survey. The results show that as a whole our employees feel strongly committed, motivated and connected to Etsy.
Response rate
Eighty seven percent of employees worldwide responded, which is outstanding considering most companies hover between 30%–40% on average (People Pulse, Survey Response Rates)
Engagement
Our key outcome measure in the 2015 survey is employee engagement. Employee engagement is linked to high performance, retention, innovation and growth. We define engagement as the level of commitment, motivation and connection employees feel at Etsy.
Our overall engagement score is 77% positive, which is exceptionally high compared to other companies across industries. According to research by Gallup, only 13% of employees at companies worldwide are engaged in their jobs (Gallup Research, 2015. 40 Organisations leading the World in Employee Engagement). When benchmarked against similar companies in the technical space, Etsy’s engagement score is just above the average response rate. Not only are employees highly engaged compared to any industry, they are also in the top percentile of their peers.
Engagement drivers
To understand what is shaping the experiences of our employees, we looked at the factors that were highly correlated to our engagement responses. The five areas that have the biggest impact on our employees are connectedness, values alignment, Etsy’s leadership, employee learning and development, and involvement with decision making and goal setting.
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Connectedness
This measures employees’ sense of connection to each other, inclusion in the organisation, and trust in one another and the company. -
Values alignment
This measures employees’ personal investment in Etsy’s mission and values, and an understanding of how their work contributes to a greater purpose. -
Leadership
This measurement represents confidence that Etsy has effective and inspiring leaders who communicate well and recognise the importance of people in the journey. -
Learning and development
This is a measurement of the available opportunities to learn new skills and grow professionally at Etsy. - Alignment and involvement
This measures how well employees understand their responsibilities and the way in which their work contributes to the greater goals of the company. It also determines if employees understand how to be successful within their role and whether they think they are compensated appropriately.
A deeper look at happiness and culture at Etsy
Our connectedness score is 86% positive. Connectedness is a measure of employees’ sense of connection to each other, inclusion in the organisation and trust in, one another and the company. It is a slice of the interpersonal aspects of culture at Etsy. Is Etsy an inclusive environment? Do we express gratitude towards each other? Do we learn from our mistakes or do we assign blame? Can we be open and honest with our colleagues? This helps us know if we are fostering an environment where you can bring your whole self to work.
Our values alignment score is 88% positive. Values alignment is a measure of employees’ personal investment in Etsy’s mission and values, and an understanding of how their work contributes to a greater purpose. Do we understand the mission? Do the company’s values align with our personal ones? Similarly, we scored 90% positive in the social impact factor. Social impact is the measure of employees’ belief in their ability to positively impact communities outside of Etsy, and whether they believe Etsy is genuinely committed to using the power of business to create social good.
We scored 82% positive in work - life balance. This data point signifies to us that we’re cultivating a culture that encourages people to take time to be themselves -- whether they’re parents, artists, cyclists, chess enthusiasts or even successful Etsy sellers! We are a learning organisation that invests in each employee. We have dynamic programmes that build knowledge, share skills and encourage innovation. If we want these programmes to be impactful, we must also give employees the time and space to fully engage. Building in flexibility and capacity to pursue professional and personal goals is vital to building a successful learning organisation.
Spotlight: Parker Gard | Old Ware House | Booklyn, NY
Etsy Seller Development Specialist Parker Gard describes himself as a lifelong tinkerer. 'Since childhood, I’ve had a reputation for taking things apart to see how they were made, or upcycling broken doodads', he says. In 2013, after growing frustrated with his search for the perfect wallet, Parker decided to take matters into his own hands. 'I had an idea for a design I wanted to try myself, so I bought the bare minimum essentials I would need to start my novice journey into leather working, and I went to it!' When the product of his tinkering began attracting attention from friends, Parker opened Old Ware House on Etsy to share his line of leather accessories with the world. Parker brings his experience as a seller to bear at his day job on Etsy’s Seller Development team. 'I've been so lucky now to spend so much face-to-face time with sellers around the world, hearing about their processes and the stories behind their businesses, their struggles and their triumphs. And that stuff — that personal connection —is what stays with me and informs my work here.'