Introducing the People Matter Framework: A New Standard for Employee Engagement

Why engagement matters to organisations

Employee engagement is the heartbeat of every successful organisation, yet measuring it has always been a challenge. Engaged employees are more productive, innovative, and loyal—driving better business outcomes and fostering a positive workplace culture. With no globally accepted standard and dozens of competing models, HR teams often find themselves lost in a maze of conflicting advice or cobbling together makeshift surveys. The result? Little clarity about what truly which factors truly drive engagement, and time spent reinventing the wheel; figuring out which questions to ask and the million different ways you can ask the same question!

Why we set out to create our own Framework

At Personio, we believe your people matter most. That’s why we set out to build something better—a framework that cuts through the noise and helps organisations measure what truly matters: Engagement, Retention, and Referral. Instead of relying on fragmented approaches, we wanted to offer HR teams a clear, science-based solution that links engagement directly to business outcomes.

What is the People Matter Framework, how we built it, and why it’s different

What makes the People Matter Framework unique is its comprehensive approach. We measure not just how engaged employees feel in the moment (Engagement Strength), but also the real-world outcomes of that engagement—like intent to stay and willingness to refer others. Under the surface, we dig deeper to uncover the cultural, leadership, and workplace factors that truly drive engagement. This diagnostic power means you can move beyond surface-level metrics and pinpoint the levers that will make a real difference.

Think of it like driving a car: some indicators, like your speed, change quickly; others, like your fuel efficiency, reflect long-term habits. The People Matter Framework helps you see both—the fast-changing signals and the slow-moving, meaningful trends—so you’re not just reacting to every bump in the road, but steering your organisation toward lasting health and engagement.

The People Matter Framework was built from the ground up through a rigorous, multi-step process and collaboration with internal and external experts. Our aim? To create a diagnostic tool that’s both actionable and grounded in the latest scientific research.