Employee engagement: Definition, examples, and strategies

Imagine what would happen if every employee in your organization was fully committed, motivated, and invested in their work. Just think of all the things your business could achieve.

When employee engagement is high, it’s more than likely your team will do their best work, which positively impacts the company as a whole with benefits such as improved customer retention, reduced employee turnover, and more revenue (to name a few).

For some business leaders, this concept of complete employee engagement seems unattainable—but it doesn’t have to be. Increasing workforce engagement often comes down to listening to your team’s ideas and complaints, celebrating their successes, helping them find meaning in mundane tasks, and enabling them to make the most of their personal and professional lives.

Now, we’ll admit that achieving complete engagement may seem like a tall order, but follow the best practices in this article, and you’re well on your way to making company-wide employee engagement a reality.

What is employee engagement?

An engaged workforce is highly self-motivated. These employees take pride in their work because they have mental and emotional investments in it.

For engaged employees, the “bare minimum” doesn’t apply—they will frequently go above and beyond their expectations for the job. This level of engagement often leads to positive business outcomes. Regarding customer service, employee engagement translates to thoughtful, helpful support and satisfied customers.

Unfortunately, as the numbers stand, most employees aren’t engaged and are more likely to spend their time watching the clock than taking initiative. According to Gallup’s 2022 State of the Global Workplace Report, only 21 percent of employees feel engaged at work.

To ensure that your employees don’t become a part of that statistic, follow the five Cs to encourage engagement in the workplace.

What are the 5 Cs of employee engagement?

Business owners and management teams can use the 5 Cs of employee engagement—career, congratulate, connect, convey, credibility—as a memory aid to keep employees engaged.

Common employee engagement misnomers

Employee engagement can manifest in several different ways, but there are some things it is not. And while the following terms may sound similar, they have distinct, interconnected meanings. Here are some common employee engagement misnomers:

• Employee experience (EX): EX refers to an employee’s overall journey at a company, from the moment they sign their employment contract and complete the onboarding process to their last day on the job. It includes how others at the organization treated them, their thoughts about the work culture, and their feelings about the company as a whole.
• Employee engagement: This is a byproduct of the larger employee experience. If the experience is positive, employees will likely feel invested in their work and the company’s mission.
• Employee satisfaction: This measures how happy or unhappy an employee is with their job and the company they work for, but it doesn’t account for how involved they are in business activities and outcomes.

Why is employee engagement important? 3 top benefits

Employee engagement has several benefits—the most important being the positive impact engaged employees have on business.

Not only are your employees responsible for the satisfaction of your customers, but they also play a critical role in the revenue-generating process. If you don’t care for your employees, your business will reflect it.

Luckily, prioritizing employee engagement is possible and can result in several added benefits to your business. Here are the top three:

• Higher employee retention rates: When employees are happy at a company, they tend to want to stay, reducing turnover and, ultimately, hiring costs.
• Better customer experiences: Create a workplace employees want to be a part of so they will be passionate about providing outstanding service. This boost in work quality may ultimately lead to higher customer satisfaction, brand advocacy, and repeat business.
• More efficient budget use: When employee engagement is high, team productivity typically is, too. As employees work more efficiently, your business may see better results for the same cost, which is great for profits.

1. Higher employee retention rates

Typically, engaged employees will stay with a company longer than those who feel disengaged.

Gallup research reveals that low engagement typically results in higher turnover rates—as much as 18 to 43 percent higher than teams with strong engagement.

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, often leading to decreased turnover.

2. Better customer experiences

As we discussed earlier, engaged employees are more likely to go beyond the call of duty and often translates to better customer experiences (CX). Some ways team members can provide better customer service include:

• Listening attentively to customer needs
• Empathizing with frustrated customers
• Brainstorming thoughtful and innovative solutions
• Learning from past mistakes

Understandably, companies that create good employee experiences for their teams tend to outperform competitors regarding customer service and the overall CX.

Customer service improves when frontline employees show up every day with positive energy, passion, and purpose. When employees believe in their company’s mission and enjoy what they do, they’ll be more committed to providing standout service and finding solutions.

3. More team productivity

According to a study by Gallup, 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 their contributions to their organization.

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

Who is responsible for employee engagement?

Executives and company leaders, human resources, management, and employees are all responsible for employee engagement. Employee engagement initiatives have many moving parts, and, typically, each is owned and executed by a different person within the organization.

Most times, leadership teams will assign roles based on core responsibilities and desired outcomes to ensure the most appropriate person takes on the job.

Executives and company leaders

Company leaders are the biggest advocates for employee engagement and the greatest influencers of workplace culture. They have the power to make changes and create a better work environment, enabling team members to thrive. Executive and company leaders are responsible for:

• Creating the long-term strategy for employee engagement
• Communicating any changes to the current engagement strategy
• Providing company-wide updates on employee engagement progress and goals
• Conducting employee engagement and employee satisfaction surveys
• Taking action to improve the employee experience based on feedback (from survey responses, for example) and data
• Setting the tone and building a company culture team members want to be a part of

Human resources

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 is also responsible for:

• Holding employees and managers accountable for participating in engagement initiatives
• Serving as the point of contact for any problems
• Supporting managers and providing them with 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.

Management

Managers tend to work closest with team members. Because of this, they have more opportunities to engage employees and uncover problems early. Several studies have found that team leaders and their management styles can drastically influence employee engagement and satisfaction levels.

To help keep employee engagement high, managers should focus on:

• Promoting diversity in the workplace with tactics like inclusive policies, mentorship programs, and implicit bias training sessions
• Fostering professional development by making continued employee education a core value and offering digital learning opportunities
• Implementing solutions that will elevate employee performance and boost productivity, such as setting SMART goals
• Communicating clearly so employees fully understand team expectations, company updates, and more
• Encouraging feedback and passing it along to company leaders to ensure employees feel heard and remain happy

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 and engage with their work.

Employee responsibilities include:

• Providing feedback on what they do and don’t like so management can help resolve any issues
• Participating in focus groups and surveys
• Taking charge of their professional development to learn, grow, and prepare for future promotions
• Sharing updates about their personal goals within the company so their manager understands how best to support them

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

How to encourage employee engagement in your organization

Organizations should take steps to understand employees’ needs and desires, and make meaningful changes in the workplace instead of opting for pizza parties and cliché team-building activities.

Since this is easier said than done, we’re going to tell you exactly how to improve employee engagement and share some insights about engagement drivers—the psychological reason why specific EX strategies are successful with employees.