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Alberto Venturini

Involving employees: 10 questions

Scritto da

Alberto Venturini

in

Engagement · 4-minute read

Employee engagement does not happen by chance and cannot be achieved through sporadic rewards or a vague ‘we’ve always done it this way’. Instead, it stems from a deliberate, systematic process aimed at developing the organisational culture and empowering people.

When an entrepreneur senses that their employees are listless, apathetic, lacking in responsibility or not particularly “committed” to the business, the first useful step is not to change the people, but to start with oneself and ask the right questions.
Questions generate awareness, and awareness is the prerequisite for change.

Below are ten fundamental questions, each of which helps identify a different aspect of employee engagement.

1. How will employees adapt to new opportunities and keep their thinking up to date?

Engagement stems from the organisation’s ability to offer continuous learning, skills development and opportunities for innovation. Without cognitive growth, there is no motivational growth.

2. How are successes, challenges and changes communicated within your organisation?

Communication is the backbone of engagement. If what happens within the company is not shared, interpreted and discussed, it breeds distance, mistrust and cynicism.

3. Do your employees have a say in the critical decisions that influence the company’s success?

People only feel involved when they feel they can make a real, rather than a symbolic, contribution. Giving a voice means including.

4. Does your company clearly articulate 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 foster a sense of belonging. A co-created culture, on the other hand, does.

5. Do your employees trust you?

Trust is the primary driver of engagement. Without trust, collaboration becomes defensive, the working atmosphere deteriorates and productivity falls.

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

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

7. How do you motivate them?

Rewards and incentives are not enough. Engagement stems from autonomy, meaning, fairness, recognition and relationships.

8. Are your employees encouraged to work as a team?

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

9. Are your departments and divisions truly effective?

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

10. Is your company truly unique?

The key question: why would anyone want to work for you specifically?
If the answer isn’t obvious, it’s time to address the culture, even before you focus on recruitment.

The real obstacle: the entrepreneur’s resistance

Many entrepreneurs, especially in SMEs, consider asking these questions to be ‘a waste of time’.
The ‘I can do everything myself’ mindset persists, leading to cultural stagnation. Yet research from the 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 fad, but a performance driver: READ MORE

Engagement: you don’t need new roles, you need the will

You don’t need an “Employee Engagement Manager” to reflect on 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

  • implement listening practices

  • reduce counterproductive managerial behaviours

  • strengthen the culture of collaboration

  • increase trust, transparency and consistency

There is just one final question:
are you willing to take real action on your corporate culture?

If so, you’ve already started on the journey, and if you wish to continue, I invite you to complete the free questionnaire here.

References

  • Bakker, A. B., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2008). Positive Organisational Behaviour: Engaged Employees in Flourishing Organisations. Journal of Organisational Behaviour.

  • Edmondson, A. (2019). The Fearless Organisation. 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.

References

 

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