Measuring Employee Engagement

Understanding the link between engagement and performance

Employee Engagement and Gallup’s Q12

Business researchers at Gallup have identified 12 questions measuring the effect of employee engagement, including such issues as retention, productivity, profitability, customer engagement and safety. These questions, known as the Q12, measure those dimensions that leaders, managers, and employees can influence. The questions are based on hundreds of interviews and focus groups conducted by Gallup, involving many thousands of workers in all kinds of organisations, at all levels, across a broad industries and countries.

From their research, Gallup identified 12 employee expectations from many potential variables that, when satisfied, form the foundation of strong feelings of engagement. When completing the survey employees are asked to rate their response to each question on a scale of 1 to 5.

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 associates (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?

Gallup believes there is a strong correlation between high survey scores and employees’ performance. This, in turn, is linked to business outcomes. So, by addressing the issues that increase worker engagement employers are able to generate higher profits. Gallup’s method differs from other correlation studies by creating a methodology that bridges the ‘soft’ values pertaining to morale and employee engagement (such as recognition and desire to contribute) with ‘hard’ outcomes that are more easily measured.