Comments on: Evolution of Engagement – Part I http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/ We put the Talent in Applications Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:24:30 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU By: Peter Hutton http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-368 Peter Hutton Thu, 22 May 2008 16:22:53 +0000 http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-368 Thanks Meg Actually, I am not starting from a point of being skeptical about measurement. Indeed, I have spent most of my career as a researcher and even wrote a book about using surveys in management some years ago. What amazes me is the sheer audacity of the ‘G12’ approach when, it seems to me, there is precious little to support the claims being made for the questions Gallup uses in its surveys. Moreover, most of the types of questions that should be asked in order to understand ‘employee engagement’, (or simply how to manage your business more effectively), are just left out! Perhaps the worst thing about them is that, whatever the answers, they are virtually inactionable – they might suggest that you have some kind of problem in a general area but do not provide you with anything specific that management can address. Regards Peter Thanks Meg

Actually, I am not starting from a point of being skeptical about measurement. Indeed, I have spent most of my career as a researcher and even wrote a book about using surveys in management some years ago.

What amazes me is the sheer audacity of the ‘G12’ approach when, it seems to me, there is precious little to support the claims being made for the questions Gallup uses in its surveys.

Moreover, most of the types of questions that should be asked in order to understand ‘employee engagement’, (or simply how to manage your business more effectively), are just left out!

Perhaps the worst thing about them is that, whatever the answers, they are virtually inactionable – they might suggest that you have some kind of problem in a general area but do not provide you with anything specific that management can address.

Regards
Peter

]]> By: Meg Bear http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-361 Meg Bear Wed, 21 May 2008 20:44:13 +0000 http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-361 @Peter, I do not think you are alone in your [justified] skepticism. I guess I look at it a bit broader. This survey is not going to in itself make you more competitive BUT understanding how people feel about your company as a starting point. I think Mark covered a lot of the next steps of what to do with this information in this post => http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2008/02/12/yes-we-are-all-individuals/ @Peter, I do not think you are alone in your [justified] skepticism. I guess I look at it a bit broader. This survey is not going to in itself make you more competitive BUT understanding how people feel about your company as a starting point. I think Mark covered a lot of the next steps of what to do with this information in this post => http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2008/02/12/yes-we-are-all-individuals/

]]> By: Peter Hutton http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-359 Peter Hutton Wed, 21 May 2008 09:38:36 +0000 http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-359 I have a number of problems with the Gallup G12 measures. I wonder if others share my concerns. Its measures consist solely of 12 attitude statements measured on a five-point agree/disagree ‘Likert Scale’ plus a job satisfaction scale question. My concerns are: 1. They only measure attitudes, not for example, behaviours, motivations, or knowledge that are equally important for understanding employee engagement. 2. They only measure attitudes using an agree/disagree scale which for many kinds of attitudes is a very inappropriate way of measuring them. 3. They claim to have boiled down ‘millions of questions’ to just 12 key ones, but the criteria for inclusion guarantees, in my view, that many potentially highly important measures are excluded. 4. The empirical justification for using these twelve statements, as outlined in the book ‘First, break all the rules’, is extremely weak and based on levels of correlation with company performance measures that are so low that no serious statistician would accept them as proof of evident correlation 5. They imply that high scores on their measures will result in outstanding commercial performance yet, even if the correlations were strong, the direction of causality, if it exists, is, in my view, most likely to be the other way round - positive attitudes resulting from good commercial performance and all the rewards that go with it rather than the other way round. Am I a lone voice in my scepticism? I have a number of problems with the Gallup G12 measures. I wonder if others share my concerns. Its measures consist solely of 12 attitude statements measured on a five-point agree/disagree ‘Likert Scale’ plus a job satisfaction scale question. My concerns are:
1. They only measure attitudes, not for example, behaviours, motivations, or knowledge that are equally important for understanding employee engagement.
2. They only measure attitudes using an agree/disagree scale which for many kinds of attitudes is a very inappropriate way of measuring them.
3. They claim to have boiled down ‘millions of questions’ to just 12 key ones, but the criteria for inclusion guarantees, in my view, that many potentially highly important measures are excluded.
4. The empirical justification for using these twelve statements, as outlined in the book ‘First, break all the rules’, is extremely weak and based on levels of correlation with company performance measures that are so low that no serious statistician would accept them as proof of evident correlation
5. They imply that high scores on their measures will result in outstanding commercial performance yet, even if the correlations were strong, the direction of causality, if it exists, is, in my view, most likely to be the other way round - positive attitudes resulting from good commercial performance and all the rewards that go with it rather than the other way round.

Am I a lone voice in my scepticism?

]]> By: Quality Hire? Why not just Ask? « TalentedApps http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-161 Quality Hire? Why not just Ask? « TalentedApps Wed, 05 Mar 2008 17:05:06 +0000 http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-161 [...] by Amy on March 5, 2008 As we learned in 12: The Elements of Great Managing, if you ask the right questions, you can learn an awful lot [...] [...] by Amy on March 5, 2008 As we learned in 12: The Elements of Great Managing, if you ask the right questions, you can learn an awful lot [...]

]]> By: Evolution of Engagement - Part II « TalentedApps http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-91 Evolution of Engagement - Part II « TalentedApps Mon, 21 Jan 2008 19:40:36 +0000 http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-91 [...] last the guilt of posting a part I and no part II has overwhelmed me.  And really, if you don’t count Christmas and New [...] [...] last the guilt of posting a part I and no part II has overwhelmed me.  And really, if you don’t count Christmas and New [...]

]]> By: If you love someone set them free « TalentedApps http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-85 If you love someone set them free « TalentedApps Wed, 16 Jan 2008 03:40:46 +0000 http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-85 [...] based on growing their people you are probably going to have limited success in driving the kind of employee engagement that we have been talking about here at [...] [...] based on growing their people you are probably going to have limited success in driving the kind of employee engagement that we have been talking about here at [...]

]]> By: The value of teams « TalentedApps http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-15 The value of teams « TalentedApps Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:53:22 +0000 http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-15 [...] for pointing me to this article that suggests that in Asia the team might be the biggest factor in engagement (see, I told you I’d attempt to bring this to a [...] [...] for pointing me to this article that suggests that in Asia the team might be the biggest factor in engagement (see, I told you I’d attempt to bring this to a [...]

]]> By: Is Employee Engagement a managers job? « TalentedApps http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-5 Is Employee Engagement a managers job? « TalentedApps Wed, 05 Dec 2007 01:21:56 +0000 http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-5 [...] Employee Engagement a managers job? We’ve been talking about Employee Engagement for some time.  How do we engage people, why do we need to engage people – all that touchy/feely [...] [...] Employee Engagement a managers job? We’ve been talking about Employee Engagement for some time.  How do we engage people, why do we need to engage people – all that touchy/feely [...]

]]> By: Managers, the weak link of a talent strategy « TalentedApps http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-4 Managers, the weak link of a talent strategy « TalentedApps Wed, 28 Nov 2007 22:22:56 +0000 http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/evolution-of-engagement-%e2%80%93-part-i/#comment-4 [...] TalentedApps We put the Talent in Applications « Evolution of Engagement – Part I [...] [...] TalentedApps We put the Talent in Applications « Evolution of Engagement – Part I [...]

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