The Motivating Workplace Environment...

Over 25 years, the Gallup Organization has surveyed over 1,000,000 employees to discover what employees felt were the important elements needed to attract, focus and keep the most talented staff. In their book “First Break all the Rules,” Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman tell how the Gallup Organization found that measuring the strength of a workplace can be simplified into twelve questions. While they don’t capture everything, they do capture the most important information you want to know about hiring, retaining and training staff.

What employees want to know...

(1.) Do I know what is expected of me at work?
(2.) Do I have the resources I need to do my work correctly?
(3.) At work, do I have the opportunity to do my best every day?
(4.) In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for good work?
(5.) Does my manager, or someone at work, care about me as a person?
(6.) Is there someone at work that encourages my development?
(7.) At work, do my opinions seem to count?
(8.) Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important?
(9.) Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
(10.) Do I have a best friend at work?
(11.) In the last six months have I talked with someone about my progress?
(12.) At work, have I had the opportunities to learn and grow?,br>

These twelve questions measure the strength of the workplace to retain and encourage top people. Each one is linked to four business outcomes. Productivity, Profitability, Retention and Customer Satisfaction… As a manager you can build a strong productive workplace based simply on these questions.

Source: First Break All The Rules. What the world’s greatest managers do differently. Authors, Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman, Publisher, Pocket Books. Available at Amazon.com.