If you’ve ever looked around at your team and thought, Why don’t they care as much as I do? – you’re not alone. A lack of employee engagement isn’t just a sign of a bad hire or a broken system. Often, it’s a sign of missing connections, unclear expectations, and leadership that’s unintentionally out of sync. The good news? You can build better employee engagement. But it starts with you.
Today, I’m sharing why so many employees and teams are disengaged, what old leadership methods aren’t working anymore, and what to do today to increase your team’s engagement.
What Happened to Caring?
This issue goes far beyond restaurants or retail. Whether you’re in tech, hospitality, or any kind of leadership role, you’ve probably seen it: people doing the bare minimum, showing up disengaged, or missing the mark entirely when it comes to customer experience.
Once, I heard restaurant leaders lamenting how hard it is to get people to care about their work. They talked about things like pre-bussing tables, greeting customers, and following a clear process. But I had to stop them right there and say:
“You’re expecting mastery when they haven’t even mastered the basics.”
It’s like trying to build a house on a cracked, non-existent foundation. You can’t expect people to care deeply about excellence if they don’t even understand what’s expected of them in the first place.
Better Employee Engagement Through a Foundation
Mastery doesn’t just happen. It’s built, one layer at a time. You don’t wake up one day and know how to lead a team, troubleshoot an issue, or deliver incredible hospitality.
It starts with a foundation – understanding the role, learning the systems, and having the space to ask questions and grow. From there, you add more skills, context, and repetition. Eventually, mastery happens – but it’s a journey, not a demand.
The Old Leadership Playbook Isn’t Working Anymore
Too many leaders are still using an outdated approach to training and development:
- Throw 50 things at someone in their first week
- Tell them how to do something once
- Expect them to perform at a high level immediately
That’s not training – that’s setting people up to fail.
If someone on your team isn’t performing the way you want, don’t assume they’re lazy or careless. First, ask:
- Do they actually understand what’s expected?
- Have they been shown more than once?
- Have you built a relationship where they feel safe to ask questions?
And if they still don’t care? Then yes, maybe they’re in the wrong role. But in many cases, people want to succeed. They just haven’t been given the tools to do it.
5 Ways to Build Better Employee Engagement
1. Ask Better Questions (and Actually Listen to the Answers)
The foundation of strong leadership is understanding your people – and that begins by asking questions.
What’s their learning style? What energizes them? Do they understand your vision, values, and where they fit into the bigger picture?
If the answer is no (and it often is), you’ve found your first gap. When people don’t feel connected to a mission or purpose, it’s hard for them to care deeply about the work. Asking thoughtful, open-ended questions not only builds trust, but also gives you insight into how to lead more effectively.
2. Do You Have the Right People in the Right Roles?
It’s possible that your team members don’t care because their job responsibilities don’t align with their strengths. It’s up to you when you’re interviewing people to assess if each person is in the right role.
3. Set (and Reinforce) Clear Expectations
Every business is different. What one restaurant expects of a server might be completely different from another. As a leader, it’s your job to be crystal clear about:
- What the role is
- What success looks like
- How they’ll be supported along the way
Sometimes your way won’t make sense to someone else and that’s an opportunity for you to ask: How do you think this process should work? Invite their feedback and ideas. You might be surprised by what you learn.
4. Get People to Go the Extra Mile By Going There First
People won’t go the extra mile unless you show them how.
That means being a role model. Teaching, guiding, and mentoring from your own experience. Not just checking in, but truly sitting down with someone and investing time to understand who they are, how they work, and what they need to succeed.
You can’t do that if your calendar is only filled with meetings and putting out fires. Carve out time for connection. It’s one of the most underrated (and most impactful) things a leader can do.
5. Create Processes That Actually Transform
Your onboarding, training, and daily processes shouldn’t just check a box. They should transform someone – help them grow, automate a task that frees up their brainpower, or give them a deeper sense of ownership and belonging.
If your processes aren’t creating some kind of change, it’s time to reevaluate them.
Book a Virtual Coffee
If your team feels disconnected, take a look at how you’re leading. Are you understanding who your people are? Are you stacking knowledge in a way that helps them build confidence and mastery? Are your expectations clear and your processes meaningful?
You may not need a total overhaul – just a new playbook.
And if you’re thinking, I need help with this, you’re not alone. Book a free virtual coffee chat with me and let’s talk through where you’re stuck, what your business needs, and how we can start building a stronger foundation for you and your team.
Resources Mentioned
💻 Join me every Friday at 10 am on LinkedIn for my free workshop
☕️ Schedule a Virtual Coffee with Theresa
📝 Uncover Your Biggest Blindspots with the Entrepreneur Quiz
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