Some Questions to Begin a "Morale Self-Assessment"
First: A classic measure of employee engagement. The Gallup Organization’s 12 Questions (Q12):
- 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?
Second: A look at the emotional climate or morale in your work unit or organization:
- Do staff meetings turn into griping and complaining sessions on a regular basis?
- Is talking about other people in the organization a common practice?
- Do staff members talk about needing to take “mental health days”?
- In staff offices/cubicles are personal items welcoming or edgy? (Edgy might be a sign that says: “Everybody is welcome here, some when they arrive, others when they leave.”)
- Do staff nod and agree to plans in meetings and never quite get around to implementing them?
- What is the general first reaction to a new idea?
- “We can’t do that because . . . . “
- “Where would we ever find time to do that?”
- “That’s interesting. It has some wrinkles but I bet we can work them out.”
- “Wow, that has real possibilities. Let’s make it work.”
Take a look at your first response answers to see what patterns emerge about your own engagement and morale, and the engagement and morale at your organization.
Lee Ann Slayton
President, Slayton Consulting, LLC