With the job market being a candidate’s market, many companies are grasping at straws for how to attract and retain talent. Some are redesigning office spaces to create hip lounge areas to pull workers back in, others are thinking about how many pizza parties to throw a week to keep workers happy, and some are thinking through what actually matters to employees. Now, don’t get me wrong, is the occasional free food or collaborative couch areas a perk? Sure. But what matters in the long run is engaging your employees. Many companies are trying to go to the extreme to think of tactics to get people to stay and attract new talent; however, the answer for most companies, is that we need to get back to basics.
What does “getting back to basics” mean? For those of you who know me or follow me, you know I don’t like to overcomplicate things or recreate the wheel. Over my career and research, I’ve found the most important factors of employee engagement with Gallup’s Q12© survey1. To get to the heart of what employees need and want, you’d want your employees to strongly agree with the following 12 statements:
Q01. I know what is expected of me at work.
Q02. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.
Q03. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
Q04. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
Q05. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
Q06. There is someone at work who encourages my development.
Q07. At work, my opinions seem to count.
Q08. The mission or purpose of my organization makes me feel my job is important.
Q09. My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.
Q10. I have a best friend at work.
Q11. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.
Q12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.
As you look through the list of questions, you see we start with the basics to make sure employees know their expectations, they have what they need to do their work, and they have the opportunity to do what they thrive in. These seem pretty basic, right? If they seem complicated, then take small steps and start somewhere to ensure your employees have them. They should be pretty straightforward but when I talk with employees, they say they are missing one or more of these engagement elements.
You’ll see the questions begin to build and hit on individual needs for employees such as they received recent recognition, someone at work cares about them as a person, and someone encourages their growth and development. If you are the employee, reflect on these to see if they are true for you. If you are a supervisor of someone, would your individual team members agree with them?
Continuing through the questions, you’ll start seeing teamwork elements that are critical to employee engagement as well. They are able to express opinions that count, they believe in the company’s purpose, everyone is dedicated to doing quality work, and they have a best friend at work.
There are also other growth components that employees reflect about over the past six to twelve months such as someone has talked with them about their progress, and they’ve had opportunities to learn and grow. Can you say this about yourself? Can your employees each agree with these statements?
I talk about these 12 components in many of my blogs and publications and use these as a foundation for my practice because they have proven positive results like increases in productivity, decreases in absenteeism, increases in customer loyalty, and even decreases in turnover. I challenge you to reflect on these elements by downloading my “Culture Pulse: Employee Engagement Questionnaire" here to assess where you and your organization are in your employee engagement culture journey.
Also remember, this Employee Engagement and Leadership work takes time. It’s all about being aware, learning what you need to do, and taking small steps every day to reach your vision! I’m here to help you with this journey, please reach out to chat!
I look forward to providing monthly pulse points to help you stay up to date with how the workplace culture scene is evolving.
Jaclyn Badeau is the Founder and President of Badeau Consulting. She specializes in employee engagement initiatives that help companies inspire confidence back into their team for innovation and growth. Jaclyn’s background in cultivating high performing teams, delivering coaching and mentoring, serving as a global business risk advisor, and facilitating internal and external leadership training to a global workforce gives her the unique perspective of what employees need and what works. She is also a multi award recipient and passionate about sharing her expertise and knowledge in volunteer advisory and leadership positions roles for many associations and not-for-profits.
About Pulse Point
Pulse Point is a monthly blog to stay up to date with how the workplace culture scene is evolving.
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