--- title: "What is the Gallup Q12 employee engagement survey?" url: "https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/gallup-q12/" description: "The Gallup Q12 is a 12-item employee engagement survey rated on a 5-point agreement scale. What it covers, why you can't copy it, and what to run in Slack." --- # What is the Gallup Q12? **Gallup Q12**: The Gallup Q12 is Gallup's employee engagement survey: twelve statements that employees rate on a five-point agreement scale, from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The items are Gallup's proprietary material. Also known as: Q12, Gallup Q12 survey, Gallup 12 questions. Gallup finalised the wording and order of the twelve items in 1998 and has run them with millions of employees since. The catch: you can't run the real one yourself without Gallup's permission. ## Example polls Paste any of these into the message box in Slack. ```text /poll "Team engagement check" "Anonymous, about two minutes." anonymous close after 3 days --- "My priorities for the next two weeks are clear" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale --- "In the last month, someone thanked me for a specific piece of work" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale --- "I have learned something useful at work this quarter" "Strongly disagree" "Disagree" "Neutral" "Agree" "Strongly agree" scale --- "What one change would help you do your best work?" short text optional ``` Your own engagement questions on Q12-style themes, with agreement labels on a 1 to 5 scale. *Premium: surveys (several questions), closing automatically.* ```text /poll "How clear are your goals for this month?" "Very unclear" "Unclear" "Somewhat clear" "Clear" "Very clear" scale anonymous ``` One theme as a single anonymous scale poll, for teams that want one question at a time. *Free.* ## What the twelve items cover Gallup groups the items into four levels of needs, each building on the one before: - **Basic needs**: knowing what's expected of you, and having what you need to do the work. - **Individual contribution**: using your strengths, recognition, a manager who cares, and someone encouraging your development. - **Teamwork**: your opinions counting, a sense of purpose, colleagues committed to quality, and close friendships at work. - **Growth**: talking about your progress, and chances to learn. Gallup's own page lists the items and how it scores them. ## The scale Each statement is rated from 5 (strongly agree) to 1 (strongly disagree), with a sixth "don't know or does not apply" answer that isn't scored. Gallup often reports the share of people who strongly agree, and uses its own formula to classify employees as engaged, not engaged or actively disengaged. ## Can you run the Q12 in Slack? Not the real thing. Gallup states that the Q12 items are proprietary, and that you may not run a survey with them or reproduce them without Gallup's written consent. If your company licenses the Q12, run it through Gallup. What you can do is write your own engagement questions on the same themes and run them in Slack. Don't call it the Q12, and don't compare your numbers with Gallup's benchmarks: different wording gives different answers. In Simple Poll, use an anonymous survey (Premium) with `scale` questions. A scale question rates 1 to 5, and you can give it exactly five labels, so agreement labels map onto it directly. The results view shows the average and median. Keep it short: a survey can hold up to 20 questions, but four or five themes per round get better answers than all twelve at once. To repeat it monthly or quarterly, set the poll up as recurring from the Simple Poll modal (Premium). ## FAQ ### Can I copy the 12 Gallup questions into a poll? No. Gallup says the items are protected and can't be administered or reproduced without its written consent. Write your own questions instead. ### What scale does the Q12 use? A five-point agreement scale, 5 = strongly agree to 1 = strongly disagree, plus an unscored "don't know" option. Simple Poll's `scale` poll is also 1 to 5. ### How often should I run an engagement survey? Often enough to see a trend, rarely enough that you can act between rounds. A short [pulse survey](https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/pulse-survey/) monthly or quarterly is a common pattern. ## Related - [Gallup Q12-style engagement survey for Slack](https://simplepoll.rocks/templates/gallup-q12-survey/): When you want a structured engagement check covering the basics of a good job, without sending people to a separate survey tool. - [What is a Likert scale?](https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/likert-scale/): A Likert scale measures attitudes by asking people how much they agree with a set of statements, usually on five points from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree". Strictly, one statement is a Likert item, and the scale is several items scored together. - [What is a pulse survey?](https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/pulse-survey/): A pulse survey is a short survey, usually one to five questions, sent to the same group on a regular schedule so you can see how things change over time. Common topics are workload, morale and engagement. - [What is eNPS (employee Net Promoter Score)?](https://simplepoll.rocks/glossary/employee-net-promoter-score/): Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) asks employees how likely they are to recommend their company as a place to work, on a scale from 0 to 10. The score is the percentage of promoters (9 or 10) minus the percentage of detractors (0 to 6), so it runs from -100 to +100. ## Sources - [Gallup: Q12 Employee Engagement Survey](https://www.gallup.com/workplace/356063/gallup-q12-employee-engagement-survey.aspx) - [Gallup: How to measure employee engagement with the Q12](https://www.gallup.com/workplace/356045/q12-question-summary.aspx) - [Gallup: Q12 meta-analysis report](https://www.gallup.com/workplace/321725/gallup-q12-meta-analysis-report.aspx) - [Simple Poll: A nod to Gallup's Q12 survey](https://help.simplepoll.rocks/article/142-a-nod-to-gallup-s-q12-survey) --- Simple Poll is the #1 polls and surveys app for Slack. 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