The Impact of Gallup Courses on
Engagement and Productivity

ImpactOfTraining_Paper_enUS_032522_rj

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The Impact of Gallup Courses on Engagement and Productivity﻿In recent years, organizations have placed greatemphasis on developing their employees.
Pressures to succeed in a competitive global market have led organizations to seek morefrom their existing workforce — to help employees improve their performance in ways thattranslate to better business outcomes.
Plus, today’s employees often decide whichorganization to join — and stay with — based on factorsthat affect their engagement at work. One of thosefactors, which is included in Gallup’s Q12® employee
engagement survey, reflects employees’ opportunities
to learn and grow. Fifty-nine percent of millennials andalmost half of Gen Xers (44%) report that opportunities
to learn and grow are extremely important to them when
applying for a job.

59%

OF MILLENNIALS REPORTTHAT OPPORTUNITIES TOLEARN AND GROW ARE
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT
TO THEM WHEN APPLYING
FOR A JOB.

As a result of employees’ desires and organizations’pursuit of exceptional performance, Gallup has seen
demand grow for its courses and other learning and development offerings.
The Big Question: Is an Investment in
Gallup Courses Worth the Cost?
Organizations who invest in Gallup
courses want to know that theirinvestment produces the results they’relooking for. They ask: How do we know
the development is working? Are thelearning opportunities actually turning into
better results for our business? And, will
they position us for greater success inthe future?

R ES E A RC H TO PIC S
1) Does organizational investment in Gallup

courses boost employee engagement?

2) Which types of Gallup courses

are most effective at increasing
employee engagement?

3) Do investments in more types ofGallup courses produce larger
engagement increases?

4) Given the relationship between

employee engagement and business
One measure scientifically linked tooutcomes, to what extent do Gallup
predicting business outcomes is employee
courses have a positive effect on an
engagement. We have conductedorganization’s bottom line?
multiple meta-analyses on Gallup’s Q12,
demonstrating the impact and return on
investment to organizations who engage their workforce.

In this study, we used our Q12 database to understand the impact of Gallup courses on
employee engagement gains between organizations’ first and second Q12 administrations.
Specifically, we examined the effectiveness of Gallup courses in boosting employee
engagement for clients who invested in Gallup courses compared with clients who did notinvest after their first administration.
In addition, using the meta-analytic relationship between engagement and productivity,
we calculated the return on productivity that organizations might expect via employee
engagement gains due to attending Gallup courses.
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The Impact of Gallup Courses on Engagement and Productivity﻿

Overview: How Courses Tie to Changes in Engagement and Productivity
Company investments in Gallup courses boost employee engagement at anorganizational level.

Gallup Q12 clients who also participated in Gallup courses had an average 14-percentagepoint increase in engaged employees between the first and second Q12 administration,compared with an average increase of 8 percentage points between the two
administrations for Gallup Q12 clients who didn’t provide Gallup courses.
Engagement gains due to courses have a large impact on the bottom line.

Depending on the organizational size, companies who invest in Gallup courses can see
returns of up to $18.1 million in estimated productivity after one year.
All Gallup course content areas have a positive relationship withengagement gains.

Courses that focused on strengths, manager development and/or employee engagement
all significantly and positively affected organizational-level engagement.
Strengths and manager development content areas had the greatest effects on
employee engagement.

Companies who invested in strengths and manager development courses had an averageof 17- and 16-percentage-point increases in engaged employees, respectively, between
the first and second Q12 administrations, compared with an average increase of 8 points
for those who measured Q12 without providing courses.
Companies who invest in a variety of content areas have larger
engagement increases.

When organizations invest in courses that focus on strengths, manager development andemployee engagement, they are more likely to see larger increases in their Q12 scores.

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The Impact of Gallup Courses on Engagement and Productivity﻿

Increases in Employee Engagement Are Greater for Those Who Invest in Courses
Organizations who invest in Gallup courses after their first Q12 administration see larger
increases in organizational-level engagement in year two, compared with those who don’t
invest in courses.
After their first Q12 administration, organizations who invested in Gallup courses increased
their proportion of employees who were engaged by 14 percentage points, comparedwith an average increase of 8 points for organizations who did not invest in Gallup courses.
Those who invest in Gallup courses are, essentially, one year ahead in terms of employee
engagement gains, compared with those who don’t invest.

Impact of Courses Investment

Q 12 G r a n d M e a n s a n d % E n g a g e d
1st Administration

2nd Administration

41%

34%

3.87

27%
3.66

Q12 Measurement + Courses

26%

3.77

3.64

Q12 Measurement + No Courses

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The Impact of Gallup Courses on Engagement and Productivity﻿

Investments in Gallup Courses Produce Great Returns in Productivity
Applying Gallup’s Q12 meta-analytic research on the relationship between organizationallevel Q12 and productivity, we estimate that organizations who invest in Gallup courses
realize a return of $1,812 of productivity per employee in the first year. That is a $690
additional increase in productivity per employee, compared with organizations who
measure Q12 but don’t invest in Gallup courses.
Depending on organizational size, companies who invest in Gallup courses could realize
returns between $1.8 million and $18.1 million in estimated productivity in the first year.

Productivity Gains, by Company Size

Per-Employee Productivity Gains

Estimated*

via Engagement

Q12
Measurement+ No Courses$1,122

Q12
Measurement+ Courses$1,812

Small Org.
(1,000)Medium Org.
(5,000)Large Org.
(10,000)$1,122,000$5,610,000$11,220,000$1,812,000$9,060,000$18,120,000(+$690,000)(+$3,450,000)(+$6,900,000)*Estimates based on average annual salary of $50,620 (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#00-0000)

We estimate that organizations
who invest in Gallup courses realizea return of $1,812 of productivity
per employee in the first year.

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The Impact of Gallup Courses on Engagement and Productivity﻿

Content Areas of Gallup Courses
Gallup courses were categorized based on three broad content areas:• strengths• employee engagement• manager development

The tables below show examples of Gallup courses included in each content area, as wellas the client and employee sample sizes for each area.
ST REN GTH S C O U R S E S

E NGAGEM ENT C O U R S ESM A NAGER C O U R SES

83 clients
680,579 employees

246 clients
1,194,466 employees

70 clients
547,916 employees• CliftonStrengths® Discovery• CliftonStrengths
for Managers• CliftonStrengths for Teams• Creating an Engaging
Workplace Course
for Managers• Creating an Engaging
Workplace Course forEngagement Champions• LeadingHigh-Performance Teams• Moving From Bossto Coach

How Gallup Courses Lead to Better Results
Gallup courses enhance the way you do business by:• equipping leaders and managers to create an engaging, productive culture• empowering people to make the most of their natural talents and succeed by doing
what they do best
• developing a high-performing team, one employee at a time5

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The Impact of Gallup Courses on Engagement and Productivity﻿

Strengths and Manager Development Courses Have Greatest
Effect on Engagement
Each of Gallup’s course content areas was associated with greater increases in Q12 scores,
compared with no Gallup courses. Strengths and manager development content areas
had the greatest effects on employee engagement after the first Q12 administration.
Companies who invested in strengths and manager development courses had an averageof 17- and 16-percentage-point increases in engaged employees, respectively,
between the first and second Q12 administrations, compared with an average increase of 8
points for those who measured Q12 without providing courses.

Impact of Courses Investment

Q 12 G r a n d M e a n s a n d % E n g a g e d
1st Administration

2nd Administration

44%

43%

39%

34%

3.89

3.89

3.80

3.77

27%
3.66

Strengths Courses
n=83

27%
3.67

Manager Courses
n=70

26%

27%

3.64

3.66

Engagement Courses
n=246

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No Courses
n=272

The Impact of Gallup Courses on Engagement and Productivity﻿

Content Areas Produce Differences in Productivity Per Employee
Applying Gallup’s Q12 meta-analytic research on the relationship between organizationallevel Q12 and productivity, we estimate that organizations who invest in strengths courses
from Gallup see a per-employee productivity gain of $2,330 in the first year.
Depending on the organizational size and course content, companies who invest in Gallup
courses can see estimated returns between $1.4 million and $23.3 million in estimatedproductivity in the first year.

Productivity Gains, by Company Size

Per-Employee Productivity Gains

Estimated*

via Engagement

No Courses
Engagement
Courses$1,122$1,467

Small Org.
(1,000)Medium Org.
(5,000)Large Org.
(10,000)$1,122,000$5,610,000$11,220,000$1,467,000$7,335,000$14,670,000$2,243,000$11,215,000$22,430,000$2,330,000$11,650,000$23,300,000(+$345,000)

Manager
Courses$2,243

Strengths
Courses$2,330(+$1,121,000)(+$1,208,000)(+$1,725,000)(+$5,605,000)(+$6,040,000)(+$3,450,000)(+$11,210,000)(+$12,080,000)*Estimates based on annual average salary of $50,620 (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#00-0000)

Organizations who invest in manager
or strengths courses from Gallup
see a per-employee productivity
gain of $2,243 and $2,330,
respectively, in the first year.

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The Impact of Gallup Courses on Engagement and Productivity﻿

Investments in Multiple Courses Result in Greater Engagement Increases
Organizations who invested in multiple content areas had greater increases in employee
engagement scores in their second year than did organizations who did not invest in
Gallup courses.
Organizations who invested in all of Gallup’s content areas — strengths, employee
engagement and manager development — are more likely to see larger increases in their
Q12 scores than are organizations with other combinations of courses or no courses at all.

Impact of Courses Investment

Q 12 G r a n d M e a n s a n d % E n g a g e d
1st Administration

2nd Administration

47%
3.98

42%

41%

3.90

3.88

27%

27%

27%

3.66

3.66

3.66

3 Content Areas
n=16

2 Content Areas
n=46

1 Content Area
n=203

34%
26%

3.77

3.64

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No Courses
n=272

The Impact of Gallup Courses on Engagement and Productivity﻿

More Content Areas Generate Greater Productivity Gains
Applying Gallup’s Q12 meta-analytic research on the relationship between
organizational-level Q12 and productivity, we estimate that organizations who invest incourses from three of Gallup’s content areas will see a per-employee productivity gain of$2,761 in the first year.
Depending on the organizational size and number of content areas, companies who invest
in multiple Gallup content areas can see estimated returns between $1.8 million and$27.6 million in productivity in the first year.

Productivity Gains, by Company Size

Per-Employee Productivity Gains

Estimated*

via Engagement

No Courses
1 Content
Area
2 Content
Areas
3 Content
Areas$1,122$1,898Small Org.
(1,000)Medium Org.
(5,000)Large Org.
(10,000)$1,122,000$5,610,000$11,220,000$1,898,000$9,490,000$18,980,000$2,071,000$10,355,000$20,710,000$2,761,000$13,805,000$27,610,000(+$776,000)$2,071(+$949,000)$2,761(+$1,639,000)(+$3,880,000)(+$4,745,000)(+$8,195,000)(+$7,760,000)(+$9,490,000)(+$16,390,000)*Estimates based on annual average salary of $50,620 (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#00-0000)

The more course content
areas in which organizations
invest, the greater their peremployee productivity gains.

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The Impact of Gallup Courses on Engagement and Productivity﻿

Enhance Learning at Your Organization

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learning experiences prepare you to create an exceptional
workplace that produces exceptional results.
Discover the right learning opportunities for your organization or learn more about
how Gallup courses affect engagement and productivity. Reach out to Gallup at
www.gallup.com/contact today.

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The Impact of Gallup Courses on Engagement and Productivity﻿

AppendixResearch Methods
Estimates are based on a study of clients in Gallup’s Q12 Employee Engagement database(2000-2016) to examine company-level engagement change over time for Q12 clients who
have invested in Gallup courses versus those who have not.
Q12 Measurement + Courses: clients with investments in Gallup courses between
first (baseline) and second Q12 administrations

T H E BAS E L I N E
M E AS U R E M E N T I N C LU D E D

309 clients with 1,366,954 employees

VS.

Q12 Measurement + No Courses: clients who have never invested in Gallup courses

T H E BAS E L I N E
M E AS U R E M E N T I N C LU D E D

272 clients with 1,134,397 employees
Organizations in the study must have had two or more Q12 administrations six to24 months apart and must not have participated in any Gallup course before theirbaseline Q12 administration.

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