70 Inspirational Employee Engagement Quotations

Nowadays, it seems every time we log in to social media, we’re presented with a motivational quote together with a beautiful image. But are these quotes inspiring or annoying? Well, judging by the number of times they are shared on social media, there must be something in it! The truth is, it’s all about context.  Undoubtedly, a few well-chosen words have the power to inspire and motivate. In this post, we focus on employee engagement quotations, and there is definitely a time and a place for using them.  So, carry on reading for some ideas on how best to use employee engagement quotations. And we also share some motivating examples that you are welcome to cut and paste for your own use.

When To Use Employee Engagement Quotes

Inspiring quotations that neatly capture moods, aspirations, or ideals are powerful tools in any context. And they can be effectively deployed to promote employee engagement in the workplace.

Use employee engagement quotations from time to time to inspire and motivate employees. Or to recognize and value the contribution they make. For instance, you could display the quotes in a thought-of-the-day feature on the intranet login page.

One of the best ways to utilize employee engagement quotes is to illustrate and enliven company policies or procedures. Perhaps you are about to launch your company’s employee engagement strategy. Be sure to select some employee engagement quotes to really bring the text to life.

And for any managers skeptical about the value of employee engagement, some well-chosen quotes will help your cause.

When Not To Use Employee Engagement Quotes

As we said, the clever use of employee engagement quotes is all about context. Use them too often, and you will diminish their impact. As you scroll through the pearls of wisdom on Facebook, you may find yourself switching off. The sheer number can make it overwhelming and reduces the effect. If you do the same with employee engagement quotes with the workforce, your staff will also switch off.

Be selective and ration your use of quotes to ensure they really hit home. That way, you won’t come across as being insincere or contrived.

Best Employee Engagement Quotes

Here is a comprehensive collection of employee engagement quotes that you can draw on to suit any situation. We have even made it easy for you by grouping the quotes under relevant headings. Browse through to find the perfect employee engagement quote.

Motivational Quotes On The Importance Of Employee Engagement

This selection of quotes nicely sums up why employee engagement is so important. Use them to illustrate your employee engagement strategy or win over skeptical managers’ hearts and minds. And post these quotes on the intranet newsfeed to provide confirmation of the priority you attach to employee engagement.

1. If you hire people just because they can do a job, they’ll work for your money. But if you hire people who believe what you believe, they’ll work for you with blood, sweat, and tears. Simon Sinek, author

2. Turned on people figure out how to beat the competition. Turned off people only complain about being beaten by the competition. Ben Simonton, leadership skills coach

3. Employee engagement is an investment we make for the privilege of staying in business. Ian Hutchinson, motorcycle racer

4. When employees join executives in truly owning the responsibility for business success, an exciting new sense of teamwork takes hold. Punit Renjen, CEO Deloitte

5. Creating a strong company culture isn’t just good business. It’s the right thing to do, and it makes your company better for all stakeholders – employees, management, and customers. Julia Hartz, co-founder, and CEO of Eventbrite

6. Dispirited, unmotivated, unappreciated workers cannot compete in a highly competitive world. Frances Hesselbein, former CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA

7. Employee engagement is the extent to which your employees feel connected to and motivated by the work that they do. Janine N. Truitt, Chief Innovations Officer, Talent Think Innovations

8. In the current volatile and uncertain environment, engaged employees are an essential component not just for success but perhaps for survival. Nigel Paine, broadcaster and author

9. Employee Engagement is about the willingness of people to be responsible for more than their own job. People who are engaged go the extra mile. David Ducheyne, author and speaker

10. By letting your employees grow, your company will also grow exponentially. Mark Samraj, author

Quotes For Employees’ Motivation

Give employee motivation a boost with this selection of employee engagement quotes. Why not post them on your intranet’s team chat under a Monday motivator #channel. And get workers in the right mindset at the start of the working week.

11. You don’t have to be great at something to start, but you have to start to be great at something. Zig Ziglar, author, and motivational speaker

12. For every failure, there’s an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour. Mary Kay Ash, businesswoman, and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

13. …you have to want to be engaged. There has to be a deep-seated desire in your heart and mind to participate, to be involved, and to make a difference. If the desire isn’t there, no person or book can plant it within you. Tim Clark, president of Emirates

14. Throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours. Dale Carnegie, writer, and lecturer

15. The only way to do great work is to love what you do. Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple

16. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit. Aristotle, Greek philosopher

17. Employees don’t need to be best friends, but there does need to be a level of mutual respect and understanding. Kathryn Minshew, CEO, and co-founder of The Muse

18. Do not be embarrassed by your failures; learn from them and start again. Sir Richard Branson, entrepreneur and founder of Virgin Group

19. It is better to be a stepping stone than a stumbling block. Mark Samraj, author

20. Nothing is impossible; the word itself says, “I’m possible!” Audrey Hepburn, actress and humanitarian

21. The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team. Phil Jackson, former professional basketball player

22. You can’t let your failures define you. You have to let your failures teach you. Barack Obama, former US president

Employee Engagement Quotes For Managers

Managers can make or break employee engagement. Gallup estimates that managers account for  70% of the variance in levels of team engagement. Getting your managers on board with employee engagement is critical to success. Use this selection of quotes to remind managers about the benefits of employee engagement and the central role they have to play.

23. To win in the marketplace, you must first win in the workplace. Doug Conant, former CEO of Campbell’s Soup

24. The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things. Ronald Reagen, former US president

25. Employees who believe that management is concerned about them as a whole person – not just an employee – are more productive, more satisfied, more fulfilled. Satisfied employees mean satisfied customers, which leads to profitability. Anne Mulcahy, former CEO of Xerox

26. There are only three measurements that tell you nearly everything you need to know about your organization’s overall performance: employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and cash flow. It goes without saying that no company, small or large, can win over the long run without energized employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it. Jack Welch, former CEO of GE1

27. A company can advertise and market like mad about who they are and what they believe in, but in today’s world, it’s the people on the front line who are ultimately defining the reputation of the business. And the reputation of your business, let’s face it, is really the brand. Shane Green, author and business consultant

28. Highly engaged employees make the customer experience. Disengaged employees break it. Timothy R. Clark, founder, and CEO of LeaderFactor

29. Every company has a culture. The question is whether it’s the culture that you want. Is it the culture that is going to be able to deliver great guest experiences? Shane Green, author and business consultant

30. Employee engagement is the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals. Kevin Kruse, author

31. It all came down to employee engagement. It all came down to recognition. It all came down to leadership, which led to every sailor feeling ownership and accountability for the results. You can ask a team to accomplish a mission, but you can’t order. Mike Abrashoff, Commander USS Benfold (retired)

32. Create caring and robust connections between every employee and their work, customers, leaders, managers, and the organization to achieve results that matter to everyone in this sentence. David Zinger, employee engagement expert

33. To build a culture of engagement, it is important to incorporate training on intrinsic motivation and employee engagement into management development programs. Kenneth Thomas, academic

34. Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers. Steven R. Covey, educator and author

35. Employees aren’t just workers, they’re the backbone of the business, and that makes them more important than the boss any day of the week. Good Employees = Good Business. Kilroy J. Oldster, author

36. Your assets are your employees. Invest more on those performing well. Let the non-performers go. Manoj Arora, IT executive, and writer

37. The role of the CEO is to enable people to excel, help them discover their own wisdom, engage themselves entirely in their work, and accept responsibility for making change. Mokokoma Mokhonoana, author

38. Everyone talks about building a relationship with your customer. I think you build one with your employees first. Angela Ahrendts, former senior vice president of retail at Apple Inc

39. If you fulfill the wishes of your employees, the employees will fulfill your visions. Amit Kalantri, author

40. Employee engagement is the art and science of engaging people in authentic and recognized connections to strategy, roles, performance, organization, community, relationship, customers, development, energy, and happiness to leverage, sustain, and transform work into results. David Zinger, employee engagement expert

41. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers and your business will take care of itself. J. Willard Marriott, founder of the Marriott Corporation

Employee Retention Quotes

One of the many benefits of employee engagement is that workers tend to stick around longer in highly engaged workplaces. Hanging on to top-quality, high-performing staff is a no-brainer for any business. Use these quotes to reinforce the message and highlight the link between employee engagement and staff turnover.

42. You’ll attract the employees you need if you can explain why your mission is compelling: not why it’s important in general, but why you’re doing something important that no one else is going to get done. Peter Thiel, entrepreneur, co-founder of PayPal

43. Research indicates that workers have three prime needs: interesting work, recognition for doing a good job, and being let in on things that are going on in the company. Zig Ziglar, author, and motivational speaker

44. Connect the dots between individual roles and the goals of the organization. When people see that connection, they get a lot of energy out of work. They feel the importance, dignity, and meaning in their jobs. Ken Blanchard, author

45. I think when people say they dread going into work on Monday morning, it’s because they know they are leaving a piece of themselves at home. Why not see what happens when you challenge your employees to bring all of their talents to their job and reward them not for doing it just like everyone else, but for pushing the envelope, being adventurous, creative, and open-minded, and trying new things? Tony Hsieh, entrepreneur and CEO of Zappos

46. Paychecks can’t buy passion. Brad Federman, author, speaker, and consultant

47. For most of them, it can be summed up by one of four things: They love what they do (their JOB), they love the Disney brand (their ORGANIZATION), they love their manager (their BOSS), or they love the people they work with (their SQUAD). Pete Blank, keynote speaker, and former Disney University leader

48. We think it’s important for employees to have fun… it drives employee engagement. Tony Hsieh, entrepreneur and CEO of Zappos

49. Employees engage with employers and brands when they’re treated as humans worthy of respect. Meghan Biro, founder, and CEO at TalentCulture

50. When leaders throughout an organization take an active, genuine interest in the people they manage, when they invest real time to understand employees at a fundamental level, they create a climate for greater morale, loyalty, and, yes, growth. Patrick Lencioni, author

51. Employees are a company’s greatest asset – they’re your competitive advantage. You want to attract and retain the best; provide them with encouragement, stimulus, and make them feel that they are an integral part of the company’s mission. Anne Mulcahy, former CEO of Xerox

52. Employee loyalty begins with employer loyalty. Your employees should know that if they do the job they were hired to do with a reasonable amount of competence and efficiency, you will support them. Harvey Mackay, businessman, and author

53. In a nursery, if you don’t take care of those plants, your profits get lost real quickly. You have to weed. You have to water. You have to nurture. Also, you have to take care of your employees in such a way that they do the same. Jack Dangermond, businessman and environmental scientist

54. Of the top 10 sources of innovation, employees are the only resource that you can control and access that your competitors cannot. Employees are the one asset you have that can actually be a sustainable competitive advantage. Kaihan Krippendorff, business strategist, and keynote speaker

55. It’s about getting the best people, retaining them, nurturing a creative environment, and helping to find a way to innovate. Marissa Mayer, former CEO of Yahoo!

56. Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if you don’t have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it; it’s true. If you hire somebody without [integrity], you really want them to be dumb and lazy. Warren Buffett, chairman, and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway

57. We can never fall short when it comes to recruiting, hiring, maintaining, and growing our workforce. It is the employees who make our organization’s success a reality. Vern Dosch, former president, National Information Solutions Cooperative

Treat Your Employees Right Quotes

Did you know that 40 percent of US workers would put more energy into their jobs if they were recognized more? Or that 82 percent of American professionals feel they are not adequately recognized for their contributions? As one of the main drivers for employee engagement, showing the team some love makes good business sense. These quotes will reinforce that critical message.

58. Appreciate everything your associates do for the business. Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They’re absolutely free and worth a fortune. Sam Walton, entrepreneur, and businessman who founded Walmart

59. Everyone wants to be appreciated, so if you appreciate someone, don’t keep it a secret. Mary Kay Ash, businesswoman, and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

60. Your mission statement, vision statement, core values, and service standards provide a clear focus for all while keeping your team humble and hungry. It creates that family environment in which your employees enjoy coming to work and dealing with the challenges they face each day. Amber Hurdle, brand strategy and leadership consultant

61. Culture is about performance, and making people feel good about how they contribute to the whole. Tracy Streckenbach, operating partner, Gridiron Capital LLC

62. Everyone enjoys doing the kind of work for which he is best suited. Napoleon Hill, author

63. When people go to work, they shouldn’t have to leave their hearts at home. Betty Bender, author

64. People want to know they matter, and they want to be treated as people. That’s the new talent contract. Pamela Stroko, vice president at Oracle Corporation

65. The way to develop the best that is in a man is by appreciation and encouragement. Charles Schwab, founder, and chairman of the Charles Schwab Corporation

66. I have always believed that the way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers and that people flourish when they are praised. Sir Richard Branson, entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin Group

67. If you do not treat people with the respect they deserve, do not expect any kind of commitment to your productivity goals and target. Ian Fuhr, author

68. The way your employees feel is the way your customers feel. And if your employees don’t feel valued, neither will your customers. Sybil F. Streschic, author

69. Take time to appreciate employees, and they will reciprocate in a thousand ways. Bob Nelson, comedian, and actor

70. The simple act of paying positive attention to people has a great deal to do with productivity. Tom Peters, author

Employee Engagement Quote Bill Gates

We’ve saved perhaps the best quote for last. When it comes to employee engagement, the responsibility for effecting change rests firmly with business leaders and managers. Bill Gates nicely sums up this sentiment as follows:

As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.

Employee Engagement Videos

If you are looking for additional sources of inspiration and motivation, check out our top 30 employee engagement videos. There’s something for everyone, including insightful talks from the experts, explainer animations, and laugh-out-loud humor. Video is not only a popular communications channel with employees, but it’s also very effective. One study showed employees are more likely to retain five percent of a message when they watch a video. Use employee engagement videos in combination with motivational employee engagement quotes for a killer punch.

Employee Engagement Quotes: Takeaway Message

Employee engagement quotations are a valuable tool to help increase employee engagement in your organization. Used wisely, they can inspire, motivate and encourage managers and staff alike. And they may even spark innovation in your business.

There’s undoubtedly a lot at stake. Top-performing businesses across all sectors are powered by the same rocket fuel: employee engagement. Take a look at these statistics for confirmation:

• Companies with highly engaged workforces are 21 percent more profitable.
• Disengaged employees cost US businesses up to $550 billion a year.
• Employees who feel their voice is heard are 6 times more likely to feel empowered to perform their best work.

Make sure your organization isn’t one of those on the wrong side of the ledger. Use the examples listed here or carry out your own research. And develop a library of employee engagement quotations that you can draw on for any situation.

Want to find out more about employee engagement and how to increase it, then get in touch. MyHub provides cloud-based intranets that will increase employee engagement through better internal communications and sharing of organizational information. And the good news is our intranet solutions are super easy to set up and simple to manage.

Contact us today for a free demo or a 14-day no-obligation trial and explore the possibilities.