ATA Search

​Five practical ways leaders can increase employee engagement

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Here are five evidence-based initiatives that leaders in your business can adopt and that your next leadership hire should be equipped to implement:

1. Build clarity of role and alignment

• Culture Amp’s data show that role alignment is pivotal: when people feel their role is “a great fit”, they’re significantly more likely to become high-performers. (startupsmagazine.co.uk)

• In a technical/manufacturing context, that means: clear job definitions, strong onboarding, and regular check-ins to ensure the Engineer, technician or team member understands how their work impacts the broader business objective (e.g., mapping a production Engineer’s work to on-time delivery or product quality).

• Leaders should be trained and held accountable for role clarity and alignment.

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2. Embed a culture of frequent, meaningful feedback

• The research demonstrates that high‐performing teams give and receive feedback more often, employees in those teams reported 83% favourability with manager feedback vs 71% in lower-performing teams. (startupsmagazine.co.uk)

• In manufacturing: this could mean weekly 1:1s, project-end debriefs, feedback loops on the shop floor, peer recognition and continuous improvement sessions. It should go beyond the annual review.

• Recruiter choose a leader who sees feedback as a tool for development and engagement, not just evaluation.

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3.Develop leadership with the multiplier effect in mind

• The headline finding: employees under high-performing leaders are 4.5 × more likely to be high performers themselves. (Culture Amp)

• For your next hire, this means: seek a leader who can model engagement behaviours (inclusion, transparency, coaching mindset) and thereby create ripple-effects in their team.

• Also ensure you assess potential leaders using psychometric tools (as ATA Search offers) to surface those attributes.

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4. Invest in career-and-skills development

• According to Culture Amp, companies that prioritise employee development see 46 % higher engagement. (Culture Amp)

• In engineering/manufacturing: provide structured development plans (e.g., for automation skills, cross-function movement, leadership tracks), technical upskilling, job-rotation programmes.

• The leader you select should champion development, not merely manage tasks.

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5. Foster “people matter” leadership and team connection

• One of the top drivers of engagement globally is “leaders demonstrating that people matter to the company’s success”. (Culture Amp)

• In your setting: the leader must know the team by name, engage proactively, make visible how individual contributions link to outcomes, champion inclusion and trust.

• This kind of leadership builds the psychological safety, commitment and purpose that underpin engagement.

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What this means when you hire

When you’re recruiting a senior or executive leader in engineering or manufacturing (whether permanent, interim or contract) you can no longer treat engagement as an HR tick-box. It’s a business-critical capability.

• Make sure your candidate’s track-record shows how they’ve improved engagement or team performance, not just delivered tasks.

• Use psychometric and behavioural assessment to evaluate their ability to lead people, instil feedback cultures and develop talent.

• Ask how they have aligned roles, delivered feedback loops, built development pipeline sand modelled “people-matter” leadership.

• Recognise that the right leader will drive engagement and that inherent team performance is less about finding a “superstar” and more about designing the right environment and leadership. (startupsmagazine.co.uk)

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Why ATA Search can help

At ATA Search we specialise in executive and leadership recruitment across engineering and manufacturing, including general engineering, FMCG, aerospace, automotive, construction materials manufacturing, process engineering, warehouse automation and special-purpose machinery.

We don’t just find candidates, we support with psychometric profiling, team‐gap analysis and leadership-capability diagnostics. That means when you hire your next leader, you’re not just filling a role, you’re hiring someone capable of instigating positive business change and driving the engagement that lifts performance.

If you recognise that your next hire must go beyond technical competence and must engage and mobilise your team, speak to ATA Search today. Let’s ensure the leader you bring in will Bridge The Skills Gap, elevate your people and deliver the step-change you need.

Get in touch today by filling out the form below and let us help you strengthen the future of your workforce.

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