Your company has ambitious goals, and your employees make them happen. That’s why developing appealing, ongoing employee engagement strategies is so important.
Employee engagement powers growth, productivity, and success at your business. In this guide, we’ll walk through the latest and greatest strategies for engaging your employees. Here’s what we’ll cover:
- Employee Engagement FAQs
- How to Develop an Employee Engagement Strategy
- The Top Employee Engagement Strategies + Examples
- Employee Engagement Best Practices
After reaching an 11-year low, employee engagement has finally rebounded slightly, with 32% of U.S. employees feeling fully engaged in their roles as of mid-2024. Your company can help contribute to this rise in engagement—but first, you need to get the right strategies up and running.
Employee Engagement FAQs
Before we jump into some of the smartest employee engagement strategies to implement in your workplace, let’s set the stage with some frequently asked questions to orient your team:
What is employee engagement?
Employee engagement refers to how emotionally committed and enthusiastic employees feel toward their work. Highly engaged employees are motivated beyond their paychecks—they want to contribute to their company’s goals to help the organization thrive. Often, this means they go above and beyond in their roles by proactively seeking opportunities to improve their performance.
What are employee engagement activities?
Employee engagement activities are initiatives companies take to increase employee enthusiasm, commitment, and motivation. For example, many businesses establish employee giving programs to inspire community involvement or provide extensive wellness benefits to help their employees live healthier and happier.
The strategies you choose will depend on your company’s employees, culture, and resources. Effective employee engagement doesn’t have to be costly. There are plenty of low-lift activities and lightweight tools you can start with—once you’ve built a strong foundation, you can fold in more strategies to keep the momentum going.
Why are talent engagement strategies important?
As with any investment, it can be helpful for your company to understand why it should make the effort. What do you stand to gain from implementing employee engagement strategies? What could you lose if you don’t?
Here are just a handful of recent statistics that illustrate the importance of engaging employees:
- Companies in the top quartile of employee experience developed more successful innovations and earned twice as much revenue from those innovations than those in the bottom quartile.
- Gallup calculated that employees who are not engaged or actively disengaged cost the world $8.8 trillion in lost productivity.
- Low-engagement teams typically experience turnover rates that are 18% to 43% higher than highly engaged teams.
- Companies that prioritize engagement have seen an 81% decrease in employee absenteeism.
Ultimately, employee engagement is about enhancing how employees feel about your company and the role they play in it. The more devoted they are to your success, the more likely they are to put in their best work, collaborate well with their team, and stick around for the long term.
How to Develop an Employee Engagement Strategy
If your company is ready to increase its employee engagement rates, begin by identifying the most practical and impactful strategies to include in your plan.
To determine which ideas may be right for your business, consider:
- Your company’s core values
- Your budget for new employee engagement programs
- The successes and challenges of your current efforts
- Your timeline for launching new programs
- Your employees’ demographics and stated preferences
- Team capacity for developing new programs
- Initial responses to proposed engagement initiatives
If you’re unsure what motivates your employees or which strategies might work best, dig into your data. Analyze past employee participation rates, survey responses, and manager feedback. You may also directly ask for insights from managers, and feel free to float potential ideas to see how employees respond.
Once you’ve chosen your new employee engagement strategies, all you need to do is put them into action and monitor the results! If your new strategies include corporate philanthropy programs, the right software will make this process easy.
The Top Employee Engagement Strategies + Examples
Now that you’ve gotten the lay of the land, explore these top talent engagement strategies and real-world examples to inspire your new programs.
1. Design a welcoming onboarding process.
Onboarding sets the tone for each employee’s relationship with their role and your company. In fact, 70% of new hires decide whether a job is the right fit within the first month, and 29% know within the first week.
Consider these ideas for improving your onboarding process:
- Plan a warm welcome for the first day, such as an office tour or a complimentary team lunch.
- Tailor your onboarding steps and resources to the employee’s specific role.
- Share stories and encourage reflection on your company’s culture and values.
- Pair new hires with a more experienced mentor who can answer questions and provide support.
An example to learn from: Zapier is a mid-sized software company with a month-long onboarding process. Its dedicated onboarding program manager greets new hires and leads interactive workshops on company values, security, and other essential information. Using automation, the company matches new hires with seasoned employees before their start date to ensure they feel individually supported from the start.
2. Reinforce and act on your core values.
Your company’s identity is founded on its core values, which influence how employees, customers, and other stakeholders perceive you. Studies show 87% of U.S. employees prioritize working for organizations that share their values. By ensuring that your values are at the forefront of everything you do, rather than merely decorative, you’ll help employees build a stronger connection with your company.
Here are some tips for strengthening your core values in the workplace:
- Encourage leadership to embody your values and actively communicate how they influence company decisions.
- Give job applicants the chance to reflect on your values and whether they align with them.
- Integrate core values into regular feedback and performance reviews.
- Publicly recognize employees who live up to your values to inspire others.
An example to learn from: Pinnacle Financial Partners is a financial services firm that strives to demonstrate its core values in every interaction, from hiring to working with clients. The leadership team conducts a three-day orientation on the organization’s mission, vision, and values for all new associates to ensure alignment from day one.
3. Implement a matching gift program.
Three out of every four U.S. employees want to work for a company that positively impacts the world. By launching a matching gift program, you can help employees find fulfillment beyond simply performing well in their roles and improve your corporate social responsibility (CSR).
The matching gift process typically looks something like this:
- An employee donates to a nonprofit.
- The employee confirms their eligibility and submits a matching gift request.
- Your company reviews the employee’s request, either manually or automatically with a corporate giving platform.
- Upon approving the request, your company matches the employee’s donation to the nonprofit.
An example to learn from: Omatic Software is a software company that uses corporate giving tools to make it easy for employees to track their donation matches. To encourage more employees to participate, the company even uses Uncommon Giving’s software to offer increased matching gifts above and beyond the traditional 1:1 ratio on special days, such as GivingTuesday.
4. Facilitate employee volunteering.
82% of businesses report that their employees want corporate-sponsored volunteer opportunities. By facilitating employee volunteering, your company can help them give back to the community, learn new skills, and strengthen bonds with their colleagues.
There are several types of corporate volunteering you can organize:
- Direct Service Volunteering: Employees directly help community members through activities such as serving meals at a soup kitchen.
- Indirect Service Volunteering: Employees indirectly help community members through tasks such as creating marketing materials for a nonprofit event.
- Virtual Volunteering: Employees participate in online opportunities such as tutoring or providing translation services.
- Skills-based Volunteering: Employees lend their personal or professional skills, such as graphic design, to charitable organizations at no cost.
- Team Volunteering: Employees participate in larger projects, such as building a community garden, with their colleagues.
- Volunteer Grants: When employees volunteer a certain number of hours with a nonprofit, your company rewards their dedication by donating to that organization.
- Volunteer Time Off (VTO): Employees receive additional paid time off (PTO) specifically for volunteering—and 65% of businesses already provide this benefit!
An example to learn from: Vibe Credit Union’s vision is “Elevating Community. Creating Opportunity.” The financial institution partners with local charities to arrange volunteer events for its team members, leading to employees logging more than 6,500 total volunteer hours in 2023. Thanks to its corporate volunteering software, Vibe’s employees can easily find new volunteer opportunities, log their hours, and upload photos to share their experiences.
5. Promote employee work-life balance.
44% of U.S. employees feel burned out in their roles, and these individuals are nearly three times more likely to be actively searching for another job. While many companies seek hard-working employees, you must encourage them to live healthy lifestyles to maintain their energy, productivity, and loyalty over time.
Consider incorporating some of these ideas to improve work-life balance at your business:
- Encourage employees to take regular breaks throughout the day and use their time off.
- Provide mental health resources, such as a meditation app or stress management workshops.
- Promote physical fitness by covering all or part of the cost of gym memberships for employees.
- Offer on-site childcare or a stipend to help cover childcare costs for parents.
An example to learn from: Fivetran is a software company that provides many employee benefits to support work-life balance and well-being. For example, employees enjoy free lunches, 25 days of PTO per year, two days of VTO, and paid parental leave. Since many roles are largely remote, the company also provides home office reimbursements to ensure employees have everything they need to work comfortably in their own spaces.
6. Allow more individual work flexibility.
Your employees need different conditions to thrive, both personally and professionally. Some are most productive in the morning, while others have more energy in the afternoon.
43% of professionals cite less stress and better mental health as the number one benefit of work flexibility, and one in three report that work flexibility would increase their job satisfaction and morale. Here are a few ways your company can give employees more freedom in their roles:
- Allow employees to choose when to start and end their work each day.
- Provide remote or hybrid options so employees can pick their ideal work environment and reduce commute time.
- Establish a more flexible PTO policy, such as floating holidays or unlimited PTO.
- Give employees the opportunity to work longer hours for a four-day week, if desired.
An example to learn from: Kuali is a higher education software company that offers a four-day workweek at 100% pay and all of the PTO its employees need. Employees can work in a co-located office or remotely.
7. Build trust through transparency.
Your employees want to feel integral to your company’s success, not like they’re nameless contributors. By focusing on internal and external transparency, your company can develop more loyal, trusting relationships with employees and customers.
Start by considering these best practices for creating a more transparent workplace:
- Regularly share your company’s goals and performance in monthly all-hands meetings.
- Be open about challenges or shortcomings and discuss how you’ll improve going forward.
- Be straightforward about your compensation structure and benefits, including the reasoning behind them.
- Communicate the potential career paths that employees can take within the company.
An example to learn from: Buffer is a social media marketing software company that has led the way in transparency for over a decade. It has a dedicated public page that shares the company’s monthly metrics, where team members are located, how many PTO days are taken each month, and even salaries for individual positions.
8. Prioritize clear, regular communication.
Only 46% of employees agree that communications from leaders include enough context to perform their jobs well—40% indicate that they want more thoughtful and insightful details. However, effective internal communication requires more than spamming your employees with every update or change your business encounters.
Engage your employees through clear, frequent, two-way communication. For example:
- Establish multiple channels for connecting with peers, managers, and leadership, from email to chat tools.
- Communicate each employee’s responsibilities and performance expectations with clear metrics they can refer back to.
- Have managers schedule regular one-on-one check-ins with their direct reports to share and receive feedback.
- Make leadership more accessible to every employee, from Q&A sessions to open-door policies.
An example to learn from: At Sorted, collaboration and open communication are key components of the company’s culture. Beyond regular team meetings, cross-departmental projects, and an open-door policy, the company excels with this employee engagement strategy by using private podcasts to communicate with employees. Leadership teams share updates, milestones, and insights that employees can listen to when convenient.
9. Encourage delegation and autonomy.
Promoting delegation and autonomy helps employees take more ownership of their work. When your managers give their direct reports more freedom to make decisions and approach tasks they’ve identified as relevant to your company’s goals, you increase their investment in the results.
Here are some basic ways you can accomplish this:
- Allow employees to propose projects that they’ll manage and complete on their own.
- Empower employees to be proactive about making decisions relevant to their role.
- Delegate tasks to employees based on skills or areas they’ve expressed an interest in learning more about.
- Send out regular surveys to encourage and collect innovative ideas from employees.
An example to learn from: Due to differing management styles and employee preferences, there is no one-size-fits-all way to nurture delegation and autonomy within your workplace. Start by making it a part of your company’s culture, like Exponential AI. This healthcare AI software company champions innovation, supports autonomy, and invites employees to challenge the status quo.
10. Improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
Employees are much more likely to feel engaged in a workplace that embraces diverse perspectives and worldviews. However, more and more companies are rolling back their programs in light of the current administration and political climate.
To create a company culture that promotes belonging, rewards innovation, and inspires creativity, look for ways to invest in more DEI initiatives. For instance:
- Establish employee resource groups (ERGs), which are voluntary organizations formed around common characteristics or interests.
- Avoid using gendered language or unnecessary jargon in job descriptions.
- Incorporate accessibility best practices on your career page, including alt text for images and video transcripts.
- Provide role-specific DEI training to help employees learn about unconscious bias and create a more inclusive work environment.
An example to learn from: Bloomerang is a software company committed to celebrating diversity. It has an ongoing Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion (DEAI) committee that actively works to improve inclusivity in its hiring practices, implement more accessibility measures, and offer more educational opportunities to employees.
11. Uphold a positive, respectful work environment.
When employees join your company, they want to feel like a valued and respected team member. By instilling positivity and respect in the workplace, you create an environment that people are eager to return to day after day, ultimately boosting productivity and retention.
Consider several ways you can accomplish this:
- Maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward serious misconduct such as discrimination and harassment.
- Promote cross-departmental projects to help employees connect across your company.
- Enroll managers in training courses to improve skills such as empathy and active listening.
- Create a physically pleasant workplace with ergonomic furniture and adequate lighting.
An example to learn from: Bombas is an apparel company that refers to its team as the Hive. Its values, which include “Bee Yourself” and “Bee Better,” encourage employees to embrace their individuality and strive to improve themselves. Perks such as community events and a dog-friendly office provide employees with a more social and engaging environment to work in.
12. Organize team-building and social activities.
According to Gallup, employees who have a best friend at work are seven times as engaged. But how do you help your employees form these connections, especially if they’re new or scattered across multiple locations?
Here are a few team-building and social ideas for improving camaraderie at your workplace:
- Host team- or company-wide volunteer days to get employees out in the community together.
- Organize both in-person and online activities, such as team sports or virtual movie nights.
- Incorporate team-building opportunities into the workday, such as “lunch and learn” sessions or quick ice-breakers at the start of meetings.
- Collect feedback following company events to hone in on what employees are most interested in.
An example to learn from: Splash is an event management software company that doesn’t let its remote work policy get in the way of team collaboration and connection. It fulfills one of its values, “Find the Fun,” through regular team-building activities and happy hours. Plus, Splash plans company-wide offsite events, including cooking competitions and dance parties, throughout the year to bring everyone together in person.
13. Provide professional development opportunities.
Organizations that invest in employee development experience 11% greater profitability and are twice as likely to retain their employees. By providing employees with opportunities to improve their talents and learn new skills, you demonstrate that you’re committed to helping them shape a long and promising future at your company.
Consider taking some of these steps to enhance your professional development offerings:
- Set up one-on-one or group mentorship programs for employees to learn from one another.
- Allow employees to attend relevant industry conferences and share the highlights with the rest of their team.
- Use a learning management system to offer online courses to employees.
- Create a tuition reimbursement program to support continuing education.
An example to learn from: HubSpot is a marketing software company that offers a tuition reimbursement program and a leadership development team that provides training resources for new and tenured managers. The company also has a Free Books Program that allows employees to borrow books and request a new book to be added to the company library each month.
14. Practice frequent recognition.
A recent study found that feeling appreciated in the workplace is the number one reason employees of all ages and genders want to stay in their current positions. To build a strong employee recognition program, you must focus on personalized methods that highlight each individual’s strengths and accomplishments.
Here are a few popular employee recognition ideas to consider implementing:
- Celebrate work anniversaries, milestones, and project completions with meeting announcements and celebratory events.
- Design a set of eCards that make it easy for employees to shout out their peers.
- Create awards and certificates such as “Employee of the Month.”
- Offer tangible rewards, such as small branded gifts or a free lunch.
An example to learn from: Modivcare is a healthcare services company that uses eCards to practice employee recognition across its multiple locations. The company designed birthday, anniversary, get-well-soon, sympathy, and other eCards for employees to send to one another. It even has an eCard dedicated to each company value, which employees can use to recognize their peers for embodying the value.
15. Collect and apply employee feedback.
Ultimately, the success of your employee engagement strategies depends on how well they resonate with your employees. It doesn’t have to be a guessing game—simply gather employee feedback and use their input to refine your efforts.
Whether you’re asking employees about your workplace giving program or DEI initiatives, keep the following tips in mind:
- Allow employees to submit surveys anonymously, if desired, to promote honesty.
- Create employee focus groups or committees to give them the opportunity to shape larger company decisions.
- Thank employees for taking the time to share their ideas and input.
- Follow up about the changes you’re making based on employee feedback.
An example to learn from: Palmer Johnson Power Systems empowers employees to make their voices heard with an online suggestion area to share their thoughts about the company. Additionally, the management team conducts ongoing coaching sessions to foster open communication and sends out an all-company pulse survey every year.
Employee Engagement Best Practices
No matter which employee engagement strategies you choose to implement, there will be some trial and error. Set the expectation that engaging employees is an ongoing process that won’t be “achieved” in a few weeks or months. Instead, choose specific KPIs to work toward and adjust your strategies over time.
To set your new employee engagement initiatives up for success, follow these best practices:
- Always seek employee input. Your employees’ opinions and interests should drive all of your engagement programs. Check in regularly and implement their feedback often.
- Lead by example. Maintain a visible leadership presence to show employees that participating in your engagement offerings is worthwhile. Anything you offer, company leaders should participate in!
- Celebrate the employees who participate. Recognize those who buy into your employee engagement strategies. Thank them with shout-outs, small gifts, or other recognition methods.
- Track and share your company’s impact. If you offer any corporate philanthropy programs, it’s vital to communicate their impact. Use your CSR platform to report on metrics like total funds donated and number of causes supported.
- Keep team members up to date. Employees can’t participate in your engagement initiatives if they don’t know about them! Promote your offerings regularly, and use company-wide channels to share any updates or changes to your programs.
- Invest in software that makes participation easier. Tools like Uncommon Giving can significantly lighten your team’s load and make engaging with your giving and volunteer programs seamless.
The right software makes it easy to manage, track, and improve your employee engagement programs, even as they grow.
Building on the Momentum of Your Employee Engagement Strategies
When starting your journey toward becoming a top employee engagement company, remember to be patient and adopt a growth mindset. As you implement new strategies, keep an eye on metrics like satisfaction scores, participation rates, retention, and absenteeism to identify improvement areas. Additionally, invest in any tools you need to facilitate and accelerate employee engagement efforts, such as workplace giving software.
If you’re interested in learning more about engaging employees as a socially responsible company, check out these additional resources:
- Employee & Workplace Giving: Blueprint for Modern Companies. Explore the benefits of launching employee giving programs and learn from top CSR companies in this guide.
- Corporate Volunteerism: A Quick-Start Guide to Success. Learn how to create an engaging corporate volunteer program and inspire employees to participate.
- 11+ Best CSR Software for Impact, Engagement, and ROI. Discover the top CSR software tools that can help your company engage its employees and boost its brand reputation.
Andy Howell is the CEO of Uncommon Giving, which provides modern, cost-effective workplace giving and volunteering tools for employers to live their corporate values, improve employee morale, and enhance brand reputation. Andy has years of experience working with SaaS companies serving the nonprofit, HR, and social impact spaces, including Blackbaud, Benevity, Benefitfocus, and Bloomerang. He has served as a featured speaker at the DisruptHR conference, and his company was recognized as one of the best tech startups in South Carolina by the Tech Tribune multiple years running. In his role today, he brings a distinct point of view to the meaningful connection between CSR and employee engagement.
