Every question is answered on the same five point scale, and every point says what it means so that nobody has to guess what a four is.

• 1. Very poorThis is a real problem and it is part of why people leave.
• 2. PoorIt falls short more often than not.
• 3. FairIt is about what you would expect. No better, no worse.
• 4. GoodIt is done well and I would mention it to a friend.
• 5. Very goodIt is one of the best things about working here.

An average answer of one becomes nought and an average answer of five becomes one hundred, so the index is simply the answer stretched onto a line everybody can read. The overall index is the plain average of the eight question indices, not the average of every answer given, so a question that happens to be answered more often cannot quietly decide the ranking.

• Outstanding80 and abovePeople here speak about this employer the way you would want to be spoken about.
• Strong70 and aboveA good place to work, with a few things still to fix.
• Sound60 and aboveMore right than wrong, but nobody is writing home about it.
• Mixed50 and aboveFor every person it works for, there is one it does not.
• Struggling40 and aboveSomething real is wrong and the people inside can name it.
• Poor0 and abovePeople are staying because they need the job, not because they want it.

• Leadership and management quality

  The people who lead this organisation know what they are doing and they are worth following.

  Who is in charge, whether they are competent, and whether they treat the work seriously.

• Pay and benefits

  For the work I do, the money and the benefits are fair.

  The salary, the medical aid, the pension, the allowances and whether they arrive on time.

• Career growth and learning

  I can learn here, and I can see a way to grow into something bigger.

  Training, new skills, and whether the job leads anywhere.

• Work life balance

  The hours are reasonable and I still have a life outside this job.

  Hours, leave, weekends, and whether rest is respected.

• Culture and respect

  People here are treated with respect, whatever their level or background.

  How colleagues speak to one another and whether dignity survives a bad day.

• Job security and stability

  My job feels secure and the organisation looks steady.

  Retrenchment fear, short contracts, and whether the business itself looks solid.

• Tools and working conditions

  I have the tools, the equipment and the working conditions to do the job properly.

  Safety, equipment, transport, the state of the building and the internet.

• Fairness of promotion and recognition

  Promotions and recognition here go to the people who earn them.

  Whether merit or connection decides who moves up.

• You may rate any employer once every six months, so an index moves with the place and not with one bad Monday.
• Your name is never shown. Ratings appear under a two word handle.
• Comments are read by a filter before they appear. Swearing, links, telephone numbers and attacks on named individuals are refused.
• The overall index is the plain average of the eight dimension scores, so no single question quietly decides the ranking.
• An employer needs five ratings before any figure is published, and fifteen before it may stand in the ranking.
• Only the top ten are ranked in public. Nobody is published as the worst employer in Zimbabwe on the strength of a website.

What is never published

• No swearing. A calm sentence is believed more anyway.
• No links of any kind, and no telephone numbers, email addresses or messaging handles.
• No naming and shaming of individual people. Write about the organisation and about what happened to you.
• No curriculum vitae here. This wall is for the story, not for the document.
• Your real name is never shown. Everybody posts under a two word handle.