Only 40% Of Employees Are Owners

The rest are renters or squatters.

Are you engaged? I mean to your job, not to someone else.

Employee engagement refers to the bond employees have with their organizations and the amount of connectivity they have with their organizations' missions. Current thought is that employee engagement is a greater indicator of productivity than employee satisfaction. When employees really care about the business, they're more likely to go the extra mile. Numerous studies show that employee engagement is correlated to a company's bottom-line success.

http://www.cunahrtdcouncil.org/news/422.html

In the late 90's the Gallop Organization developed the Q12, a tool for measuring employee engagement. Those who score high on the survey instrument are more engaged and their employers benefit with hgher profits and market shares.

Here are the questions.

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 company 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?

http://www.workforce.com/section/hr-management/article/12-questions-measure-employee-engagement.html

After administering this test to thousands of employees, Gallop found that only 40% of employees are engaged. The rest , in the best case, show up and do their job, while in the worst case, 15% are disengaged and sabotage the organization or create problems. As you know, misery loves company.

 The questions concern having the tools and authority to do your job, getting honest feedback, feeling appreciated, and having a learning and growth plan.

Whether you are the employer or the employee, the Q12 can help you pinpoint holes in how you are treated or how you treat your employees. The sooner you identify gaps and fix them the better. Disengagement is contagious and most antibiotics no longer work.

Comments

[Jeffrey N. Hausfeld M.D., M.B.A.]

Arlen,
You are definitely correct in assessing the degree to which your employees are engaged at work. It is, however, much more difficult to achieve this in a medical setting vs. a business environment. The stakes will always be higher when dealing with people's lives, rather than their poketbooks. As long as we continue in the present litigious climate, it is challenging to break the cycle of blame and nurture a culture of learning. It does not give us the excuse that we sould stop trying, just realizing our limitations and recognizing that the "Captain of the ship" is only as good as his/her first mate!
Jeff