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Alberto Venturini

Engaging employees: 10 questions

Coinvolgere i dipendenti: 10 domande

Scritto da

Alberto Venturini

in

Engagement  ·  4 min read

Employee involvement does not arise by chance and is not achieved with sporadic rewards or with a generic “we have always done it this way”. Instead, it derives from an intentional, systemic process, oriented towards the growth of organizational culture and the empowerment of people.

When an entrepreneur perceives that his employees are listless, apathetic, not very responsible or poorly “attached” to the company, the first useful action is not to change people, but start from yourself and ask the right questions.
Questions generate awareness, and awareness is the prerequisite for change.

Below are ten fundamental questions, each of which allows us to identify a different component of theemployee engagement.

1. How will employees adapt to new opportunities and stay current in their thinking?

Engagement arises from the organization’s ability to offer continuous learning, skills development and spaces to innovate. Without cognitive growth, there is no motivational growth.

2. How are successes, challenges and changes communicated in your organization?

Communication is the backbone of engagement. If what happens in the company is not shared, interpreted and discussed, distance, mistrust and cynicism are generated.

3. Do your employees have a say in critical relationships that influence business success?

People only feel involved when they feel they can contribute in a real, not symbolic way. Giving voice means including.

4. Does your company clearly express its purpose, vision, objectives, strategies and values?

And above all: Are employees an active part of all this?
A culture imposed from above does not generate belonging. A co-built culture, however, yes.

5. Do your employees trust you?

Trust is the first variable of engagement. Without trust, collaboration becomes defensive, the climate deteriorates and productivity drops.

6. How do you know if your employees are truly motivated?

Measuring engagement requires tools, metrics, structured conversations. The entrepreneur’s intuition is not enough.

7. How do you motivate them?

Rewards and incentives are not enough. Engagement arises from autonomy, meaning, equity, recognition and relationship.

8. Are your employees encouraged to work in teams?

Collaboration does not emerge spontaneously. It must be designed through clear roles, processes, shared responsibilities and leadership that facilitates, not centralizes.

9. Are your departments and divisions truly effective?

Effectiveness means alignment, clear communication flows, defined responsibilities and the absence of silos. Without this, no culture can function.

10. Is your company truly unique?

The central question: why would anyone want to work for you?
If the answer is not obvious, it’s time to intervene on culture, even before recruiting.

The real obstacle: the entrepreneur’s resistance

Many entrepreneurs, especially in SMEs, consider it “a waste of time” to ask these questions.
The mental model of “I can do everything myself” continues to resist, generating cultural stagnation. Yet, the search for Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows that more engaged employees are more productive, more creative and more loyal to the company.

Engagement is not an HR quirk, but a performance factor: LEARN MORE

Engagement: you don’t need new figures, you need willpower

You don’t need an Employee Engagement Manager to think about these 10 questions.
What is needed is the ability to use the answers as a starting point for a structured action plan:

  • improve internal communication

  • redesign roles and responsibilities

  • activate listening practices

  • reduce counterproductive managerial behaviors

  • strengthen the culture of collaboration

  • increase trust, transparency and consistency

There is only one final question:
are you willing to really intervene on your company culture?

If yes, you have already started the journey and if you want to continue I invite you to do so free questionnaire here.

Bibliography

  • Bakker, A. B., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2008). Positive Organizational Behavior: Engaged Employees in Flourishing Organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior.

  • Edmondson, A. (2019). The Fearless Organization. Wiley.

  • Gallup (2023). State of the Global Workplace. Gallup Press.

  • Kahn, W. A. ​​(1990). Psychological Conditions of Personal Engagement and Disengagement at Work. Academy of Management Journal.

  • MacLeod, D., & Clarke, N. (2009). Engaging for Success. UK Government.

  • MIT Human Dynamics Lab. (2009). Workplace Productivity and Engagement Research. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

  • Schein, E. H. (2010). Organizational Culture and Leadership. Jossey Bass.

  • Ulrich, D. (2016). HR That Delivers Value. Harvard Business School Press.

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