Employee Engagement - Twelve Questions to Measure Workforce Retention

Successful organizations need to support people in order for them to be fully committed to help execute the strategy of the organization. A healthy work environment is essential for an engaged workforce.

In my executive coaching and leadership consulting with companies and law firms and accountancy firms retaining talent is frequently a strategic imperative. Unfortunately, most of my client organizations need to do a better job of engaging their workforce. Company and firm leaders need to be more aware of why people stay and why they leave.

You may find the following questions a useful measure of how happy your people are at work.

Research by the Gallup Organization produced 12 questions which work to distinguish the strongest departments of a company. This essential measuring stick provides the link between employee opinions and productivity, profit, customer satisfaction and the rate of turnover.

1. I know what is expected of me at work.*

2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.*

3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.*

4. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for good work.

5. My supervisor or the person I report to seems to care about me as a person.*

6. There is someone at work who encourages my development.

7. In the last six months, someone at work has talked with me about my progress.*

8. At work, my opinions seem to count.                                          

9. The mission/purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.

10. My associates (fellow employees) are committed to doing quality work.

11. I have a best friend at work.

12. The last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.

These 12 questions are the simplest and most accurate way to measure the strength of a workplace.

*Further analysis revealed that five of these questions are linked to retention: numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7. When employees score high marks on these five questions; the company has a strong retention factor. As a manager, if you want to build high retention, then securing high marks to these five questions is a good place to start.

How engaged is your workforce?

Working with a seasoned executive coach trained in emotional intelligence and incorporating leadership assessments such as the BarOn EQi and CPI 260 can help you become a more inspiring leader who builds a retention culture. You can become a leader who models emotional intelligence and social intelligence, and who inspires people to become happily engaged with the strategy and vision of the company.

                                                                                                                                 © Copyright 2010 Dr. Maynard Brusman, Working Resources

Dr. Maynard Brusman
Consulting Psychologist and Executive Coach
Box 471525 San Francisco, California 94147-1525
Tel: 415-546-1252
E-mail: mbrusman@workingresources.com
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