How to recognize if your team is doing their best

Measuring team engagement

Hey👋, I’m Andrew from Effy AI. Welcome to the last edition of The Power of Teamwork newsletter this year. Subscribe to join 16K+ readers.

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Q: Could my team perform better?

Occasionally, every manager asks themselves if their team can improve. Sure, we all use metrics to measure productivity. However, they don’t always give you realistic insights. Goals are constantly evolving, just like the specific factors that affect progress.

A few years ago, I came across the concept of engagement. It became my North Star in helping me to understand how things are going in my team. Let’s dive into the elements that make up this concept to find out how to identify problem points within your teams and solve them efficiently.

HR science

“Employee engagement is the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals.”, says Kevin Kruse, author of Great Leaders Have No Rules. 

It’s not necessarily about employee happiness or satisfaction (as crucial as those are); instead, it’s the involvement and enthusiasm of employees towards working not just for their paycheck but also for the company’s objectives. As such, it’s strongly linked with good performance.

Image source: Gallup

As the manager, you’re responsible for 70% of the variance in team engagement. Below, you’ll find 12 essential elements of employee needs, the culmination of 80 years of Gallup research across 50 different industries, known as the Q12 engagement metric. 

We can organize them into four basic types, although an additional fifth has recently been added due to the popularity of hybrid and remote work.

1. Basic Needs: “What do I get?”

• Employees know what is expected of them. 

• They have the equipment or software necessary to do their job.

2. Individual Contribution: “What do I give?”

• Employees can focus on what they do best at work. 

• They received praise within the past week. 

• They feel liked and cared for by their supervisor, manager or colleague.

• There’s someone at work who encourages them to keep developing their skills.

3. Teamwork: “Do I belong?” 

• People feel like their opinions matter and can affect the company. 

• They recognize that their job is valuable in the organization’s strategy. 

• Their colleagues are also committed and engaged in producing quality work.

• They have at least one good friend in the workplace.

4. Growth: “How do I grow?”

• Employees always have opportunities to learn and grow at work.

• Someone talked to them about their growth and accomplishments (at least once every six months).

Bonus: Latest Q12 additions

• Employees feel they are treated with respect.

• They know that their employer cares about their well-being.

• They have received meaningful feedback within the past week.

• The company consistently delivers on the promises made to customers.

Team engagement

Did you know that 80% of employees who regularly receive meaningful feedback remain fully engaged? Yet, only about 16% of the surveyed 15,000 said their last conversation with their manager could be classified as such.

The best way to measure engagement is one-on-one meetings. According to HBR’s Steven G. Rogelberg, they help foster trust and safety while simultaneously improving employees’ engagement and motivation.

Here are some questions you can ask employees to measure their level of commitment and satisfaction based on Q12 criteria.

Basic needs

• Are you satisfied with your current work-life balance?

• Do you feel you have everything you need to perform your job as effectively as possible?

• How do you feel about your current workload and responsibilities?

Individual contribution

• What is one area of your work you would like to improve on in the upcoming months?

• Do you require any specific training or support that would make you more skilled and confident in your position?

• What is something you’ve recently done that you’re most proud of or received praise for?

Teamwork

• Do you feel comfortable sharing your ideas and opinions with your colleagues?

• Are there any conflicts within the team that need to be addressed?

• Can you give an example of one of your ideas that got implemented into a project?

Growth

• What are your short- and long-term career aspirations? How can we support you in achieving them?

• Are there any leadership or mentorship roles you would like to explore?

• Do your personal goals align with the direction the company is evolving?

Other

• In what ways can I, as your manager, better support you?

• What is your biggest motivation in your position?

• Are there any aspects of your job that you find particularly dissatisfying?

Bonus: Questions for team meetings

• Is there any equipment the company should invest in or processes that we can streamline?

• Do you have any ideas for reducing our environmental footprint or giving back to the community?

• How do you feel about the level of diversity and inclusivity within our team?

Department or company engagement

When measuring the engagement of whole teams, departments or entire organizations, it’s not always possible to perform one-on-ones with every single person. In such cases, surveys are your best friend. Yes, you can still base them on the Q12 questions.

You could also implement 360 reviews better to grasp team dynamics, performance, and improvement areas.

Conclusion

The cost of losing workers can equate to up to twice their salary, not to mention the time and effort it takes to build an efficient, tight-knit team. So my advice is – once you have it, do your best to nurture it. That means showing genuine interest and fostering honest relationships: sitting down for face-to-face talks and asking about your subordinates’ needs, expectations, and satisfaction.

Implement these four pillars of employee engagement into your next one-on-one or performance survey, and watch how your team flourishes. Just don’t forget to act on the answers you get!