Survey set for 76th MXW Published Oct. 24, 2008 By 76th Maintenance Wing Tinker Air Force Base TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla., -- Research confirms a direct correlation between positive business outcomes (such as productivity, turnover, low absentee rates and adherence to budget) and the relationship between the supervisor and their employees. Air Force Materiel Command recognizes the importance of that correlation, and included "Develop Supervisors" as a key component of its strategic roadmap. The command has launched an initiative called "CheckMATE" to provide a framework and methodology for supervisors to create an "engaged, world-class workforce" that supports the needs of the Air Force. This survey runs from Nov. 10-26. CheckMATE is a process for analyzing the current climate of employee/supervisor relationships with follow-on development of "get well" action plans where required, and documentation of best practices. At the direction of HQ AFMC and in conjunction with the Gallup Organization the 76th Maintenance Wing is pleased to roll out CheckMATE to all its employees in the coming weeks. CheckMATE uses "engagement" -- the emotional attachment to one's job -- as a performance measure. The actual metric is based on a scale from one to five, but there are three levels of engagement: actively disengaged, not engaged and engaged. Gallup research conducted in 2005 has shown that an increase of engagement of two percent has a significant, positive impact on productivity, safety, absenteeism and customer metrics. On the other hand, that research further points out that actively disengaged workers cost the U.S. economy some $300 billion annually. The anticipated impact of a well-executed ChaeckMATE program is exposing civilian supervisors to a collaborative method of achieving closer adherence to budgetary goals, higher production at the logistics centers, as well as an improvement in Commander's Action Item Board statistics, such as on the job injuries. The Q12 system, developed by Gallup, involves the administration of a survey of twelve basic, but important, questions about the workplace today. The questions are actionable, and more importantly, measurable through this tool. CheckMATE is the AFMC adaptation of this management tool. By institutionalizing this program of development, command stakeholders can take advantage of decades of Gallup Organization research, and maintain a database for benchmarking to public, private, national, and international organizations.