19 Top-quality employee engagement ideas
Everybody wants engaged employees, but making it happen is tricky. Whether you’re trying to engage new employees or long-term staff, there’s a ton of advice out there to help you improve employee engagement. While a strategic approach is crucial, we also know that quick and easy ideas can make a real difference.
This article delves into nineteen top employee engagement ideas, sorted into four categories. We’ll explore employee engagement ideas for:
- Remote workers
- Large companies
- Warehouse workers
- Change management.
However, as you’ll see, each section overlaps, so ensure you read to the end.
Why do we need employee engagement ideas, anyway?
Enhancing employee engagement is good business. If you help employees connect with their work, the ROI will come through improved productivity, retention, and a higher community reputation.
The idea of “employee engagement” is quite a broad one. An influential landmark report from the UK government shows that “employee engagement” is used in many different ways. But we can say that employee engagement might include positive experience in any of these areas:
- Pay and benefits
- Organizational goals
- Work environment
- Communication
- Leadership
- Training and development
- Recognition
- Team dynamics
- Inclusivity
- Company culture
In other words, every aspect of working at your company can contribute to employee engagement, which is why there are so many employee engagement ideas out there.
The best solution for employee engagement might be improving every single process in your company. However, that’s unrealistic. Leaders should make whatever improvements they can while using specific employee engagement tactics.
The rest of the article will explore how to plan employee engagement activities with some top ideas.
Employee engagement ideas for remote and hybrid workers
Working at home is a great way to keep employees engaged. But there are still plenty of times when isolation and distance can be challenging. Engaging employees in this situation presents new challenges: it’s not as simple as bringing donuts in at the end of the week!
In the absence of physical proximity, consider how these five ideas could foster a sense of connection, recognition, and collaboration. Your remote or hybrid work strategy will never be the same.
- Get baked goods delivered to their homes
In today’s world of fast-paced e-commerce, sending baked goods directly to the homes of remote and hybrid workers is a delightful way to foster employee engagement. While providing this treat for every employee every week might not be practical, incorporating it as a random act of recognition adds a personal touch. Food packages, delivered with a note of appreciation, create a sense of connection and celebration, making employees feel valued and recognized even in a virtual work environment.
- Using appropriate employee engagement software
Employee engagement tools prove especially valuable when managing a dispersed workforce. Traditional engagement strategies may fall short with remote and hybrid workers. This software facilitates seamless communication, collaboration, and recognition, bridging the physical gaps between team members. It ensures that employees remain connected to company culture, goals, and each other, contributing to a more engaged and integrated remote or hybrid team.
- Use digital gift cards
Digital gift cards emerge as a versatile and accessible way to reward and recognize remote and hybrid workers. With various companies offering these rewards, employers can easily provide meaningful incentives. Whether acknowledging outstanding performance or celebrating milestones, digital gift cards allow for personalized recognition and show a commitment to the well-being and satisfaction of remote employees, irrespective of their physical location.
- Enforce digital boundaries
Enforcing digital boundaries is a crucial step toward enhancing employee engagement in the vast majority of remote and hybrid roles. Setting clear expectations regarding communication outside regular working hours promotes a healthy work-life balance. Employees can recharge by discouraging emails and tasks during evenings and weekends, leading to increased job satisfaction, reduced burnout, and a more engaged workforce.
- Use digital surveys to get great feedback
Remote work can sometimes hinder direct communication between employees and managers, making gauging satisfaction and addressing concerns challenging. Implementing digital employee surveys provides a valuable channel for remote and hybrid workers to share feedback. This proactive approach ensures that employees feel heard and helps leadership understand their needs, ultimately fostering a more inclusive and responsive work environment.
Digital tools make employee feedback from remote team members easy.
Employee engagement ideas for large companies
Working in a large company can be wonderful. With opportunities to progress, long-term staff, and familiar goals, large companies can feel like a welcoming family.
However, large companies have plenty of opportunities to improve employee engagement. Many employees can feel unappreciated, out of touch with the leadership team, and indifferent to the broader company goals. Bridging the hierarchical gaps takes some special employee engagement ideas.
- Create an internal social platform
Implementing an internal social platform is a highly effective strategy for enhancing employee engagement in large companies. This digital space facilitates cross-departmental communication and collaboration, breaking down silos and fostering a sense of community among employees. From sharing achievements to participating in discussions about company culture, this platform serves as a centralized hub for building connections and aligning employees with the broader organizational goals.
- Encourage cross-departmental mentoring programs
Large companies often struggle to create cohesive connections among employees in different departments. Cross-departmental mentoring programs address this challenge by pairing individuals from diverse areas of the organization. This initiative encourages knowledge exchange and skill development and strengthens the sense of unity and shared purpose within the larger corporate structure.
- Make a short-term innovation challenge
Innovation challenges provide a powerful avenue for employee engagement in large companies. By encouraging employees from various departments to contribute ideas for improvement, these challenges stimulate creativity and a sense of ownership.
Innovation strategies can be hard to devise in a vacuum. So, handing it over to your clients can be a double bonus. Your company gets great ideas – and you get to recognize and reward innovative solutions. You foster a culture of continuous improvement and demonstrate the organization’s commitment to valuing the contributions of all employees.
- Leadership Q&A sessions
Establishing regular leadership Q&A sessions is instrumental in addressing the distance between top executives and the broader workforce in large companies. This initiative allows employees to directly engage with leadership, ask questions, and gain insights into the company’s vision and strategy. This transparent communication channel enhances trust, alignment, and a shared understanding of the organization’s direction.
- Max out your professional development budgets
Allocating professional development budgets for large company employees is a strategic investment in their growth and engagement. This initiative empowers individuals to pursue relevant courses, attend conferences, and acquire new skills. By demonstrating a commitment to the continuous development of employees, large companies can cultivate a motivated and skilled workforce that contributes to the organization’s overall success.
Employee engagement ideas for warehouse workers
Although employee engagement often focuses on desk-based white-collar work, many companies today also employ workers in a wide range of physical jobs, of which warehouse work is one of the most common.
The principles of employee engagement remain the same across all types of workers. However, HR leaders often find that implementing engagement activities is radically different.
After all, warehouse work is characterized by its physical demands and often long hours, which presents unique challenges for employee engagement. On the other hand, anyone who’s worked in a warehouse knows there are amazing camaraderie opportunities and friendships between team members.
In this section, we explore targeted initiatives tailored to enhance warehouse workers’ well-being, safety, and overall job satisfaction. From celebrating milestones to providing opportunities for career progression, these ideas aim to foster a positive and supportive work environment within the demanding context of a warehouse.
- Celebrate milestones
Warehouse work can be viewed as short-term, making acknowledging and celebrating employee milestones crucial. Whether you measure commitment in months, years, or weeks, recognizing the dedication of warehouse workers contributes to a positive workplace culture. By expressing appreciation for longevity, organizations convey that they value the commitment of their team, fostering a sense of belonging and engagement.
This might not be enough to retain employees for longer, but it will encourage them to stay in a company that appreciates them.
- Flexible break schedules
Flexibility in break schedules is a practical approach to improving employee engagement in warehouse settings. Allowing workers to take breaks at times that align with their individual needs promotes a more accommodating work environment.
This acknowledges the job’s physical demands and empowers employees to manage their workdays more effectively, contributing to overall job satisfaction.
- Safety training programs
Safety is paramount in the world of warehouse work. Regular safety training sessions ensure warehouse workers possess the necessary knowledge and skills to maintain a secure working environment. Beyond compliance, involving experienced staff in delivering safety training recognizes their expertise, providing an effective platform for appreciation and skill-sharing among the workforce.
- Health and wellness initiatives
Given the physical demands of warehouse work, implementing health and wellness initiatives is instrumental in promoting the overall well-being of employees. Tailored programs addressing the unique challenges of warehouse labor contribute to a healthier and more motivated workforce. Prioritizing the health of warehouse workers enhances job satisfaction and engagement, creating a positive workplace environment.
- Opportunities for promotion
To combat the perception that warehouse work is always an entry-level role, it’s great to provide opportunities for promotion. Offering career advancement paths within the organization ensures warehouse workers can transition to office-based or higher positions, contributing to employee retention and long-term engagement.
Employee engagement ideas for change management
Keeping employees engaged during a change management project can be the hardest part. When things are not stable, employees may become despondent and demoralized. Implement some of these employee engagement ideas for change projects, and you might have some success.
- Plan for change management games
Introducing change management games and exercises provides a practical and engaging way to involve employees in the transformation process. These activities, like those outlined in our article on 7 Fun and Engaging Change Management Exercises, encourage participation, collaboration, and a deeper understanding of the changes at hand. Employees are more likely to embrace and contribute to the transformation by making the learning process interactive and enjoyable.
- Build up sector-leading communications
In times of change, effective communication is paramount. Utilizing sector-leading communication strategies ensures that employees are well-informed and engaged throughout the change management process. Clear and transparent communication builds trust, reduces uncertainty, and fosters a sense of inclusion, key elements in mitigating resistance to change.
- Invest in company culture
Recognizing that a change management project is inherently a cultural transformation is crucial. Investing in the organizational culture, as emphasized in resources like Cultural Transformation, ensures that the shift aligns with the organization’s values and identity. This investment not only aids in successful change implementation but also enhances employee engagement by making them feel part of a meaningful and intentional transformation.
- Flexible support and training
Change management projects almost always need new skills. So, adapting the training programs to your employees is essential. Neglecting training can lead to disengagement, as employees may struggle to adapt to new processes. Change management training could be helpful for all team members.
For digital changes, incorporating a user-friendly digital adoption platform (DAP) proves effective in delivering targeted and accessible training tailored to employees’ evolving needs. WalkMe is a sector-leading DAP that’s helped create innumerable engaged employees.
Blue-sky thinking for employee engagement
There is no surefire method for raising employees’ engagement with their work. That’s why it’s so important to think expansively about your possibilities.
Here, we’ve suggested 19 ways to improve things. We’ve helped you find the most relevant ideas. But as you will have noticed, most apply well in many working situations. Whatever your business, you should ensure you’re doing everything you can with employee engagement platforms, opportunities for promotion, and clear communications.
So, use this article as your starting point. We can promise you results. But these ideas are well worth trying.
