Twelve Ways to Engage and Retain Talented People

It’s been 25 years since First Break All the Rules sat atop the business bestseller list. Its guidance on employee engagement and retention is a necessity as we move into 2025.

In First, Break All the Rules, the best-selling book chronicling two landmark Gallup Organization studies on the workplace, authors Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman developed twelve questions to predict the likelihood of someone staying with or leaving his or her employer.  These twelve predictive questions were the result of over 100 million interview questions studied by Gallup.  In the years following their appearance in First, Break All the Rules, the Gallup organization regularly reports on employee engagement using the twelve predictive questions in its Employee Engagement guidance. 

Why the Twelve Predictive Questions Will Rule in 2025

Five years ago, the economy was roaring along with most business indicators pointing up. Employment was high, career advancement was rapid, and it seemed like the boom would last forever.  Then in early 2020 COVID-19 happened, and we learned to shelter in place, work from home, eliminate family gatherings, and wear masks all the time.  Millions of jobs were lost, the economy tanked, and when employers transitioned to virtual work, it took us almost three years to see a return to normalcy.

Do you know what has been on the rise for the past 3 months?  Voluntary employee turnover (people quitting). Right now, it appears that the average time an employee stays in a job is 32 months or so.

According to a variety of studies the true cost of employee turnover is much higher than most people believe.  Gomada estimates it to range between 50% and 200% of the replaced employee’s salary.  The Society for Human Resources (SHRM) says the real cost is three to four times the open position’s salary.   Clearly, employers are racing to find ways to retain their talented people.

What the Twelve Predictive Questions Predict

Let’s take a closer look at each question and why it is an excellent predictor of both employee engagement and retention.

1.     Do I know what is expected of me at work?  People who have crystal clarity in what is expected of them don’t need to waste time and energy doing things that aren’t part of their expectations.  Clear expectations raise the likelihood of success, which results in improved opportunities for recognition, advancement, and compensation increases.

2.     Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?  Having the right equipment and materials to do a great job again increases the likelihood of success, plus it means getting the job done sooner and more efficiently, with work quality in which one can take pride.

3.     At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day?  Each person is uniquely gifted with knowledge, skills, and talents.  When someone’s work is a match for their knowledge, skills, and talents, strong results follow.

4.     In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?  Without recognition, most people are left to guess whether or not they are doing well.  With regular recognition, most people are encouraged to continue performing at high standards. 

5.     Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person?  We spend most of our adult waking hours working, so working with caring people gives us a sense of community and family.  This is essential if we are to take on the challenges of work in today’s fast-paced and ever-changing workplace.

6.     Is there someone at work who encourages my development?  People want to work in a nurturing environment that encourages their development, rather than retards or prohibits it. 

7.     At work, do my opinions seem to count?  Supervisors who take the time to get the opinions and views of their direct reports often discover things they didn’t know, which improves their decision making.  When employees are sought out for their opinions, they feel valued. 

8.     Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?  People want to do meaningful work and make a difference.  When they see how what they do makes a difference for their employer and for customers, their self-worth is raised. 

9.     Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?  Nobody wants to work on a losing team.  In fact, strong performers resent that weak performers hold back the team.  If this is not addressed, strong performers move on while the weak ones stay.

10.    Do I have a best friend at work?  Since people spend so much of their adult life at work, having a friend on the job makes people look forward to coming in and spending time at work with their friend.

11.    In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?  People want to feel as if they are making progress in the eyes of their supervisor.  Effective supervisors recognize this and don’t wait to be asked to spend time with an employee to discuss his or her progress. 

12.    This last year, have I had opportunities at work to learn and grow?  Study after study shows that one of the primary drivers of turnover is that an employee wants to learn, and if he or she is not getting that at their current employer, they will seek continued learning opportunities elsewhere. 

Using the Twelve Predictive Questions

Instructions and scoring.

Use the twelve predictive questions as an assessment to evaluate workplace satisfaction once someone has completed their first six months on the job.  A good discipline is to self-assess using this list annually, perhaps in preparation for annual performance evaluations.  To score each question, circle the question numbers with which there is strong agreement about the individual’s work situation. 

Interpreting the scores. 

Count up the circled numbers.  Nine or more circled numbers indicates a very healthy workplace in which there is a great deal of fulfillment, so engagement and retention are high.  Six or fewer circled numbers indicates some serious reservations about the workplace, which if unresolved will lead to lower employee engagement and retention. Scores of seven or eight indicate a degree of engagement with some preventable turnover. 

Using the information yourself. 

The first question that should be asked about each un-circled question is what would need to happen to make it a strongly agree.   In other words, is there action you could take to make it a strongly agree?  How about changing your attitude about things?  Often times a little effort and initiative will go a long way towards correcting a perceived deficiency. 

Helping your organization improve. 

You also may want to discuss this list with your supervisor or HR to see if changes could be made in order to improve the situation for you.  Solicit his or her advice about what could be done.  Both of you have too much time invested in your career to not exhaust all efforts to improve how you feel about your workplace.

Bottom Line

Twelve questions that predict whether or not someone will stay on the job or leave it.  For yourself, it’s a great way to answer questions about where you need to head.  For the people you manage, it’s a wakeup call for you to create the right environment which attracts, engages, develops and retains talented people – all things that raise your own career trajectory!

About me: Since founding Boyer Management Group 26 years ago, I’ve been blessed to work with some of the world’s top employers by helping them get the most out of their talented people. Thanks to our clients, the company I founded in 1998, Boyer Management Group, was recognized by CEO Monthly Magazine in 2023 and again in 2024, awarding us their “Most Influential CEO Award” in the executive coaching field. Our coaching programs produce remarkable results in compressed periods of time. Our extensive leadership development course catalog provides effective skills-building for everyone in the organization, from the new and developing leader to the seasoned C-level executive.  BMG boasts one of the most extensive sales and sales management curriculums anywhere, with behavioral assessments to help develop talent. To find out more, please visit us at www.boyermanagement.com, email us at [email protected], or call us at 215-942-0982.