Employee engagement strategies that work in 2026 [with examples + template]

Employee engagement is one of the trickier challenges organisations deal with. According to Gallup, just 20% of workers worldwide are actually engaged at work. 64% are not engaged. 16% actively disengaged. 

The numbers don’t paint a pretty picture, especially when employee engagement is linked to almost every business outcome —  retention, productivity, performance, profit, loyalty, health and wellbeing… the list goes on. 

So how do you improve employee engagement, and what does a successful employee engagement strategy look like? That’s exactly what we’re going to cover in this blog, with examples, so you can make steps toward crafting a winning engagement strategy.  

What are employee engagement strategies?

Employee engagement strategies are initiatives designed to improve how employees connect with their work, leadership, colleagues, and company goals. A good engagement strategy will create an environment where employees are more likely to flourish and enjoy working for your organisation. 

How your strategy is formed will depend on your company size and budget, but focusing on the two or three most urgent areas from an employee engagement survey, is a good place to start.

Effective employee engagement strategies typically focus on:

‍

• communication
• recognition
• employee feedback
• career development
• wellbeing
• transparency
• flexibility
• accessibility for frontline employees
• onboarding 

‍

Modern organisations increasingly use employee engagement platforms to centralise communication, improve employee recognition, personalise updates, and measure engagement across both desk based and frontline workforces.

Companies with highly engaged employees often see stronger productivity, retention, profitability, and employee wellbeing. Businesses looking to improve outcomes often start by creating an employee engagement strategy tailored to their workforce needs, while also using tools for measuring employee engagement over time.

Before implementing tactics, a strategy helps you answer:

‍

• What does our current engagement look like?
• What do we need to aim for?
• How are we going to achieve it?

‍

Key employee engagement strategies

‍

Why is an employee engagement strategy important?

Gallup found that companies with highly engaged workforces are 23% more profitable. Not only does engagement make employees more productive, but they feel more inclined to recreate the value they are given.

On the other hand, employees that aren’t engaged are more likely to look elsewhere for work and feel dissatisfied in their day-to-day job. Staffing Industry Analysts found that 58% of employees plan to find new jobs in the next year, and 56% have already done so in the last 12 months. So, if your staff don’t have a good reason to stay at their current place of work, don’t expect them to hang around. 

A company that supports and encourages employee engagement will ultimately be more successful and perform better overall. Here are 7 key benefits of engaging your workforce.

‍

Benefit 1: Increased productivity

Highly engaged teams achieve 14% higher productivity than disengaged teams (Gallup). 

Employee productivity is the engine on which a business thrives. The more engaged your employees are, the more efficient they’ll be, and the more your company will succeed. Productive employees focus on doing a good job they’re proud of, there’s very little wasted effort, and the work they do creates the results you need.

Benefit 2: Greater employee retention

Highly engaged business units experience 21% lower employee turnover in high-turnover organisations (Gallup). 

One of the most important things you can do in a high turnover industry to improve employee engagement (let’s use hospitality as an example) is improve your onboarding process. Burger King UK&I improved their onboarding process by offering personalised pre-boarding and onboarding for each employee and saw a 40% reduction in new starter drop out rates in 6 months, and a 32% reduction in turnover of hourly paid crew in new sites in 3 months.  

While it’s impossible to bring your employee retention to 100%, it’s certainly possible to create a loyal workforce where your people stay with your organisation for a prolonged time period. This all comes down to employee engagement.

Benefit 3: Higher profits

Research shows that highly engaged organisations have 23% higher profitability than those who are disengaged. You should always make sure you invest in your employees to keep engagement high. This will preserve the profit growth of your organisation and success will continue to increase.

Benefit 4: Enhances a culture of employee engagement

44% of employees said they previously left a workplace because it felt toxic and 45% of employees said employers are responsible for improving workplace culture (Randstad). This correlates with our own research that three quarters of employees say they have experienced a toxic workplace culture, with women and people working in healthcare most likely to be affected.  

How does employee engagement become part of your culture? There are 8 key pillars of employee engagement which we’ll discuss further, but here are the 8 pillars as follows:

1. Communication
2. Employee recognition
3. Employee voice and feedback 
4. Career development 
5. Leadership transparency
6. Wellbeing and work life balance
7. Flexibility and autonomy 
8. Accessibility for frontline employees

Get these pillars right, and you can guarantee that your employees will feel connection, belonging and feel like they can thrive in their role. 

Benefit 5: Greater employee loyalty

Employees whose organisations increased employee listening, reported stronger intentions to stay, as well as higher wellbeing, engagement and inclusion. By giving employees the opportunity to regularly, anonymously share their views, experiences and opinions on the workplace, and implementing changes based on their feedback, makes their individual voices feel heard and valued. It shows that you’re continuously willing to listen and adapt how things work, to make work feel right for them which will encourage people to stay, knowing they work somewhere their voice is valued. 

Having an intranet opens up a whole host of ways to learn what your employees care about. Intranet analytics reveals what content employees care about, what people are searching for and what content they need. Reactions and comments on content help generate discussion and answer questions, and things like quick polls allow you to get a quick pulse check on how people are feeling.

Benefit 6: Lower absenteeism

Absenteeism is regular absences from work. This can look like missing work without notice or permission, regular patterns of missed days, sporadic short term missed days without personal or medical reasons. 

Highly engaged businesses experience 78% less absenteeism than the least-engaged (Gallup). Taking the occasional day off can be a sign that employees are engaged. They are more likely to feel secure in their role, and they’re confident one missed day won’t affect the work to be accomplished.

However, you should be concerned about engagement levels when patterns of absenteeism begin to increase.

Things that help with absenteeism are offering flexible working, creating a pleasant working environment, demonstrating that you care by listening to employees, communicating with people regularly, and living your values. 

Benefit 7: Better work-life balance

Oak Engage’s burnout report revealed that 70% of employees have experienced burnout at work. If your employees are experiencing a sense of burnout or they’re unhappy in their job, their home life will start to become affected.

People who are highly engaged are able to switch between work and home life quite simply and easily, meaning they have clear boundaries of their work life balance. When people are burned out, this becomes more difficult. 

All of these benefits are only possible when companies focus on the key things that affect employee engagement. Here are 8 key pillars that impact employee engagement the most.

The 8 pillars of employee engagement 

Most employee engagement strategies are built around eight core pillars that directly influence employee motivation, satisfaction, retention, and productivity.

These pillars help organisations identify where engagement problems exist and where improvements will have the biggest impact.

1. Communication

Clear comms helps employees understand:

• company priorities
• expectations
• business changes
• goals and responsibilities

‍

Poor communication often leads to confusion, disengagement, and information overload.

Strong communication strategies usually include:

‍

• leadership updates
• mobile communication
• personalised content
• centralised resources
• regular feedback loops

‍

Organisations investing in effective employee communication and modern internal communications tools experience improved employee engagement because technology allows them to create more personalised, targeted communication that cuts through the noise. 

‍

2. Employee recognition

Employees who feel valued are more likely to stay engaged and motivated.

Recognition can include:

• public praise
• peer recognition
• milestone celebrations
• rewards and incentives
• leadership acknowledgement

‍

Modern organisations increasingly use employee recognition tools to make appreciation more visible across the organisation, helping to strengthen overall employee morale.

3. Employee voice and feedback

Employees want to feel heard, and this is only possible when you listen to, and then act on their feedback. Employee engagement surveys, pulse surveys, feedback sessions, suggestion programmes, and anonymous feedback tools help organisations identify problems early and improve workplace culture. Many organisations now use regular pulse survey questions to monitor engagement trends more consistently.

4. Career development

Professional growth is one of the biggest drivers of long term engagement and retention. Employees are more likely to stay engaged when organisations provide:

‍

• training opportunities
• mentorship
• career progression
• internal mobility
• upskilling support

‍

Strong development opportunities also contribute to better employee retention over time.

‍

5. Leadership transparency

‍

Transparency and open, honest communication builds trust. Employees are more likely to feel connected to the organisation when leadership communicates openly about:

• business goals
• company performance
• challenges
• future direction

‍

Town halls, Q&A sessions, leadership blogs, and video updates all help improve visibility and trust. Clear leadership communication becomes especially important during periods of organisational change.

6. Wellbeing and work life balance

Burnout and stress are major contributors to disengagement. Employee wellbeing initiatives often include:

• flexible working
• mental health support
• workload management
• wellbeing resources
• burnout prevention

Healthy employees are more likely to remain productive, motivated, and engaged while contributing to a more positive workplace culture.

7. Flexibility and autonomy

Employees value trust and independence. Giving employees greater autonomy over how they work often leads to:

• higher job satisfaction
• stronger motivation
• improved productivity
• better retention

Flexible working models also help organisations support a wider range of employee needs while improving the overall employee experience.

8. Accessibility for frontline employees

‍

Many organisations still struggle to effectively engage frontline and deskless workers.Employees who cannot easily access company updates, schedules, policies, or communication tools often feel disconnected from the wider organisation. Mobile first communication platforms help ensure frontline employees have equal access to information, communication, and engagement opportunities. Solutions designed to engage deskless workers and support frontline employees are becoming increasingly important for distributed workforces.

‍

The good news is that you can focus on improving these eight pillars of employee recognition by using, employee engagement software, which helps organisations improve communication, recognition, feedback, and employee experience through a centralised digital platform.

Most employee engagement software includes features such as:

• company news and internal communication
• employee recognition tools
• surveys and employee feedback
• social feeds and communities
• mobile apps for frontline employees
• analytics and reporting
• onboarding and resource hubs
• HR and Microsoft 365 integrations

‍For many organisations, employee engagement software also helps reduce communication overload caused by disconnected tools and fragmented channels. This is particularly important for organisations with frontline or distributed employees who may not regularly access email or traditional intranet systems. Oak Engage combines employee communication, engagement, intranet functionality, analytics, AI powered personalisation, and frontline mobile access in one platform designed for both desk based and frontline employees.

Starting your employee engagement strategy

Free fruit, pizza on a Friday and the occasional seasonal party are not engagement strategies. An engagement plan is a strategic process to identify and prioritise actions based on feedback that addresses core problems people are facing at work.

Step 1: Determine what you want to achieve

Before gathering data, bring leaders together to discuss your specific goals. Are you seeking greater retention, boosted morale, or better inter-departmental connectivity?

Step 2: Collect feedback from your staff

Use anonymous pulse surveys to gain honest insight. Ensure you provide mobile and deskless support so every worker has a voice. The goal isn’t to make the organisation look good, but to make it better.

Step 3. Review and analyse the data

Focus less on the numerical scores and more on the patterns in the comments. Use this feedback as a roadmap. If scores are low, use them to identify why employees feel a certain way.

Step 4. Implement and monitor

‍

Clearly define your action steps. For every initiative, document:

• Specific actions you are committing to.
• Who is responsible for the rollout.
• How success will be measured (e.g., higher retention or better survey scores).
• Timelines for progress reports.

‍

Examples of employee engagement strategies

There is no “one size fits all” strategy; engagement is subjective and depends entirely on the unique needs of your people. To help you construct an action plan that works for your entire workforce, we have compiled eight versatile strategies that combine modern technology with essential human values.

‍

1. Leverage AI to enhance efficiency (not replace people)

‍

57% of internal communicators say AI is their top focus area for 2026 (Contact Monkey). 

AI search is one the most powerful engagement tools when used to remove the repetitive work and information overload that leads to burnout, giving employees the exact answers they need in seconds and taking the burden of finding the right information away instantly. But you need to put in the work to reap the benefits of AI search.  

Hays Travel, the largest independent travel retailer, have completely reimagined and streamlined their intranet in preparation for introducing AI initiatives, removing outdated content and introducing strict governance frameworks to ensure all content is up to date. 

“We had to strike the balance between housekeeping and being a nuisance. We know that everyone is busy but it was a priority - we targeted key people with the most outdated content assigned to them and asked them to review or delete to ensure that information search is as easy as possible for everyone. While there are still thousands of pieces of content and an ever-growing media library, we’re on the right track to maintaining strong housekeeping around content freshness which will pave the way for successfully implementing Oak’s AI tools within the platform in the future.” - Michael Smiles, Technology Change Manager at Hays Travel

Read the full Hays Travel customer story here. 

2. Recognise achievement often

If an employee feels that their work is not properly recognised, this can have a big impact on engagement. After all, we all want to be rewarded and celebrated for our hard work don’t we?

Even a simple announcement on your company intranet or on your weekly meetings can be enough to energise an employee and make them feel valued. Management should focus on recognising employees’ achievements regularly.

• Simple gestures: A quick shout-out on the company intranet or a “well done” in a weekly meeting can re-energise an employee.
• Gamification: Use digital awards and badges to make recognition tangible and visible across the organisation.

“Recognition shouldn’t be something that only happens at annual reviews or award ceremonies. Using Oak’s easy to access mobile app has let us celebrate our people in the moment - and the difference it’s made to how connected everyone feels has been incredible to see. This just wasn’t possible before.” - Michelle Ray, L&D Administrator at Salts Healthcare 

3. Personalise the employee journey

Avoid content fatigue by ensuring employees only see what matters to them. Incorporate a smart feed into your employee engagement app to tailor information based on roles or interests. When employees can bypass irrelevant info, they stay engaged longer and return to your platform more frequently.

NatWest uses Oak to send daily news round ups to make it easier for NatWest’s people to get the latest news, straight to their inbox. It means comms aren’t getting lost and it cuts out the noise. 

Using intelligence, every single user is delivered a highly personalised newsletter experience. The content is based upon the explicit preferences of the colleague and also implicit preferences gained from behavioural information.

“Oak has given our colleagues more control. They can now personalise their news experience, adapt based on their interactions, follow topics of interest and opt out of communications that are less relevant - this is adding real value.” - Barry Fuller — Digital Communications Consultant at NatWest

‍

Read the full NatWest customer story.

4. Having community and social spaces where employees can connect

Organisations that encourage friendships can have an impact on retention rates. The study also found that workers with close friends at work are more likely to say they feel a strong sense of belonging at work (80%) and report more satisfaction with work (86%).

Whether it’s health and wellbeing, diversity and inclusion initiatives, a hub to share photos of pets, work projects or organising social activities and events, having dedicated spaces where people can connect and build relationships over interests is so important for making employees feel like they belong. 

5. Encourage feedback and show you’re listening

One of the best ways to learn what your people need is by identifying hurdles at the root cause. However, asking for feedback is only half the battle; you must act on it. Encourage employee feedback to see what changes your people feel need to be made. Is there something that’s preventing your team from engaging?

By identifying where hurdles are occurring at the root cause, you’ll be better placed to address them. If they feel like there are areas that need improvement, encourage them to highlight and provide feedback.

It might be something as straightforward as simplifying work processes or creating a digital space for collaboration and thought processing. Without asking, you won’t know. Without knowing, you can’t make the necessary changes. Hearing the opinions of the very people you are actively encouraging to engage with your company is the first step to making your business a workplace built for your people and not the other way around.

• Feedback loops: If there are concerns or complaints, management should propose and act on solutions immediately.
• Ownership: When employees see their suggestions—like simplifying a work process—implemented, they feel the workplace is built for them, not just around them.

6. Increase transparency with regular updates

85% of employees are most motivated when management offers regular updates on company news. The benefits of workplace transparency are:

‍

• Everyone feels in the loop with company news and updates
• Better performance management
• Improved company performance and goal setting
• Strengthened workplace culture
• Improved communication
• Increased employee engagement

‍

The importance of transparency in the workplace cannot be overstated. With so many powerful benefits, achieving a culture of honesty and openness between leadership, managers and employees should be every leader’s top priority.

7. Streamline tools to prevent app fatigue

Having too many unintegrated communication tools is confusing and tiring, especially for deskless workers who are strapped for time and accessing content on mobile.

• All-in-one solutions: Aim for one platform that gives you access to everything; news, chats, social interaction, and recognition. A streamlined experience makes it easier for employees to stay involved without the friction and mental load of switching between multiple applications.

8. Create a culture of respect and celebrating individual strengths

Respect the unique value each employee brings to the table. Play to your employees’ strengths and support their weaknesses. By treating both an employee’s work and their opinion with visible respect, you allow them to develop their skill set while the company benefits from their full potential.

Your employee engagement action plan

Now you’re aware of what can impact and make a difference to employee engagement in 2026, it’s time to create an action plan for your business. Our employee engagement action plan template includes steps to help you with:

• Employee engagement goals
• Collecting feedback 
• Analysing feedback
• Brainstorming ideas
• Implementing your action plan with clear actions, owners and timelines 

Download your employee engagement action plan here.

Employee engagement ideas

Struggling with employee engagement ideas? We’ve got you covered. Here are some ideas you can implement for each area of the blog we’ve discussed.

Employee communication ideas

• Leadership updates on the intranet
• Mobile push notifications for frontline teams
• Town halls and Q&A sessions
• Personalised communication feeds

Employee recognition ideas

• Peer recognition programmes
• Digital awards and badges
• Work anniversary celebrations
• Public recognition posts

Employee wellbeing ideas

• Flexible working arrangements
• Mental health support
• Encouraging time off
• Burnout prevention initiatives

Employee feedback ideas

• Pulse surveys
• Anonymous suggestion boxes
• Regular one to ones
• Employee listening sessions

Things to consider with employee engagement strategies

Now that you’ve got more of an idea on what could be improved in your organisation, it’s time to develop your employee engagement strategy and put it into action. 

However, there are things to consider when implementing an effective employee engagement strategy. We’ve got some tips Take a look at our top tips for success:

Tip 1: Be realistic

It’s important to understand that creating great employee engagement is a process and you may miss the mark on a few strategies every now and then. You should set realistic standards for your employees and outline any specific goals you want to achieve when possible. The most important thing you can do is to listen and act on employee feedback, so you can tailor the workforce to what they need. 

Tip 2: Be flexible

You won’t find the perfect strategy for your company straight away, so always be open minded when it comes to new ideas. Make sure you’re regularly monitoring employee engagement and analysing the data alongside it to find out what works for your employees and what doesn’t.

Tips 3: Be clear about responsibilities

Make sure you know who’s responsible for what before you get started. You won’t get anywhere in the way of improving employee engagement if you don’t clearly delegate responsibilities to the right individuals and keep track of their progress. In order to successfully get your strategy off the ground, you need to involve the key people from the start.

‍

FAQs

What are employee engagement strategies?

Employee engagement strategies are initiatives designed to improve employee motivation, communication, wellbeing, recognition, and connection to company goals.

Why are employee engagement strategies important?

Strong engagement strategies help organisations improve productivity, retention, employee wellbeing, and workplace culture.

What are the key pillars of employee engagement?

The main pillars include communication, recognition, employee voice, transparency, career development, wellbeing, flexibility, and accessibility.

How can technology improve employee engagement?

Employee engagement platforms help organisations centralise communication, improve employee recognition, gather feedback, and connect frontline and desk based employees.

What is employee engagement software?

Employee engagement software is a platform designed to improve internal communication, employee experience, recognition, feedback, and workforce connectivity.

‍