How to measure belonging without another survey
Engagement surveys arrive a few times a year and many people skip them. Signals from everyday behavior give HR a steadier read, as long as you treat them as signals and not verdicts.
The trouble with surveys alone
Surveys measure what people say on one day. Response rates dip, answers lean toward what is safe, and results arrive weeks after the moment that mattered. They are useful. They are just slow and thin on their own.
Signals that show up in everyday behavior
- Connections made. How many coworkers a person has actually met, counted two ways.
- Participation. The share of people who recorded an intro or answered a prompt.
- Spread. Whether attention goes to a few people or is shared across the company.
- Retention by hire cohort. Whether people who joined in the same month are still around at 90 days.
Mucho Gusto's Connection Score combines the first three, weighted 40%, 35% and 25%, and the weights and definitions are published on the methodology page.
Read them as signals
A low number is a reason to look, not a conclusion. A quiet team may be heads-down on a deadline. A high number can hide a clique. Pair signals with conversation, and compare a team against its own past before comparing it against others.
Keep privacy in view
People should know what is measured. Prefer team-level views over individual rankings when the goal is understanding, and keep individual views for the managers who can act on them kindly.
Put it into a routine
Check the same few signals monthly. Ask managers to follow up with two people who look disconnected. Revisit after a quarter and see whether the signals and the conversations are moving in the same direction.