Employee engagement is a key component in managing a successful business. It reduces staff turnover, increases worker and business productivity, and improves employee morale. As people managers, one of your important roles in the organization is to boost staff engagement.
To help underscore the importance of building highly engaged teams and provide inspiration in motivating workers, here are 19 employee engagement quotes we collected from business leaders and accomplished professionals.
Quotes About the Importance of Staff Engagement
1.) “Employee engagement is more than an idea; it’s a state of being. You can always gauge the health of your work environment by the level of employee engagement.”
– Dr. Heather Lamb, Educator, Workforce Development Expert, and Author of the book “How Not to Be a People Pleaser: 5 Action Steps to Using Your Voice Without Regret”
2.) “Employee engagement isn’t a task; it’s a commitment to building a culture where every voice matters. When we prioritize connection, productivity, and retention naturally follow.”
– Amanda Stephens, Vice President of Operations at seoplus+
3.) “Nothing is more important to me as a leader than building and maintaining a focused, fired up, capable-led workforce. Our success in that endeavor (and I DO mean “our”) means that customers, shareholders, and each of us will get what we’re after, what we came here for… Everybody wins!”
– Bill Catlette, Executive Coach, Advisor, and Partner at Contented Cow Partners, LLC
4.) “The secret to a thriving business isn’t in the boardroom; it’s in the breakroom, where engaged employees are quietly building your empire.”
– Kraig Kleeman, Founder and CEO of The New Workforce
Key Takeaways
These quotes on employee engagement show how critical it is for employers and business owners to foster an engaged workforce. Not only does it contribute to building a positive workplace culture and improving productivity, but it will also help to minimize the financial impact of productivity losses. A study from McKinsey & Company revealed that medium-sized companies could lose between $228 million and $355 million a year because of disengaged employees and attrition.
Quotes About People Management & Recognition
5.) “You have to remember you’re hiring human beings first, human doings second. Your employees are just like any other relationship—they need time, attention, and feedback. It’s that simple. Provide for their three basic needs, and you’ll have a rockstar employee for life.”
– Molly McGrath, Founder and CEO of Hiring & Empowering Solutions
6.) “Engaged employees are the lifeblood of any successful organization. When people feel valued, empowered, and part of something greater than themselves, their commitment and drive skyrockets.”
– Martin Maas, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of ScalaCube
7.) “True engagement comes when you feel valued not just for what you do, but for who you are. When your work aligns with your passions and purpose, success becomes a shared journey, not just a destination.”
– Adam Bennett, Head of Marketing at Digital ID
8.) “Your hard work and dedication are the heartbeat of this company, and together we create an environment where growth and innovation thrive. This work, and the growth of our company, would not be possible without you.”
– Dr. Sonia Daniels, Founder & CEO of S. Daniels Consulting
9.) “Authentic employee engagement means workers feel valued and know the company’s goals.”
– Mark Hirsch, Personal Injury Lawyer, Co-founder of Templer & Hirsch, and Founder of Prime Time Business Network
10.) “When employees feel valued for their unique contributions, engagement thrives. By recognizing each other’s big and little wins we create a culture where everyone can bring their best selves to work each day.”
– Alyssa Welch, People and Culture Manager at Customer.io
11.) “True employee engagement is built on trust, communication, and a shared sense of purpose. When team members feel valued and connected to the mission, they naturally bring their best selves to work every day.
– Arvind Rongala, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Edstellar
Key Takeaways
Fostering trust, giving fair feedback, and communicating clearly with employees are some of the people management skills that leaders and managers should have. These quotes about employee engagement also show that it’s important to recognize and appreciate your workers’ contributions, regardless of how big or small those are. You can do this by sending congratulatory messages for a job well done, either through the company/department chat channel or during a one-on-one session with the team member.
You can also boost engagement by letting your employees know how their accomplishments contribute to the company’s goals. Given that workers perceive recognition differently, it’s important to ask your team members how they want to be recognized. This allows them to find meaning in their jobs and enhance their motivation in doing day-to-day work tasks. For other strategies, check out our article on employee engagement ideas and employee recognition examples.
Quotes on Motivating & Developing Employees
12.) “Let your employees be the architects of their roles—when people design their own path, they engage deeply because the stakes feel personal.”
– Kaveh Vahdat, Entrepreneur and Founder of RiseAngle and RiseOpp
13.) “Let your team stretch their limits and create opportunities for them to exceed expectations. When employees have room to overachieve, their engagement and enthusiasm will follow.”
– Jasper Knight, Founder of Secret Saunas
14.) “Gamify everyday work by embedding opportunities for growth and progress that feel natural. Create challenges that reward employees with new responsibilities and skills as they progress, allowing them to level up.”
– Kaveh Vahdat, Entrepreneur and Founder of RiseAngle and RiseOpp
15.) “When team members know their work matters, they are more likely to be motivated and committed.”
– Mark Hirsch, Personal Injury Lawyer, Co-founder of Templer & Hirsch, and Founder of Prime Time Business Network
16.) “I often tell my team that people dynamics are really difficult to manage, but when we rise above superficial relationships and find ourselves in difficult moments with one another, there is an opportunity to deepen the bonds we have together. We challenge each other, and ourselves, and then collectively strengthen the overall team dynamic, leading to a more resilient and engaged workforce.”
– Lee Rubin, Founder and CEO of Confetti
Key Takeaways
Offering development and career growth opportunities to key contributors and high-performing employees will help you create an engaged workforce. If you provide employees with a clear career path within your organization, they are more likely to feel motivated at work if they have professional development goals in mind.
You can also train employees to speak up and be honest about what they need to be successful at work. You can do this by enticing workers to express their thoughts during team meetings and one-on-one discussions. Take time to listen to them—don’t shut down their ideas or disregard their comments.
Building a culture that promotes open communication can help create a psychologically safe workplace where employees can be themselves. Ultimately, this kind of workplace environment not only supports individual growth and strengthens trust, but also drives the collective success of the organization.
Remember that training and motivating your teams is just a part of managing employees. You also have to track performance, provide feedback, reward high workers, and dole out disciplinary actions when warranted. We recommend using software to ensure you’re on top of it all. Here are some guides to help you find one that fits your needs:
Quotes on Being Engagement Leaders
17.) “As a leader, you should put more focus on taking care of your team instead of getting engrossed in the deliverables. When you take care of your people, they will take care of the deliverables.”
– Paul Koenigsberg, Personal Injury Lawyer and Managing Partner at Koenigsberg & Associates
18.) “The grass isn’t greener on the other side; it’s greener where you water it! Leaders can engage their people by creating an environment where they can feel valued, connected, productive, and supported to learn and grow. Those are the four drivers of engagement, not just for employees, but human beings.”
– Konstantinos Apostolopoulos, Founder & CEO of Fresh Biz Solutions
19.) “Engagement isn’t about grand gestures, it’s about lasting and meaningful connections.’ When you focus on building trust and showing genuine appreciation, your team won’t just work for you; they will work with you.”
– Kraig Kleeman, Founder and CEO of The New Workforce
Key Takeaways
Building an engaged workforce is a task that isn’t limited to only the HR team. Business leaders and people managers also play an important role in improving their employees’ engagement levels.
While learning how to motivate your team can help with this, many factors can impact engagement, such as workplace culture, recognition, compensation, quality of leadership, open and clear communications, and development opportunities. To identify your workforce’s engagement levels, create an employee survey to gather feedback and insights into what’s working well and what needs to be improved.
Employee Engagement Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Employee engagement is the emotional and professional commitment that workers feel about the company they’re employed at, the job they hold, and the team members they work with. It also refers to their enthusiasm and dedication to do a good job at work and contribute to the organization’s goals.
The four pillars that contribute to building an engaged workforce include:
- having clear work accountabilities
- the company’s culture
- the alignment of the employees’ goals to the organization’s objectives
- the meaningful connections that employees build at work
A good quote is from Steve Jobs who said, “Great things in business are never done by one person; they’re done by a team of people.” While one person may be able to come up with a good idea or finish a simple task on their own, you stand to get much more if you combine the creativity, genius, and effort of several people.
