Test: retaining your best employees
In their book, First break all the rules: what the world’s greatest managers do differently (1999, Simon and Schuster), authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman produce results from their study involving interviews with over 80,000 managers – the largest study of its kind ever undertaken.
In the book, the authors summarise the twelve key factors in retaining star employees. If employees can answer the below questions affirmatively, you probably have a strong and productive workplace with staff who are likely to not only stick around, but work happily and productively.
The same information can be used to promote early RTW. You can use this test to guage injured workers' attitudes and address any potential problems early on.
Take the test and see how many you or your employees answer 'yes' to:
| Do I know what is expected of me at work? | yes/no |
| Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right? | yes/no |
| At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? | yes/no |
| In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for good work? | yes/no |
| Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? | yes/no |
| Is there someone at work who encourages my development? | yes/no |
| At work, do my opinions seem to count? | yes/no |
| Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important? | yes/no |
| Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? | yes/no |
| Do I have a best friend at work? | yes/no |
| In the last six months, have I talked with someone about my progress? | yes/no |
| At work, have I had the opportunities to learn and grow? | yes/no |
How did you fare? Any questions you couldn't answer 'yes' to but wish you could? Let us know!