Top 14 employee engagement best practices

Employee engagement doesn’t just happen – your business must carefully craft and nurture it over time. Building a motivated, productive, and engaged workforce requires years of effort, investment, and continuous refinement. It goes beyond perks and programs – the ultimate goal is to create an environment where people feel valued, connected, and inspired to work at their highest potential.

What’s the secret to better engagement? Every business has its own unique formula. To help you discover what works best for your organization, we’re sharing proven employee engagement best practices to help you create a workplace where every employee feels heard.

What is employee engagement and why is it important?

Employee engagement measures employees’ enthusiasm and commitment to your organization. At Culture Amp, we consider engagement a measure of the following five factors:

1. Pride, or how proud an employee is to work at your company.
2. Recommendation, or whether an individual would recommend your business as a great place to work.
3. Present commitment, or if employees rarely think about leaving your organization.
4. Future commitment, or if employees see themselves still working for your company in two years’ time.
5. Motivation, or if individuals feel motivated to go above and beyond in their role.

Our team of people scientists found that understanding and measuring these five components gives leaders the insights they need to make targeted improvements that boost engagement. When employees feel proud to work at a company they’d recommend, motivated to go above and beyond, and committed to staying for the long term, engagement soars – benefiting both individual performance and the organization’s overall success.

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The impact of employee engagement on organizational success

Wondering why it’s worth investing in employee engagement? A highly engaged workforce can have tremendous benefits for any organization. According to research by Gallup, it can boost productivity, reduce turnover, improve retention, and build a better company culture.

Here’s a closer look at these benefits and Gallup’s findings:

1. Boost productivity: Employees who are not engaged or actively disengaged cost the global economy $8.8 trillion in lost productivity. Engaged employees, on the other hand, are estimated to be 23% more productive than their unengaged peers.
2. Decrease absenteeism: Business units with higher engagement report 78% lower absenteeism rates than those with low engagement. Engaged employees are more likely to show up every day with passion and purpose.
3. Reduce turnover: Highly engaged teams report 21% lower turnover rates for high-turnover organizations and a 51% reduction in turnover for low-turnover organizations.
4. Better customer engagement: Happy employees mean happy customers. When your employees feel supported in their roles, they can better serve your customers and deliver better business outcomes. In fact, engaged business units report 10% higher customer loyalty and engagement.

Employee engagement isn’t just a nice-to-have – it’s a strategic advantage that can fuel growth, drive innovation, and strengthen your company’s competitive edge. Now, let’s explore employee engagement best practices and strategies your business can use to build a better workplace.

14 successful employee engagement best practices

Looking for ways to engage your workforce? Here are 14 employee engagement strategies for boosting morale and driving engagement.

1. Provide a strong employee experience from onboarding to exit

Building a strong employee experience is essential to fostering an engaged workplace.

Employee experience encompasses everything an individual encounters throughout their journey with your company, from their new hire orientation and training to the support and development opportunities they receive during their tenure to their exit process. When organizations deliver a seamless and supportive experience at each stage of the employee lifecycle, employees feel valued and empowered to do their best work.

To help your business understand employee experience and measure engagement throughout the employee lifecycle, here are a few surveys and interview strategies you can use:

• Onboarding surveys: Surveys that gather actionable feedback from your company’s newest employees about their orientation experience and assess whether they feel supported during their first 30, 60, or 90 days.
• Stay interviews: Conversations with current employees to understand what motivates them to stay with your company and identify ways your business can enhance their overall experience.
• Exit interviews: Conversations or surveys with departing employees to gain insights into their reasons for leaving and gather feedback on ways to enhance the work environment for current and future employees. Here’s an exit interview template to guide your conversations.

Together, these processes allow you to track and monitor engagement across three critical stages of the employee lifecycle: hiring, retention, and departure. When combined with other surveys – which we’ll explore in the next section – your business can gather valuable insights to continuously refine the employee experience and boost engagement.

2. Give and receive feedback

Feedback is a crucial element in growth. It lets employees know what they’re doing well and highlights areas of opportunity they can use to grow personally and professionally. With Culture Amp’s Continuous Feedback and 360-Degree Feedback tools, your business can foster a culture of ongoing feedback, enabling growth conversations year-round rather than waiting for annual performance reviews.

Feedback should be a two-way street – employees need channels to share their thoughts and suggestions about their peers and leaders, as well as about the company in general.. Our people scientists have found that the most effective way to gather employee feedback is through regular surveys.

Conducting ongoing surveys – like engagement, pulse, diversity and inclusion, and manager effectiveness surveys – gives employees a platform to weigh in on key topics and helps your organization stay responsive to your employees’ needs and insights. By collecting, analyzing, and acting on these insights, your business can make targeted improvements that drive engagement and foster a more supportive and productive work environment.

Not sure what to ask in your surveys? Here are some sample employee engagement survey questions you can use to collect impactful, actionable feedback.

3. Use employee insights to drive meaningful change

Collecting employee feedback only matters if you take action on it and drive meaningful change. Conducting regular employee surveys is important, but your workforce may get survey fatigue over time if they feel their feedback isn’t leading to real improvements.

How can you prove to employees that you’re listening? Here’s a three-step approach:

1. Share survey results openly: Be transparent about the good and the bad. Share your company-wide survey results in an all-hands meeting, highlighting strengths and key areas for improvement.
2. Outline your post-survey action plan: Based on these findings, share a detailed plan of how your HR team will address these areas to boost team engagement.
3. Follow through on improvements: Regularly update employees on the progress of the action plan, showing them the tangible changes their feedback has inspired.

Together, these three steps help build lasting trust and accountability with your employees. You may also find that employees become more open with feedback and suggestions after seeing it lead to real changes or improvements.

Ensure your business takes quick action after every survey with these helpful tips for pulling actionable takeaways from employee engagement results.

4. Recognize employees regularly

Hearing that you’re doing a good job can do wonders for motivation, morale, and engagement. Yet, research has found that only 28% of employees feel meaningfully recognized at work.

To help your employees feel valued by their teams, managers, and the organization as a whole, your business needs to build a culture of appreciation. This can take the form of informal shout-outs in team meetings, private praise in 1-on-1 meetings, public awards like “Employee of the Month,” or one of the many ideas in our 20 employee recognition ideas that work article.

Introducing a peer-to-peer recognition tool, like Shoutouts, is a great way to make recognition a part of employees' everyday experience at your company. Culture Amp’s employee recognition software integrates directly with Slack and Microsoft Teams, so your employees can easily and quickly recognize their peers without having to log in to a separate system. This helps employees celebrate both big and small wins, giving their colleagues the recognition they deserve.

5. Develop clear growth and career development opportunities

Employees are more likely to be engaged when they feel challenged and like they can grow their careers within your company, but Gallup found that only 1 in 4 employees are confident about their career path.

How can your business prioritize employee growth and ensure your employees see a future with your organization? Here are a few ideas:

• Provide well-defined career paths
  Employees want to know how they can advance within your organization, and providing clear, public career paths can give them the guidance they need. Outline required experience, skills, and qualifications for common career paths to help individuals understand the steps they can take to grow their careers with your company. Using a tool like Career Paths lets you store, update, and share role descriptions and competencies in one place, making this information easy for employees to access whenever they’re thinking about the future.
• Implement mentorship programs
  Leverage your company’s talent by establishing an internal mentorship program where mentors and mentees can share knowledge, experiences, and constructive feedback. Mentorship programs can foster growth and be equally rewarding for both participants.
• Hold regular development reviews
  Formal professional development reviews provide an opportunity to discuss an employee's growth, set goals, and identify areas for skill enhancement, keeping their career progression on track. Many companies align these reviews with their performance review schedule.
• Create individual development plans
  After development conversations, encourage managers and their direct reports to establish personalized individual development plans that detail how the employee can grow their skills and get closer to making their career aspirations a reality.
• Create continuous learning programs
  Many businesses offer ongoing training programs, allowing employees to expand their skills and stay up-to-date with new ideas.
• Implement professional development stipends
  Offering annual or quarterly development stipends empowers employees to invest in their growth however they see fit, whether that’s attending a conference, taking an online course, reading a book, etc.

You don’t need to implement every idea on this list to show employees your commitment to their growth, but each one is a powerful way to support their development and help them feel valued for the long term.

6. Promote work-life balance initiatives

All work, all the time, isn’t sustainable. In fact, SHRM’s Employee Mental Health in 2024 research found that 44% of U.S. employees feel burned out at work. To support employee wellbeing and mental health, businesses must help employees maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Here are some practices that can promote work-life balance:

• Offer remote work options: Your business doesn’t need to offer full-time remote work to see the benefits. Allowing employees to work from home just one or two days a week can boost employee productivity and wellbeing by reducing commute time, as well as offering fewer distractions and greater flexibility to manage personal and professional responsibilities.
• Encourage employees to take PTO: Have managers reach out to employees who haven’t taken much time off and recommend taking breaks to recharge and maintain their wellbeing.
• Offer volunteering time off (VTO): Some companies offer paid time off for volunteering, enabling employees to support the causes they care about without sacrificing their wages.
• Respect work hours: Lastly, remind managers to honor work hours. Suggest that employees use scheduling tools to ensure that communications are sent during regular business hours so that others don’t feel pressured to respond during their personal time.

Benefits and workplace standards like these encourage employees to take the time off they need so they can return to work feeling refreshed and ready.

7. Support employee wellbeing with flexible work options

Another engagement initiative that supports employee wellbeing is flexible work. Flexible work allows employees to choose their own hours, work week, and sometimes even their work location, giving them the freedom to structure their day in a way that best fits their needs.

For example, an employee might choose to work from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., pick up their kids and spend time with them after school, then return to work from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. to wrap up tasks. Another employee might prefer to work four 10-hour days so they can take every Friday off.

Of course, managers and the business will need to approve employees' preferences, but when implemented effectively, flexible scheduling allows employees to tailor their workday to fit their needs. This fosters a culture of accountability while giving employees the autonomy to manage their responsibilities and personal lives, leading to greater job satisfaction and productivity.

8. Organize team-building activities that build connection and trust

Connection is crucial at work. In fact, Gallup research has shown that having a best friend at work can drive engagement and job success. To nurture these relationships, businesses must create opportunities for employees to connect with one another. This can be achieved through activities like volunteering events, happy hours, team offsites, lunches, and even just incorporating casual conversation into meetings.

Not sure how to bring together your remote employees? Check out our blog post, 25 fun virtual team-building activities that aren’t a happy hour, for some inspiration.

9. Offer competitive benefits

Offering a competitive benefits package is another way to keep employees engaged. Here are some key components and perks you may want to include in your package:

• Healthcare: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, often with employer contributions.
• Retirement plans: 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and pensions with employer contributions.
• Paid time off: Vacation days, sick leave, volunteer time off, and paid company holidays.
• Parental leave: Time off for primary and secondary caregivers after the birth or adoption of a child.
• Wellness programs: Gym membership stipends or on-site facilities, mental health applications, financial wellness programs, catered lunches and snacks, in-office massages, and other employee wellness programs.
• Flexible working arrangements: Allowing employees to choose where and when they work, with business approval.
• Employee assistance program: Confidential counseling services and support for personal or professional challenges.
• Professional development: Professional development stipends, ongoing education programs, mentorship programs, and more.
• Stock options and equity: Restricted stock units, employee stock purchase programs, and other equity incentives give employees a direct stake in the company’s success.
• Bonuses: Any cash or stock-based performance incentives.

Employee needs and business resources are constantly evolving, so check in with employees regularly about which benefits they value and any new ones they'd like to see. This feedback ensures that your benefits package remains competitive and aligned with the needs of your workforce.

10. Grow your managers’ skills

The most significant factor impacting an employee’s day-to-day experience at your company? Their manager.

Investing in continuous managerial training will help your managers develop the hard and soft skills they need to successfully lead and support their teams. Covering key topics like mitigating bias, leading with empathy, mastering delegation, resolving conflicts, and communicating change, equips managers with the tools they need to be better, more effective leaders.

Culture Amp’s Skills Coach tool makes learning quick and effective for even the busiest people managers. By delivering daily micro-learning content via Slack, email, or Microsoft Teams, Skills Coach gives managers short, interactive exercises that teach them the skills they need to build new behaviors and lasting habits – in less than two minutes a day.

11. Give employees purposeful work

Employees want to know their efforts are making a meaningful impact. One way to demonstrate this is by using cascading goals. This framework has goals flow from the top of an organization to departments, teams, and individuals, helping employees see and understand how their individual contributions align with the organization's success. When employees see how their daily actions matter, it gives them a greater sense of purpose and direction, which can drive productivity, engagement, and connection.

12. Practice transparent leadership

Employees want to know the challenges facing the business. When leaders are transparent about company goals, obstacles, and successes, employees feel more informed and involved in the organization’s success. This transparency fosters trust and team engagement, which can help organizations remain resilient, especially through times of change.

13. Build trust through consistent communication

Consistent open and honest communication from leaders and managers builds trust and engagement within a team. When employees are regularly updated on company changes, goals, and progress, they feel more secure in their roles and more connected to the organization. This ongoing communication strengthens the relationship between employees and management, creating a more collaborative and supportive work environment.

Plus, communication goes both ways. Surfacing issues earlier allows for quicker resolution and a more proactive approach to problem-solving. It also fosters a culture of mutual trust and respect, building a better work environment for all employees.

14. Foster a positive company culture

Lastly, building a positive company culture is essential for your business. Company culture is the shared set of values, attitudes, and practices that define how an organization operates both internally and externally. As we like to say at Culture Amp, it’s "how we work – together."

Culture encompasses your company’s mission, values, and all the elements mentioned in this section, reflecting what your business stands for and how you care for your employees. While transforming company culture takes time, the best way to learn where improvements can be made is by asking your employees. Regularly survey your workforce, learn what they like and dislike, and take action on these findings. Over time, your culture will improve, creating a work environment that drives engagement.

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Tracking employee engagement for long-term success

Like most things, engagement ebbs and flows. Track employee engagement levels over time to see changes and highlight areas of opportunity. Monitoring these levels allows you to identify issues as they arise and measure the success of your engagement initiatives.

Key performance indicators to track engagement impact

Here are a few KPIs your business can measure, monitor, and analyze to help you map changes in engagement and identify areas of improvement for your business.

1. Employee satisfaction scores: Use ongoing employee satisfaction surveys to measure your employees’ overall satisfaction with their work, role, and your company.
2. Retention rate: Tracking voluntary turnover over time can help your business identify underlying issues pushing employees to leave. High engagement typically correlates with lower turnover, so investing in engagement may help your business retain employees.
3. Productivity levels: Engaged employee behavior often includes higher productivity and a strong sense of ownership over their work. Monitoring changes in output, efficiency, and work quality can reveal potential declines in engagement.
4. Absenteeism rate: Tracking how often employees miss work can indicate engagement levels, as disengaged employees may take more time off.
5. Employee net promoter score (eNPS): The eNPS metric measures whether employees would recommend the company as a great place to work. This provides insight into overall employee loyalty and engagement.
6. Engagement initiative participation: Employee adoption rates and involvement in activities like training programs, surveys, wellness programs, or team events can indicate engagement levels.
7. Internal mobility rate: Since engaged employees are more likely to seek new opportunities internally, monitoring the rate at which employees are promoted or move within your company can help you gauge how well your company fosters growth and retains talent.
8. Performance review scores: Engaged employees typically receive higher ratings, but dips in individual and team scores could indicate decreasing engagement.

Modern businesses have an abundance of data at their fingertips to track engagement trends and measure their impact. With the right tools, they can monitor everything from employee satisfaction to performance and employee development, painting a clear picture of how engaged their workforce is and where improvements can be made.

Check out our blog post, How to measure employee engagement, for a more in-depth look at the many ways to track employee engagement.

Drive engagement with Culture Amp’s People Analytics

In addition to the employee engagement best practices outlined above, a comprehensive people experience platform is crucial to building a holistic view of employee engagement. Culture Amp People Analytics helps organizations turn data into action through analytics, customized surveys, and reporting tools that provide insights across every stage of the employee lifecycle. Culture Amp not only gives you metrics but also tailored recommendations, benchmarking data, and insights into engagement drivers, allowing you to identify areas for improvement and drive impact with action.

By leveraging Culture Amp, companies can continuously enhance their employee experience and drive engagement strategies that align with both employee and business goals.