Do you ever wonder if your employees (caregivers and office staff) are engaged and equipped to do the best job possible?  Well, ask them!

An article in the special “Build” supplement section of last month’s Inc. magazine discussed Gallup’s recent report on employee engagement and offers a quick “tool” that may help you find out how you are doing.  The article points out that accurately measuring engagement will not only allow you to assess how happy your employees are on the job, but also determine whether that overflows into the employees’ job performance.

Here are the 12 True/False questions that Gallup asked more than 25 million employees across 189 countries:

1. I know what is expected of me at work.
2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.
3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
4. In the past seven days, I have received recognition or praise for good work.
5. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
6. There is someone at work who encourages my development.
7. At work, my opinion seems to count.
8. The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.
9. My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.
10. I have a best friend at work.
11. In the past six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.
12. In the past year, I have have opportunities at work to learn and grow.

The first two criteria are critical; they address employees’ primary needs.  The others address three stages: how workers contribute to the whole and are valued; organizational fit; and development.

This is a quick and interesting way that you could poll your caregivers and employees to get a feel for how you are doing with engaging and equipping your caregivers for success, which translates to the success of your company.  Looking at the data as a whole will give you a good indication of what you are doing right and also areas where you could improve in terms of caregiver training and retention strategies.

You can read more about this topic and many others at www.inc.com and thebuildnetwork.com.

What are some ways that you assess employee engagement at your company?