The Q 12 Index

Several years ago years ago, The Gallup Organization began creating a feedback system for employers that would identify and measure elements of worker engagement most tied to the bottom line—

sales growth, productivity, customer loyalty.

Gallup's employee engagement work is based on more than 30 years of in-depth behavioral economic research involving more than 17 million employees.

After hundreds of focus groups and thousands of interviews with employees in a variety of industries, Gallup came up with the Q12, a 12-question survey that identifies strong feelings of employee engagement.

Results from the survey show a strong correlation between high scores and superior job performance. Comparisons of engagement scores reveal that those with high Q12 scores exhibit:

lower turnover, higher sales growth, better productivity, better customer loyalty, lower accident rates,fewer personal leave and “sick” days.

The Gallup organization also uses the Q12 as a semi-annual employee

engagement Index – a random sampling of employees across thecountry. The engagement index slots people into one of three categories. • Engaged - employees work with passion and feel a profound

connection to their company. They drive innovation and move the organization forward.

• Not-Engaged - employees are essentially “checked out.” They

are sleepwalking through their workday. They are putting in time, but not enough energy or passion into their work.

• Actively Disengaged employees aren’t just unhappy at work;

they’re busy acting out their unhappiness. Every day, these workers undermine what their engaged co-workers accomplish.

The results of the latest engagement index: Engaged employees – 28 % Not-engaged employees – 54% Actively Disengaged – 17%

In other words, 71% of the workforce is either under performing oractively undermining their work.

 Actively disengaged employees erode an organization's bottom line while breaking the spirits of colleagues in the process.

Within the U.S. workforce, Gallup estimates this cost to be more than $300 billion in lost productivity alone.

Here are those 12 questions – Q12 Index: • Do you know what is expected of you at work? • Do you have the materials and equipment you need to do your work

right? • At work, do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day? • In the last seven days, have you received recognition or praise for doing

good work? • Does your supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about you as a

person? • Is there someone at work who encourages your development? • At work, do your opinions seem to count? • Does the mission/purpose of your organization make you feel your job is

important? • Are your associates (fellow employees) committed to doing quality

work? • Do you have a best friend at work? • In the last six months, has someone at work talked to you about your

progress? • In the last year, have you had opportunities at work to learn and grow?

The First ElementKnowing What’s Expected

Knowing what is expected is more than a job description.

It is a detailed understanding of how what one person is supposed to do fits in with what everyone else is supposed to do, and how those expectations change when circumstances change.

How does doing your job well increase the revenue stream into this college?

In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith describes how separating the simple industry of pin-making into several distinct jobs dramatically boosts production.

“If one man draws out the wire, another straights it, another cuts it, a fourth points it, a fifth grinds it at the top for receiving the head, and so forth, the team makes more than 200 times as many pins than if each man worked separately and independently.”

Much of an enterprise’s efficiency depends on the seamless combination of personal responsibilities.

When groups can gain on this first elements alone, productivity and customer satisfaction increase up to 10% and there are up to 20% fewer job accidents.

The Second ElementMaterials and Equipment

Of the 12 Elements, whether a person has the materials and equipment to do her/his work well is the strongest indicator of job stress. There are few things more frustrating than wanting to do a job well and be held back by inadequate resources.

When most people join an organization, they are excited and that excitement engages them in their work. The sharpest drop in engagement comes after the first six months, but the downward slope does not correlate with all 12 elements. The drop is steepest with this second element, where engagement is cut roughly in half.

In the Gallup database, less than one-third of employees report that they have the materials and equipment to do their job well.

The Third ElementThe Opportunity To Do What I Do Best

On average, a work group led by a strengths advocate is almost twice as likely to create above-average results than one led by a manager who focuses on patching up problems.

A recent study found organizations focused on maximizing the natural talents of their employees increased engagement levels by an average of 33% per year, equating to an average net gain of $5.4 million in productivity per organization over enterprises using more traditional methods.

Business units in the top quartile of Gallup’s database on the “do what I do best” statement exceed the profits of those in the bottom quarltile by an average of 10-15%.

The Fourth ElementRecognition and Praise

Neurological research tracks dopamine levels moving in minutes, not months.

The most effective way to improve the recognition of employees is to discover the forms of feedback that mean the most to them.

One on one conversations are crucial to not only identify the type of praise most important to each worker, but also to delivering it in a way that will have the most impact.

The Fifth ElementCares About Me As A Person

The teachings of Buddha emphasize “thousands of people may live in a community, but it is not one of real fellowship until they know each other and have sympathy for one another.” Every major religion has a similar principle.”

The Sixth ElementSomeone At Work Encourages My Development

Despite its importance in any part of a career, the frequency of Sixth Element connections steadily declines with age and tenure in the organization.

More than half of employees aged 18 to 24 indicate that someone at work encourages their development, but drops to one in four for employees over 55 years of age, and to one in five for workers with 10 or more years with an organization.

Nothing in the data indicates having a mentor is any less important for senior employees, yet most organizations do not look after the guidance of their most longstanding and loyal employees.

The Seventh ElementMy Opinion Seems to Count

Incorporating employee ideas pays back twice: First, the idea itself is often a good one.

Second, if the idea comes from employees themselves, it is more

likely they will be committed to its execution.

Improving the proportion of employees with high Seventh Element scores from one in five to one in three has a substantial impact on customer experience, productivity, employee retention and safety, all of which create, on average, a 6% gain in profitability.

The Eighth ElementThe Connection With the Mission

The strange thing about the Eighth Element is how extraneous it is to the job itself. The absence of many of the other elements have a direct, measurable impact on actual production. The same cannot be said for the Eighth Element which is strictly an emotional need – and a higher level need at that.

The truth is employees can’t energize themselves to do all that they can do without knowing how their jobs fit into the grand scheme of things and knowing that grand scheme has a higher purpose.

The Ninth ElementCoworkers Committed To Doing Quality Work

Few factors are more corrosive to teamwork than an employee who skates through life taking advantage of the hard work of others.

Gallup asked a random sample of U.S. workers which made the more frustrated: A coworker who tries hard but doesn’t have much ability (bungler) or a coworker who has the ability but doesn’t try (slacker).

By a margin of six to one, workers are more upset with a slacker than a bungler.

The Tenth ElementA Best Friend At Work

The Tenth Element is the strongest single predictor of job satisfaction, however friendship is not effective without the other elements, such as coworkers being committed to doing quality work or clear expectations for each member of a team.

Most of the evidence suggests that the more interconnected a group, the better they will perform routinely and under pressure.

The Eleventh ElementTalking About Progress

The Twelfth ElementOpportunities To Learn And Grow