10 easy steps to improve employee engagement

Employee engagement improves when organisations communicate clearly, recognise employees regularly, support wellbeing, encourage feedback and give people opportunities to grow and feel connected to purpose. Improving employee engagement starts with truly listening to your people and acting on what matters most to them.

Build open, two-way communication, celebrate achievements, and make wellbeing a real priority. When employees feel heard, valued, and connected to your goals, they’re more motivated to do their best work. The result? A happier, more productive workplace where everyone feels part of something bigger.

According to Gallup, only 21 percent of employees are engaged in the workplace globally.

Don’t worry! This blog is full of employee engagement ideas that you can put into practice.

Just in case you were wondering, here’s what we’ll cover:

What is employee engagement?
Why is employee engagement important?
10 steps to improve employee engagement

Key takeaways

Gallup found engaged business units are 18% more productive.
Implementing a company intranet will massively improve employee engagement in the workplace.
Highly engaged workplaces saw 41% lower absenteeism
Improving employee engagement does have to be difficult to achieve.

What is employee engagement?

Employee engagement is the level of enthusiasm and dedication a worker feels toward their role and the goals of the organisation. Generally, engaged employees are emotionally or personally connected to the work they do and don’t just show up their pay.

Engagement impacts nearly every aspect of your company, including profitability, revenue, customer experience, employee turnover, and more.

Why is employee engagement important?

Research shows that 92% of business executives believe that engaged employees perform better, boosting the success of their teams and the outcomes of their business.

Sounds great, right?

That’s because it’s vital to any business, regardless of size or financial standing.

In fact, your employees are vital to the success of your business.

Whilst many companies may view their products as their biggest asset, they’re failing to notice that their people are what make their cogs turn.

Companies that value their employees will reap the rewards of a dedicated, passionate and skilled workforce.

Employee engagement = Retention

How engagement influences whether people stay or leave

Engagement is one of the strongest predictors of whether employees stay with a company. When people feel connected to their work, supported by their team and recognised for their effort, they are far less likely to look elsewhere.

Engaged teams are more likely to:

feel motivated and committed
go the extra mile for colleagues and customers
build longer-term careers in the company
recommend the workplace to others

Disengaged teams are more likely to:

disconnect from their manager
lose interest in their work
feel unnoticed or undervalued
become open to new job offers

Because of this, even small improvements in daily communication, recognition or clarity can significantly strengthen retention.

Modern engagement challenges

The new engagement challenges facing organisations in 2026

1. Hybrid and remote work friction
Distributed teams often struggle with communication gaps, reduced visibility, inconsistent collaboration and social disconnect. Without intentional structures such as intranets centralised communication hubs or regular check-ins, engagement drops quickly.

2. Burnout and workload pressure
Chronic stress is now a leading cause of disengagement. Workload imbalance, unrealistic expectations and lack of psychological safety all contribute to burnout — which directly increases turnover.

3. Communication overload
Modern teams face Slack/Teams fatigue, fragmented channels and constant notifications. Engagement breaks down when employees feel overwhelmed or unclear.

4. Economic uncertainty and job insecurity
When business conditions feel unstable, employees experience anxiety that lowers engagement and trust. Clear communication from leadership counteracts this.

5. Generational Shifts (Gen Z Expectations)
Younger employees value purpose, transparency, meaningful work and personal growth more than previous generations. Addressing these expectations creates stronger long-term engagement.

3 key business areas impacted by employee engagement

1. Higher employee retention and employee experience

Who doesn’t want high employee retention?

Well engaged employees don’t have a reason to look elsewhere for work.

I know, it almost sounds too good to be true! (But it’s not!)

A company’s employee retention improves when:

Employees know they will be recognised and appreciated for their contributions.
Employees see opportunities for professional growth and career development.
They understand when business change happens and why.

All of these factors help improve employee engagement and establish trust between the workforce and their employer.

Recommended Reading 📖: Employee Retention Strategies

2. Increased employee productivity

Want to know something interesting?

If your employees are engaged at work, it’s proven that employee productivity levels will rise.

Productive employees focus on the right things at the right times.

There’s very little wasted effort, and the work they do creates the results you want.

Research shows engaged employees are 17% more productive than their peers.

If that’s not a reason to start improving employee engagement, I don’t know what is!

3. Lower absenteeism

Highly engaged workforces see 41% lower absenteeism! This is largely down to improved mental and physical health that workers feel that result in fewer sick days as well as overall employee satisfaction.

In Oak’s Future of Working Report, Mario Weick, Professor of Quantitative Psychology at Durham University, said: “Work engagement is important. It is a positive, fulfilling, work related state of mind that is associated with positive mental health outcomes and work satisfaction.

“Engaged employees are less likely to suffer from burnout, and they benefit from better relationships inside and outside work when compared to employees who are not engaged.”

Common problems that impact employee engagement

Problem erea	What you’re likely facing	How it impacts engagement
Communication breakdowns	Teams working in silos, important updates getting missed, messages lost in too many channels	Creates confusion, reduces trust, and makes employees feel disconnected from leadership.
Lack of recognition	Great work goes unnoticed, feedback is inconsistent or one-way	Lowers motivation and morale — people start to feel their efforts don’t matter.
Wellbeing neglected	High stress levels, no mental health support, unclear work-life boundaries	Leads to burnout, absenteeism, and disengagement from work.
Limited feedback channels	Employees don’t feel heard or are afraid to speak up	Reduces trust in management and stifles innovation or improvement.
Weak company culture	No clear vision or shared values, inconsistent tone from leadership	Makes it harder for employees to feel proud of or connected to the organisation.
Poor onboarding experience	New hires are left guessing about processes or culture	Creates frustration early on and reduces long-term retention.
Lack of flexibility	Rigid schedules, limited hybrid options, no trust in remote working	Increases stress, turnover, and lowers overall job satisfaction.
Inefficient tools and processes	Outdated systems, duplicated work, difficulty finding information	Frustrates employees and wastes time that could be spent on meaningful work.
No focus on growth	Few opportunities for development or learning	Makes employees feel stuck and less invested in their roles.
No way to measure engagement	Relying on guesswork instead of data or surveys	Makes it hard to understand what’s working — and what’s not — in your engagement strategy.

How to improve employee engagement: 10 practical steps

These steps show how organisations can improve employee engagement through everyday communication, recognition and employee experience improvements.

1. Improve efficiency in the workplace

Outdated or disparate workplace processes and systems will slow your teams down and ultimately frustrate them.

The big question is how can we improve the employee experience?

By making sure an efficient content management process is in place, an employee’s workload is made much more manageable and easier to handle.

2. Improve communication

When considering how to make positive changes, communication is one of the most important factors to bear in mind.

After all, communication is integral to our everyday lives, especially in the workplace!

Maybe you’re seeing increased miscommunication between your employees.

Especially if you’re a large organisation or enterprise.

This is probably due to staff unable to communicate with one another or they rely on outdated ways to exchange information.

Of course, with fewer staff relying on desktop-based devices than ever before, facilitating communication through an engagement strategy that includes office based and deskless employees is vital!

Improving your workforce communication methods should be one of the first things to look at.

Take a look at our top internal communication tools to facilitate better communication.

3. Give recognition

Recognition for hard work and effort is important for 37% of employees.

Not only will their motivation increase, but others will feel inspired to work for the very same recognition, ultimately boosting workplace morale.

Oak’s employee recognition software allows you to post messages of congratulations on anyone’s timeline, creating a positive culture.

4. Encourage interaction

Building relationships in the workplace and outside of a professional environment can be an effective way of improving communication and the employee experience throughout your business.

By creating events or communities within your workplace, like minded people can solidify bonds with others from different departments and create relationships that may not have otherwise existed.

Oak’s hubs bring like-minded people together, allowing your teams to share and collaborate on common interests. Through these pages, employees can communicate in a social and project setting.

5. Invest in your employees, invest in your company

Did you know that, if you don’t invest in the very things in which your employees feel they are lacking, you could end up losing the engagement of your employees?

By putting aside a budget to cater to your employees wants and needs, you are, in essence, investing directly into the company itself.

If you’re unsure of what your employees need to feel satisfied, boost their engagement and productivity levels, Pulse Surveys are a great way to take and measure feedback that can be actioned upon.

6. Focus on employee wellbeing

Employee wellbeing and engagement go hand in hand.

It’s far easier for individuals to engage with their work when the organisation makes an effort to enhance their overall wellbeing.

The links between burnout and disengagement are clear with Oak’s Mental Health in the Workplace Report finding that 19% of us who have suffered health issues because of work did so because of burnout.

By having suitable, clear, easy to access wellbeing policies you will help employees alleviate stress and keep engaged in their work.

7. Encourage feedback, increase employee satisfaction

More often than not, employees crave feedback. It boosts their level of workplace engagement.

More than 33% of workers still want more regular feedback, according to a survey by Joblist of over 1000 full-time employees.

Regular check-ins and 1:1s are important, but it’s also important to give employees who may not feel comfortable with sharing issues with managers, safe spaces to feedback.

Pulse Surveys are used to gather anonymous, targeted feedback with actionable insights that businesses can use to better their approaches and increase employee satisfaction.

8. Emphasise your company culture

Did you know that employees will be more engaged if they have a common goal and a shared culture. Having a shared culture not only promotes consistency in the business, but also allows organisations to benefit from an open and friendly workplace.

Oak allows you to harness the culture your organisation wants and ingrain it in the workforce. Not only will your branded solution display your brand in an innovative, user-friendly way, with curated content you can focus on messaging that aligns with your vision and values and give employee satisfaction a real boost!

9. Provide a good onboarding experience

Onboarding is sets the tone for your employees from day one. Research shows that a positive onboarding experience can improve employee retention by up to 82%.

This is why building an inclusive onboarding experience is so important to creating a great company culture and supports your engagement strategy.

From learning materials to cultural and information signposts, your intranet can be the springboard for a great onboarding experience.

Burger King UK transformed their onboarding and pre-boarding processes with their employee app, BK Hub, which contributed to a 40% reduction in new starter dropout in just 6 months – and a 32% reduction in turnover of hourly paid crew in new sites within 3 months of launch!

10. Give working flexibility

87% of employees expect their organisations to support them in balancing work responsibilities with personal commitments.

Why not provide your employees with the ability to adjust their work hours to accommodate their personal needs? This shows that you value your team members on a personal level.

With the tips in this blog you will be able to allow employees more freedom without the risk of lost productivity . If you are too rigid in your approach when you don’t have to be, you may undo all your hard work as a manager.

Area to focus on	What to look out for	Impact on employee engagement
Communication	Outdated channels, unclear messaging, lack of feedback loops	Improves collaboration, trust, and transparency across teams.
Recognition	Lack of acknowledgment for effort or achievements	Boosts morale, motivation, and a sense of belonging.
Employee wellbeing	High stress levels, burnout, lack of mental health support	Reduces absenteeism and creates a healthier, more committed workforce.
Feedback culture	Infrequent check-ins, no safe way to share feedback	Builds trust, promotes open dialogue, and drives continuous improvement.
Company culture	Unclear values, inconsistent communication from leadership	Strengthens connection to organisational goals and identity.
Onboarding	Unstructured or inconsistent new starter experience	Increases early engagement and helps new hires feel supported from day one.
Work flexibility	Rigid schedules, lack of autonomy	Encourages loyalty, reduces turnover, and supports work-life balance.
Efficiency and tools	Siloed systems, hard-to-find information	Streamlines workflows and reduces frustration, helping teams work smarter.
Learning and growth	Limited opportunities for skill development	Inspires ambition, creativity, and long-term commitment.
Engagement measurement	No regular tracking or unclear metrics	Enables data-driven improvements to communication and engagement strategies.

Learn more about employee engagement in our ultimate guide for engaging deskless workforces.

How to measure employee engagement

So, you’ve launched initiatives to improve engagement but how do you know if they’re actually working?

Measuring employee engagement isn’t just about sending out an annual survey. It’s about understanding how your people feel, tracking how that changes over time, and turning those insights into meaningful action.

1. Use Pulse Surveys regularly

Short, focused Pulse Surveys allow you to take the temperature of your teams more frequently.

Keep them quick (5–10 questions).
Repeat them quarterly or even monthly.
Focus on specific themes — communication, recognition, wellbeing, or leadership visibility.

2. Track key engagement metrics

Numbers tell a story, here are a few that matter most:

Metric	What it tells you	Why it matters
Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)	How likely employees are to recommend your organisation as a great place to work	A simple, powerful indicator of advocacy and pride
Turnover rate	How many people leave voluntarily	High turnover often signals disengagement or cultural issues
Absenteeism rate	Frequency of unplanned absences	Engaged teams tend to have lower absenteeism
Participation rates	Attendance at internal events, training, or comms campaigns	Shows how connected employees feel to company life
Wellbeing scores	Self-reported stress, energy, or work-life balance levels	Tracks how supported employees feel in their roles

3. Combine quantitative and qualitative feedback

Engagement data is only half the picture. Use open comments, listening sessions, and town halls to dig deeper into why people feel a certain way.

Your company intranet is a great space to gather insights — from polls on the homepage to feedback forms on wellbeing or culture hubs.

Ask: What helps you do your best work?
Ask: What could make communication clearer or more meaningful?
Capture stories and examples, they bring your metrics to life.

4. Turn insights into action

Data is only valuable if it drives change.

Share results openly with employees through your news feed or internal comms hub.
Create an engagement action plan with clear owners and timelines.
Re-measure after three to six months to track improvement.

5. Keep it continuous

Employee engagement isn’t a once-a-year exercise — it’s an ongoing conversation.

By using tools like Pulse Surveys and intelligent analytics and reporting together, you can build a rhythm of listening, acting, and communicating that strengthens engagement over time.

See how Oak can work for you

Employee engagement FAQs

How can managers improve employee engagement?
Managers improve engagement by communicating clearly, recognising effort, supporting wellbeing and acting on feedback.

What are the biggest drivers of employee engagement?
Trust, meaningful work, recognition, growth opportunities and work life balance.

Does employee engagement improve productivity?
Yes. Engaged employees are more productive, have lower absenteeism and higher retention.