People disengage when they don't see how their work contributes to larger goals – 51% of team members are likely to leave because of this.
This disconnect happens because humans naturally seek meaning in their work. When your team members can't see the direct impact of their daily tasks, they feel their efforts lack purpose.
The endless spreadsheets, customer calls, or code they produce seem pointless because they don't understand how it helps achieve something meaningful. This creates a motivation vacuum where work becomes mechanical rather than purposeful, leading to decreased effort and eventual resignation.
So, how can you connect these dots?
1. Help them understand their purpose.
- This means explaining how their work directly impacts the company’s goals, customers, and bottom line. When your team members see the tangible results of their efforts, they become more invested in their work.
- Here’s how Amjed Saffarini, CEO at Trove, makes purpose clear:
Turn company goals into measurable Impact
- Instead of vague targets, use impact metrics—specific, measurable goals that show the real-world effect of employees' work.
- Then, help team members understand their role in achieving these goals.
- Example: Instead of saying, “We need to improve efficiency,” say: “If we process 20% more claims this month, we’ll help 430 more families receive their benefits on time.” In a MedTech company developing AI imaging tools, it could be: “If we increase our AI’s accuracy by 10%, radiologists can detect early-stage cancer cases sooner—helping save more lives.”
Connect everyday tasks to the bigger picture.
- Engagement isn’t just about knowing the goal—it’s about seeing why daily work matters.
- Regularly explain the ‘why’ behind tasks so employees stay motivated.
- To Amjed, team members who know why their work matters are “dedicated not only to the trade that they're involved with... but actually see the bigger picture of what you're trying to do."
Show employees the impact of the work on customers
- People connect best when they see real customer outcomes.
- Bring in actual users to share how your product or service made a difference.
- Example: For us at Jabra, we share customer stories like this: “For me, the three-lens camera is a great feature. The 180° viewing angle (of the PanaCast 50) is what really caught my eye, and I was most impressed that the camera even picks up people positioned directly lateral to it. With a lot of these teleconferencing systems, the best you can do is maybe 120° or 140°, so I think it's great that this camera can fit in as many people as possible, even when this conference room is completely packed.”
- Feedback like this energizes our team to improve our products so companies can have more inclusive meetings.
2. Clarify your expectations
Lakeisha Robichaux, CEO at Chief of Minds, says, "Give clarity to team members on what the purpose is, how it aligns with organizational values and goals, and what your expectations are."
Without clear expectations and purpose alignment, employee engagement quickly crumbles. And that’s because they don’t understand what success looks like or how their work connects to larger goals. To create clarity:
- Schedule brief weekly check-ins focused specifically on alignment. These should be conversations, not evaluations: A question as simple as, “How are you going to use your strengths to help with this project?” tees up a different conversation than “When are you going to get this done?”
- "Ensure employees are clear in their expectations, have the tools required to be successful, and work in an environment where they can be productive,” says Dr. Dieter Veldsman, Chief Scientist at AIHR.
- In other words, explain what you need, but give them a chance to share their views, too. Research shows that employees who feel heard are “4.6x more likely to feel empowered to perform their best work” and meet expectations.
3. Create a sense of ownership by incentivizing your team members for good work
According to Gallup, there are 3 types of employees:
- Engaged employees are involved in their roles and responsibilities. They're psychological owners. They'll work extra hours to complete projects, go above and beyond for clients, and build strong relationships with coworkers.
- Not engaged employees are psychologically unattached to their work, putting in time but not energy or passion. They typically complete work out of duty rather than interest, prefer to avoid high-profile assignments and fly under the radar.
- Actively disengaged employees are psychologically unattached and actively resent the company. They often speak negatively about coworkers, projects, and leadership and may undermine what engaged colleagues accomplish.
You want to keep your team in the first category, and one of the best ways to do so is to use the agency maths concept—where you teach employees how your business makes money and give them ownership in those financial outcomes.
When team members understand how the business generates revenue and share in that success, “they stop thinking like employees and start operating like owners.”
HR professional Tessa White calls it the ownership mentality. This mentality gets you “ahead of the game because people will work for companies that are sharing in the ownership… they don't want to work and make the big guy lots of money …without profit sharing or some kind of reward mechanism”.
Create fair compensation structures to give your team members more skin in the game. For example, Trader Joe’s pays more than the industry average, offers paid time off and discounts on all products, and has an understanding leadership.
Because of this, 80% of their staff would recommend their friend to work at Traders Joe’s.
