You know that employee motivation is key in defining workplace culture. You also know that a healthy workplace culture fosters retention, employee satisfaction, productivity, and growth. The tricky part is knowing how to get to the heart of what your employees feel and think.

Here are 12 easy yes/no prompts from Gallup that might generate some helpful dialogue.

1. I know what is expected of me at work.
2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.
3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
4. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
5. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
6. There is someone at work who encourages my development.
7. At work, my opinions seem to count.
8. The mission or purpose of my organization makes me feel my job is important.
9. My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.
10. I have a best friend at work.
11. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.
12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.

As a manager, your first instinct may be to respond "Yes! Of course my employees would agree with these statements!". But take a step back and consider whether you actually agree with them yourself. Research has shown that only a small percentage of employees agree that their management delivers on any of them.

If employee motivation is an issue that you care about on your team, RippleWorx offers additional tools to get to the root of what employees are feeling. Furthermore, we can deliver those tools to you and your team members anonymously in order to reduce fear of communication and help you actually build a better workplace (and not just talk about it).