Q12: 12 Questions to Measure Employee Engagement

Is Employee Engagement important?

In a Deloitte survey asking employees about factors that would cause them to stay at or leave their current organization, 25% of the employees cited non-financial recognition from their supervisors or managers as a reason to stay. However, 20% cited the lack of this recognition as a reason to leave.

In a 2008 study by global consulting firm BlessingWhite, electronics retailer Best Buy reported that stores in which employee engagement increased by a mere tenth of a point on a five point scale typically see a $100,000 increase in sales for the year.

With all of the above being said, Yes, employee engagement is important.

Back a few years ago, The Gallup Organization created a system to measure employee engagement. As a result of multiple focus groups and interviews, Gallup developed the Q12, a 12 question survey. Each of the 12 questions is rated on a 5 point scale and falls into one of the below four categories. The Q12 database, with over 5 million responses, is perhaps one of the largest (if not the largest) employee benchmarks available.


Basic Needs: 2 questions
Management Support: 4 questions
Teamwork: 4 questions
Growth: 2 questions


Q12
1. Do you know what is expected of you at work?
2. Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work right?
3. At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?
4. In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing good work?
5. Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a person?
6. Is there someone at work who encourages your development?
7. At work, do your opinions seem to count?
8. Does the mission/purpose of your company make you feel your job is important?
9. Are your fellow employees committed to doing quality work?
10. Do you have a best friend at work?
11. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your progress?
12. In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

In closing, engaged employees feel valued and are willing to put forth their best efforts, thoughts and initiatives. Engaged employees drive performance for the company. Are your employees engaged?