#1 priority for leaders - Why wellbeing, job satisfaction, and engagement are indicators of company success

The people make up the organization. They are either fit or failing. They are either passionate or half-hearted. They are either proactive or reactive. The culture of the organization determines how good the output will be, how happy the customers are, and how open people are to challenges, crises, and visions of the future.
12 universal and actually pretty simple action items determine the engagement and ultimate energy for innovation and customer orientation. As a leader this is your encourage agenda. But be careful - ironically many executives actually are doing exactly the opposite. These should be your starting points:

• Expectations are clearly communicated.
• Needed materials and equipment are provided.
• The work gives opportunity to do what the person can do best.
• Good work is being recognized.
• There is someone at work who cares about the employee.
• There is someone at work who encourages individual development.
• Opinions count - people listen and consider each other's thoughts.
• The work makes a clear contribution to the business purpose and mission.
• Associates are committed to quality.
• There is a best friend at work.
• Progress is being discussed, feedback is being given.
• There are opportunities to learn and grow.

The Gallup organization is a world leader in organizational engagement surveys. They repeatedly find that it is the executives have the biggest impact on the well-being and attitudes of the workforce. A good corporate climate and commitment, in turn, are clearly and strongly related to organizational success factors (e.g. customer satisfaction, sales revenue, quality, productivity, well-being and absenteeism, shrinkage and theft, turnover). The latest Q12 study summarizes 456 research results from 96 countries and 54 industries. A total of data from more than 110,000 teams or departments with almost 3 million people were evaluated. You can find the summary report here: Gallup meta-analysis