Why Employee Engagement is so Important
- Morolake Esi
- Jan 22
- 3 min read
Employee engagement is one of the strongest drivers of performance, retention, and organizational success—yet it remains one of the most misunderstood responsibilities of leadership.
I once worked in an organization where managers believed their role was simply to assign work and measure results. Engagement conversations were not scheduled, prioritized, or even clearly understood. One manager admitted he avoided personal conversations entirely. He was afraid of saying the wrong thing and believed HR’s message to “be careful” meant staying silent.
That silence came at a cost.
One of the primary responsibilities of a manager is to create an environment where employees feel motivated, valued, and connected to their work. Engagement does not happen by chance—it is a leadership skill that can be learned, practiced, and reinforced.
What Is Employee Engagement?
When managers ask what employee engagement really means, we often reference the BlessingWhite model of engagement, which defines engagement as a two-way relationship:
Employees are satisfied, committed, and motivated in their work
The organization is satisfied with the employee’s contribution and performance
Engagement only exists when both sides of the relationship are working.
Most managers are comfortable managing performance. The challenge comes when they ask:
How do I know if my employees’ needs are being met?
The answer is simple—and essential.
You ask.
Engagement Is Not One-Size-Fits-All
Employee engagement is personal. What motivates one employee may disengage another.
Some employees value recognition and appreciation
Others prioritize work-life balance and flexibility
Some are focused on career growth, development, and advancement
If managers don’t truly know their people, they can’t know what drives engagement.
That’s why engagement must be built through ongoing check-ins, not one-time surveys or annual reviews.
Engagement Conversations Build Trust
Effective engagement conversations include open-ended questions such as:
How do you feel about working here?
What makes you excited about your work?
What gets in the way of doing your best work?
How can I better support you as your manager?
What’s keeping you up at night this week?
These questions demonstrate genuine interest—not just in the work, but in the employee’s experience.
Research from Gallup consistently shows that trust in leadership is a critical driver of employee engagement and satisfaction. When employees feel heard, trust grows. When trust grows, performance follows.
The Business Impact of Employee Engagement
The data is clear:
Engaged employees are significantly less likely to leave
They consistently demonstrate higher discretionary effort
Engagement leads to improved performance, customer service, and business results
Engagement is not a “soft skill.” It is a business strategy.
The good news?Even simple, targeted manager training can produce measurable improvements in engagement.
Engagement Starts With the Manager
One of the most overlooked engagement drivers is the manager’s own level of engagement.
If managers are disengaged, overwhelmed, or unclear about their role, it becomes extremely difficult to build engaged teams. That’s why we often begin with a manager engagement self-assessment, helping
leaders identify gaps and opportunities for growth.
Conversations Without Action Create Disengagement
Engagement conversations alone are not enough.
Nothing erodes trust faster than:
Asking for input and doing nothing with it
Promising support without follow-through
Managers must:
Listen
Identify what they can influence
Take action
Follow up
Building a Culture of Engagement
Today’s workplace is defined by constant change. Research shows that teams with strong coaching and change-management skills consistently outperform those without them.
Empathy is critical—but it must be paired with:
Coaching conversations
Clear expectations
Support through uncertainty
We help managers build change resilience, so their teams can adapt with confidence—even when change is outside their control.
Organizations with strong engagement cultures don’t rely on individual effort alone. They create manager communities of practice where leaders share challenges, learn together, and reinforce consistent engagement behaviors.
This peer support:
Strengthens leadership capability
Encourages accountability
Builds an organization-wide engagement mindset
The Results of an Engagement Culture
An engagement culture drives:
Higher innovation
Stronger customer service
Faster process improvement
Greater trust, collaboration, and learning
It creates a workplace where people want to contribute—and stay.
Ready to Strengthen Employee Engagement?
At Gold People Solutions, we partner with organizations to:
Train managers to lead effective engagement conversations
Build coaching and change resilience skills
Strengthen leadership capability at every level
Create sustainable engagement cultures
👉 If you’re ready to improve employee engagement, retention, and performance, let’s start with your managers. Contact Gold People Solutions today to learn how we can support your leaders and unlock the full potential of your people.
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