Strategic Employee Engagement Goals for HR Experts

Companies with engaged employees have lower absenteeism and turnover rates, higher customer loyalty and higher profitability.

Given these benefits, one would think that driving employee engagement should be a top priority in every company. But the numbers speak a different language.

Gallup's State of the Global Workplace: 2023 report found that only 23% of employees globally and 32% in the US are truly engaged at work.

So what's going on?

Employee engagement is crucial to a healthy company, but it is also often overlooked. In today's world, it's no longer enough to simply declare that you want to improve employee engagement. You need to set targeted employee engagement goals.

In this article, we'll explain why it's important to set employee engagement goals and show you some examples of how you can set goals that actually improve engagement, impact business results, and create a better workplace.

Why are employee engagement goals important?

By setting employee engagement goals, HR managers can regularly review and monitor metrics to ensure their goal of increasing engagement is being met.

These goals should be based on the company's goals. For example, if customer service is an important contributor to the company's success, your employee engagement goals should focus specifically on the engagement of customer service representatives.

However, for high-growth or VC-backed companies, employee engagement goals may be more focused on metrics that correlate with higher profitability.

In short, employee engagement goals are important because they provide a concrete way to achieve results that might otherwise go unnoticed. When they are aligned with company goals, both employees and the company benefit.

How to define employee engagement goals

Before you can set employee engagement goals, you need to understand the current level of engagement in your company.

Conducting an employee engagement survey is a good first step if you haven't already collected engagement data. Once you have a baseline that you can improve on, you can start documenting your goals.

Start by identifying strategic milestones that align with the company calendar and against which engagement can be measured. For example, if your company sets and measures new goals or OKRs quarterly, perhaps engagement can also be measured quarterly.

Once you have a process in place to regularly measure employee engagement, you can begin setting goals for continuous improvement.

7 examples of employee engagement goals

Let's look at some examples of employee engagement goals, how they can be written, and what's required to set each goal effectively.

1.Establish clear communication channels

How to define this goal: “We will promote a culture of transparency and openness within the organization by providing accessible and clearly defined communication channels.

What will it look like if this goal is successfully achieved?

• There are clear guidelines and communication channels between managers and employees.
• There are regular feedback mechanisms, such as surveys, suggestion boxes or town hall meetings.
• In surveys, employees say they feel they can share their feedback and opinions with the right people through accessible and appropriate channels.

2.Promote professional development opportunities

Definition of this goal: "We will support the growth and development of our employees with programs and policies that provide valuable and relevant development opportunities."

What does it take to successfully achieve this goal?

• Offering training programs, workshops, or mentoring opportunities for employees
• Enable your employees to improve their skills and advance their careers within the company.
• In a survey, employees said they feel they have enough opportunities to expand their skills and advance their careers

3.Recognize and reward achievements

Here's how to define this goal: "We will increase morale, motivation, and overall job satisfaction through timely and specific recognition and reward."

What does it take to successfully achieve this goal?

• Created a Slack channel to recognize achievements and track engagement within the channel
• Implement a formal recognition program to celebrate milestones and achievements
• In surveys, employees say they feel they are appropriately recognized and celebrated when they go above and beyond.

4.Improving work-life balance

Here's how to define this goal: "We will implement human resources policies that promote a healthy work-life balance for our employees."

What does it take to successfully achieve this goal?

• Providing HR policies and programs that promote employee work-life balance, such as: E.g. a work from home policy, flexible work arrangements or personal days
• Offering wellness initiatives that emphasize self-care, such as: a wellness fund
• In surveys, employees say they have a manageable workload, can take time for themselves when needed, and can leave work at work.

5.Improve team collaboration

Definition of this goal: “We will foster a sense of belonging, camaraderie and shared goals among employees.”

What does it take to successfully achieve this goal?

• Setting goals to improve collaboration and teamwork within the organization
• Introduce team building activities, cross-functional projects or collaboration tools
• Employees surveyed say they can easily work with teams other than their own and collaborate without obstacles

6.Ensure support from supervisor

Definition of this goal: “We ensure that managers are actively committed to and support their teams.”

What does it take to successfully achieve this goal?

• Providing leadership training, coaching or feedback mechanisms to managers
• Promote strong leadership and positive relationships between managers and employees
• In surveys, employees say they feel supported by their managers and that their manager genuinely cares.

7.Monitor and measure progress

Here's how to define this goal: "We will regularly monitor and measure employee engagement metrics."

What does it take to successfully achieve this goal?

• Using data analytics, surveys, or performance reviews to track progress
• Regularly identify areas for improvement and adapt strategies accordingly

Employee engagement goals benefit everyone

With the right goals, you can transform employee engagement from a hard-to-define intention to a measurable, tangible part of the business that can be effectively quantified and improved.

If you set these goals, you will improve employee engagement and ensure company success - and thus also fluctuation, satisfaction and ultimately the bottom line.

Transform intention into measurable action with strategic employee engagement goals. Boost morale, productivity, and profits with IceHrm.