10 Effective Employee Engagement Strategies with Actionable Examples

Grace M

 on 

in Employee Engagement

While employee engagement strategies aren’t a one-size-fits-all, there are common initiatives that uplift teams and boost engagement across the board. Learn what works for employee engagement strategies —regardless of industry—and how to incorporate these strategies into your internal communications plan, today!

Employees fuel business continuity and form a foundation for competitive advantage. Nowadays, as the business landscape continues to evolve, engaged employees are even more important for business success. In fact, they are paramount to hitting and exceeding business goals. While employees contribute to the status quo, engaged employees propel innovation, productivity, and growth. 

But what happens when your team lacks an emotional connection to their work and workplace? You may see higher rates of absenteeism (also known as “quiet quitting”), alongside higher burnout and turnover rates. 

You may also notice low productivity or retention rates. All of these factors threaten your ability to achieve business goals and will reduce employee ROI.

In this post, we’ll explore the most effective workplace engagement strategies to drive business success. We’ll also dive deeper into understanding the importance of employee engagement and why it’s crucial for creating an environment where employees feel motivated to give their best. 

Follow along and learn how building employee engagement strategies improves retention, productivity, and overall engagement.

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What is Employee Engagement?

Employee engagement refers to the level of dedication and enthusiasm an employee has towards their work and their organization. When employees are engaged, they are passionate and motivated to contribute to the company’s success. Engaged employees go above and beyond their job descriptions, contributing holistically to the organization. 

Employee engagement matters because it directly impacts business outcomes. According to a report by Gallup on employee engagement, organizations with highly engaged employees experience 23% higher profitability compared to those with low engagement levels. Engaged employees are more productive, deliver better customer service, and are less likely to leave an organization. These are just a few of the many benefits of employee engagement.

Employee engagement can be attributed to various factors, like: 

  • Employee recognition
  • Clear communication
  • Growth opportunities
  • Alignment between individual and organizational goals
  • Diversity & inclusion practices

To maintain or increase staff engagement, it’s important to deploy proven employee motivation an

What is an Employee Engagement Strategy?

Now that we’re on the same page about what employee engagement is, let’s align on workplace engagement strategies. Employee engagement strategies are specific actions and initiatives designed to improve individual and team engagement. These strategies build an environment that fosters motivation, satisfaction, and commitment to the organization’s goals. 

Effective staff engagement strategies address various aspects of the employee experience, such as communication, recognition, career development, and work-life balance. They are tailored to the unique needs and challenges of each organization, taking into account factors like company culture, industry, and workforce demographics.

An effective employee engagement strategy should cover: 

  • Goals: Understand how you’ll address improving the metrics. 
  • Budget: Know what resources are available to you to implement changes and execute your plan.
  • Tactics: Outline the specific initiatives you’ll develop and launch to boost employee engagement.
  • Measurement: Detail how you’ll measure engagement at your organization to truly know if your efforts are paying off. 

10 Employee Engagement Strategies to Drive Success in 2024

With a clear understanding of your organizational needs, you can develop an employee engagement action plan that outlines specific strategies and initiatives. This plan should be based on employee feedback, employee growth, industry best practices, and your organization’s unique goals and challenges. 

Let’s take a closer look at specific strategies for improving employee engagement and tactics to help your organization thrive:

1. Streamline your onboarding process

The sooner you focus on engaging your employees, the higher the chances of sustained engagement throughout their tenure.

Your onboarding program is a great opportunity to get to know your new hire while showcasing the full picture of your organization. This includes your company mission, culture, process, people, tech, and more.

Prioritizing onboarding is one of the best employee engagement strategies and it’s really your chance to put your best foot forward, prove to your new hire why your organization is a great place to work, and set the tone for how you can meet each others’ needs. 

A successful onboarding plan should include: 

  • Discovery calls with relevant members of the team before a start date
  • A documented onboarding plan available for reference at any time
  • A user manual where new hires share their working styles and preferences
  • Access to all the internal communication tools so they can start engaging right away

Best impression onboarding emails

Help new hires thrive and feel welcome at your company.

2. Develop an ongoing communications plan

The sooner you focus on engaging your employees, the higher the chances of sustained engagement throughout their tenure.

Ongoing internal communication helps keep engagement and connection top of mind. Monthly, themed newsletters are a great solution for achieving sustained awareness at your organization and keeping employees engaged throughout the year.

Before creating your newsletters, you’ll want to develop an internal comms content calendar. Take a look at major themes and milestones for employee newsletter content ideas for every month and choose your monthly themes based on what’s most relevant during that time. For example, December can be for encouraging holiday spirit, while January might be for healthy habit-building and goal-setting. 

Next, choose an employee engagement software tool that can streamline the development and deployment of your newsletters and equip you with key analytics!

With ContactMonkey, you can track open rates, click-through rates, and engagement metrics to measure the effectiveness of your content and newsletters. You’ll also be able to customize content through audience segmentation to share specific communications with different groups based on demographics, relevancy, and interests. Understand more on how employee engagement and technology integration can elevate your team’s engagement levels.

Interested in improving employee engagement with newsletters? Discover actionable employee newsletter engagement strategies through ContactMonkey.

ContactMonkey employee engagement software email analytics example

3. Conduct regular employee surveys

Employee surveys are another powerful tool for gauging the engagement levels within your organization. Surveys like these provide valuable insights into your employees’ satisfaction, motivation, and overall sentiment toward their work and the company. 

When crafting your employee surveys, be sure to ask questions that cover various aspects of the employee experience, like:

  • Job satisfaction
  • Relationships with managers and coworkers
  • Opportunities for growth and development
  • Work-life balance

Depending on your specific goals and the size of your organization, there are different options for surveying your employees, including: 

  • Pulse surveys: These are short, frequent surveys that help you quickly assess employee sentiment and identify areas that need immediate attention.
  • Annual surveys: Comprehensive surveys are conducted once a year to gather in-depth feedback on various aspects of the employee experience.
  • Onboarding surveys and exit surveys: These are administered to new hires and departing employees to understand their initial impressions and reasons for leaving, respectively.

Once you’ve collected the survey responses, analyze the results thoroughly. Look for patterns and trends in the data, and identify any areas where engagement seems to be lacking so you can develop a targeted action plan.

Learn more about the best practices for creating and conducting employee surveys.

Emails that boost survey participation 

Make feedback count with these sample templates.

4. Foster transparent two-way communication

Transparent communication is a cornerstone of employee engagement and is another effective employee engagement strategy. When leaders openly share information about the company’s goals, challenges, and decisions, it builds trust and ensures that employees feel informed and included.

Here are some examples of how you can promote transparent communication: 

  • Encourage open dialogue by training your managers on how to create psychological safety, and have them actively seek feedback from their teams.
  • Create channels for two-way communication, such as regular town hall meetings, Q&A sessions, or anonymous suggestion boxes.
  • Build a community around your content where employees can reply back to newsletters through e-mail or updates via Teams, Slack, and various communication channels. 

Fostering a culture of transparency demonstrates that you value your employees’ opinions and contributions. This, in turn, improves the overall employee experience and increases employee satisfaction and engagement. 

Hot tip: Remember, transparency is not just about sharing information; it’s also about being open to feedback and willing to address concerns. 

ContactMonkey employee engagement software survey feedback example

5. Uphold your company’s core values

Promoting and upholding your company’s core values creates a sense of belonging and purpose among your employees. When your team members feel aligned with the organization’s mission and values, engagement levels increase. 

Leaders and managers should model the company’s values in their behavior, setting the tone for the rest of the team.

Some examples of how to implement this employee engagement strategy: 

  • Regularly communicate and reinforce your company’s values through various channels, such as team meetings, internal newsletters, and employee recognition programs
  • Encourage open discussions about how these values impact day-to-day work and decision-making processes

When employees see that their company’s values are consistently upheld and prioritized, they are more likely to feel a strong sense of connection and loyalty to the organization. 

6. Provide career development opportunities

Another one of the best employee engagement strategies is investing in employees’ growth and their future with the organization by providing career development opportunities. 

When employees feel that their company is committed to helping them acquire new skills, take on challenging projects, and advance their careers, chances are that they’ll have a stronger emotional connection to the workplace. Let’s cover the how:

  • Training Programs: By offering a variety of training options, such as workshops, seminars, online courses, and mentorship programs, you empower your employees to expand their knowledge and skill sets. 
  • Roadmapping Career Paths: In addition to training, create clear career paths for your employees. This involves defining the various roles and positions within your organization, along with the skills and experience required to progress from one level to the next. 
  • Promote from Within: When you look at your top performers internally before seeking them externally, what message does this send? Internal recognition motivates and incentivizes team members. You can fuel motivation through internal mobility, which can benefit your organization from a retention perspective as well.
     

A comprehensive employee engagement program should include career development programs that support employees at every stage of their career journey, from entry-level positions all the way to leadership roles. An investment in employees’ professional growth not only leads to enhanced skills and knowledge but also fosters a culture of continuous learning and development which is a proven workforce engagement strategy.

7. Recognize and reward top performers

When employees feel appreciated, they’re more likely to go above and beyond in their roles and be committed to the company’s success.

Rewarding top talent can be done through a formal recognition program that aligns with your company’s values and goals. This program should include a mix of monetary and non-monetary rewards, like:

  • One-off gift cards for exceptional performance.
  • Public acknowledgment during team meetings or company-wide events.
  • Personalized thank-you notes from managers or executives.
  • Additional paid time off or flexible work arrangements.
  • Professional development opportunities, such as training or conference attendance.

When designing your recognition program, be sure to establish clear criteria for top performance and communicate these expectations to your team. Encourage managers to provide timely and specific feedback to their direct reports. This helps to reinforce positive behaviors and keep employees motivated.

It’s also important to note that employee engagement and retention strategies go hand in hand. When you consistently acknowledge and reward your top performers, you demonstrate that your organization values their contributions and is invested in their long-term success.

15 employee appreciation emails

Recognize your team’s hard work with these templates.

8. Promote work-life balance

Over the past few years, work-life balance and preventing burnout have become increasingly important for both employers and employees. The lines between work and home life have blurred with the increase in hybrid and remote work. So, what does this mean when we talk about strategies to increase employee engagement? 

Employees who feel that their personal lives are valued and supported by their employer are more likely to stay engaged. It’s all about building emotional rapport and truly caring about employees’ well-being. 

To encourage work-life balance in your organization, consider implementing some of the following: 

  • Remote work possibilities
  • Flexible hours
  • Compressed workweeks
  • Job sharing
  • Personal development allowance

By giving employees more control over when and where they work, you create a culture that supports the whole person, not just the employee. Flexibility, healthy habits, and respecting personal time are an especially effective part of a remote or hybrid employee engagement strategy.

9. Hold employees accountable

As workplace settings continue to shift in our post-pandemic world, another factor has become part of most employee engagement strategies: accountability. Experts and industry leaders are beginning to report on the pivotal role that holding employees accountable plays in a motivated and committed workforce. Accountability is mission-critical for both in-person and remote employees.

Accountability enforces high performance and builds ownership along with higher standards. When employees know their performance is monitored and evaluated, they are more likely to set ambitious goals and strive for excellence. It offers employees the opportunity to thrive and do their best work, which can be rewarding and emotionally satisfying for team members.

Accountability, both for good and bad work, is an employee motivation and engagement strategy that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Internal communications and HR leader celebrating team accomplishments

10. Lead with diversity & inclusion practices

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) initiatives are increasingly gaining relevance among as an employee engagement strategy. Employees who feel valued, respected, and able to bring their authentic selves to work can build the emotional connections they need to succeed and feel engaged with their work.

True diversity and inclusion requires more than just better hiring practices. It’s about creating an environment where different perspectives are celebrated and leveraged as a strategic advantage. This can be achieved through communication practices, active listening, and an overall investment in improving your workforce. 

Through mentorship programs, clear DE&I policies, transparent conversions, inclusive language, training, and promoting DE&I initiatives across your organization, you can build a safe space for all to bring their best selves to work and feel welcomed.

Further reading: Check out our complete list of the latest team engagement activities that you can implement.

How much is low employee engagement costing you?

How ContactMonkey Fits into Your Workplace

In an era where information travels at light speed, effective internal communication is the linchpin that keeps employees engaged, informed, aligned, and invested in the organization’s mission and goals. 

To get the right employee communications in the right hands at the right time, consider using ContactMonkey to help you execute your strategies to improve employee engagement. Our integrated tool allows you to send newsletters, launch surveys, request real-time feedback, and offer customized communications to your team.

ContactMonkey lets you build stunning e-mails or newsletters through the intuitive drag-and-drop email builder without any design help. Our tool integrates seamlessly into Outlook or Gmail so you can send emails through your secure internal servers and reduce IT’s involvement. You’ll also be able to validate the effectiveness of your communications with built-in tracking, dynamic data, and reporting all within our all-in-one analytics dashboard.

ContactMonkey employee engagement software drag and drop email builder

Book a free demo to see how countless big names utilize ContactMonkey to send better, more impactful employee emails and for more insights on employee engagement strategy examples.

Revive employee engagement with targeted, interactive emails and newsletters

Book a 15 minute call with one of our team members