What is employee engagement? (+5 strategies for improving it)

According to the Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report 2022, 34 percent of companies predict a 25-percent increase in customer engagement over the next two years. This is no small feat for support teams that are already overworked and overstretched.

While leaders are starting to pay more attention to agents’ workloads, less than 30 percent of support team members feel empowered to do their jobs well. When employees aren’t equipped with the proper training, resources, or tools they need to succeed, they’ll likely burn out and disengage from their work. For companies to keep up with customer demand and provide a work environment where people can thrive, they must take a look at their employee engagement strategies.

The more engaged workers are, the better it is for the business. When team engagement is high, employees will do their best work and bring unique benefits to the company: improved customer retention, reduced employee turnover, and more revenue (to name a few).

If you want your organization to succeed, you need to prioritize your people. Especially in the wake of the Great Resignation, it’s essential to start examining—and improving—your employee engagement strategy.

In this employee engagement guide, we’ll cover:

What is employee engagement?

Employee engagement is the level of connection workers have with their job and workplace. It also describes team members’ enthusiasm toward contributing to a company’s overall success.

An engaged workforce is highly self-motivated. These employees take pride in their work because they’re mentally and emotionally invested in it.

For engaged employees, the “bare minimum” doesn’t apply—they will frequently go above and beyond what is expected of them on the job. This level of engagement often leads to positive business outcomes. In the context of customer service specifically, it translates to thoughtful, helpful support and satisfied customers.

Employee experience vs. employee engagement

These terms may sound similar, but they have distinct meanings.

Employee experience (EX) refers to a team member’s overall journey at a company, from the moment they sign their contract to their last day working for the business. It includes how others at the organization treated them, along with the employee’s actions and feelings during their tenure.

Employee engagement is a byproduct of the larger employee experience. If the experience is positive, employees are likely to be invested in their work and the company’s mission.

Examples of employee engagement

Employee engagement is rooted in psychology, so Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a great place to start when seeking to understand and improve it.

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Each step you take to boost employee engagement will likely correlate with a particular psychological need:

• Physiological: Employees have a quiet, comfortable workspace and access to all the tools they need to do their jobs effectively.
• Safety: Employees feel safe at work and secure in their jobs.
• Belonging: Employees are comfortable working with their teammates and believe their coworkers are reliable.
• Esteem: Employees are proud to be part of a respected organization and enjoy their work.
• Self-actualization: Employees feel fulfilled at work and are empowered to make business decisions within their scope of work.

This hierarchy of needs for employees should provide you with a helpful framework for better understanding engagement and building a happy, highly motivated workforce.

Why is employee engagement important?

Employee engagement is vital for various reasons—the most important one being that your team members form the foundation of your company. Not only are your employees responsible for the satisfaction of your customers, but they’re also playing an increasingly critical role in the revenue-generating process. If your workers aren’t taken care of, your company will likely begin to crumble.

Increased productivity

Gallup research shows that engaged employees are 17 percent more productive than disengaged employees. Engaged employees are often consistently productive because they are more invested in their work and take pride in what they contribute to their organization.

To keep employees productive, provide them with the materials, training, and equipment necessary for them to do their jobs well.

Higher employee retention

According to a Quantum Workplace report, disengaged employees are more than 3.6 times more likely to quit their job than engaged team members. And additional research from Gallup reveals that teams with low engagement typically see turnover rates that are 18 to 43 percent higher than teams with high engagement.

As outlined by Oak Engage, an organization’s employee retention improves when:

• Team members are confident they’ll be recognized and appreciated for their work.
• Workers are aware of professional growth and career development opportunities.
• Staff understands when and why business changes may occur.

When employee engagement improves, it strengthens the trust between employees and their employers, which often leads to decreased turnover.

Improved customer experiences

A good employee experience is the backbone of a good customer experience. Companies that outperform their competitors in customer experience (CX) tend to have more engaged workers.

In an IDC study, 85 percent of respondents agreed that improved employee experiences can produce better customer experiences. And 62 percent of respondents said there’s a “defined causal relationship” between EX and CX.

Customer service improves when frontline employees show up every day with positive energy, passion, and purpose. They believe in their company’s mission and enjoy what they do, so they’re committed to providing standout service and finding solutions for customers.

What are the main drivers of employee engagement?

While it might sound cliché, a paycheck alone doesn’t motivate highly engaged employees. People also care about feeling valued and appreciated, and they want jobs that align with their own beliefs. Here are a few other factors that drive employee engagement.

• Purpose and meaning

  For employees to feel engaged, they must understand your company’s vision and mission. When workers understand why the company exists (beyond generating revenue), they can connect with this purpose and find deeper meaning in their work.

• Shared values

  When employees share common core principles with their coworkers and company leaders, it helps build a sense of camaraderie and a mutual interest in contributing to the organization’s success. It’s much easier to foster engagement when the values of your business align with those of your team members.

• Motivating, fulfilling work

  Employees want to leverage their strengths on the job. When employees feel their tasks utilize their knowledge and skills, they’re more likely to be engaged at work. Managers need to regularly evaluate employee positions and associated responsibilities, so they know their team’s abilities are being used wisely—particularly as they grow and develop within the company.

Employee engagement roles

Employee engagement encompasses many facets, and each is typically owned and executed by different people. Discover the individuals and teams responsible for driving a successful employee engagement strategy.

The role of leadership

Company leaders are the biggest advocates for employee engagement and the most powerful influencers of workplace culture. They’re responsible for:

• Creating the long-term strategy for employee engagement
• Communicating any changes to the current engagement strategy
• Providing company-wide updates on the progress being made toward employee engagement goals

Leadership also usually conducts employee satisfaction surveys to gauge levels of engagement across the company. From there, leaders take action to improve engagement based on the survey responses.

Leadership’s example sets the tone for the rest of the organization. They have the power to improve engagement by focusing heavily on the company culture. Businesses that value EX consistently strive to create a workplace environment that enables team members to truly thrive.

The role of HR

Human resources typically functions as the “behind-the-scenes” team that puts a company’s employee engagement plan into action. HR oversees an organization’s engagement initiatives and handles any issues that may arise. This department also:

• Holds employees and managers accountable for participating in engagement initiatives
• Serves as the point of contact for any problems
• Supports managers and provides them with important resources and tools, such as employee engagement software

When employee engagement efforts run smoothly, it’s likely because HR did its part to make them happen.

The role of management

Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace Report shows that only 21 percent of employees are engaged in the workplace. Additional Gallup research reveals that managers account for at least 70 percent of variance in employee engagement scores.

Managers should focus their employee engagement efforts on:

• Promoting diversity in the workplace with tactics like inclusive policies, mentorship programs, and implicit bias training sessions
• Fostering professional development by making continuing education a core value and offering digital learning opportunities
• Implementing solutions that will elevate employee performance and boost productivity, such as setting SMART goals

It’s clear that a manager’s capabilities have a strong impact on employee engagement and performance. According to Peoplebox, “Employees generally measure their connection and engagement with the organization through their relationship with the manager.”

The role of employees

Companies can provide coaching, development courses, additional learning opportunities, and more—but it’s up to the employee to take advantage of these benefits to feel engaged at work.

Employee responsibilities include:

• Giving feedback on a company’s engagement strategy—what’s working and what’s not
• Participating in focus groups
• Taking charge of their professional development to learn and grow
• Sharing updates about personal goals within the company

Employees are critical to the success of any engagement program, so they need to voice their ideas on how EX could be improved.

How to measure employee engagement

Depending on your company size and workplace culture, some employee engagement methods may be more effective for you than others. Regardless of the measurement methods you use, you should gather a mix of qualitative and quantitative feedback so you can get a well-rounded picture of your current engagement strategy.

How to develop an employee engagement strategy

For employee engagement strategies to be effective, they must be tailored to your company and its mission. We highlight more actionable tips in the next section, but first, we’ll review some general guidelines for creating an employee engagement strategy.

Track employee engagement with quantitative (e.g., surveys) and qualitative (e.g., one-on-one meetings) measurements. Choose KPIs and metrics that will provide both types of feedback, such as:

• Employee resilience. Send a survey or poll that lists statements and then prompts employees to rank their level of agreement or disagreement with those statements on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The higher the score, the higher the employee engagement. A few example statements:
• “I am satisfied with my current work environment.”
• “My work-life balance is good.”
• “I connect with other team members easily.”
• Absenteeism. Use your HR software to determine an employee’s rate of “unexcused” absence. If you find a few employees whose figures seem abnormally high, talk with them to figure out what’s causing their missed days.
• Employee turnover rate. Use the following formula to calculate turnover: (Number of employees who left the company within a specific time frame ÷ Number of employees during that same period) x 100. A rate higher than 30 percent indicates a deeper issue.

Decide which metrics work best for your business, and analyze the data to find potential engagement blockers. You can improve employees’ work-life by soliciting feedback from them about any issues, roadblocks, ideas for improvement, and wins they’ve experienced within the company.

Your employees are your best resource for engagement improvement initiatives, so keep your door—and ears—open for them.

Tips on how to improve employee engagement

According to a Gallup study, only 36 percent of U.S. employees are engaged in their work and workplace. Help team members feel more invested in their roles by implementing an employee engagement program. While there’s no set way to boost motivation, these best practices are a good place to start.

Employee engagement and customer experience go hand in hand

When your employees are engaged, they understand the role they play in organizational success and will work passionately toward maintaining that success. Your frontline workers directly represent your company by providing customers with the support they need, so they deserve just as much support from you on the backend.

Strengthen employee engagement by showing your staff how they’re contributing to the company and providing a flexible, healthy work environment. These actions will help make team members’ jobs more enjoyable and meaningful, so they’re eager to bring their best selves to every customer interaction and their job as a whole.