The Best Strategies to Increase Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is the holy grail of the business world. If you succeed, you can reduce absenteeism by up to 81%, turnover by up to 43%, and safety incidents by almost two-thirds. You could even achieve an increase in overall profitability of up to 23%.

But what happens if you neglect it? A lack of employee engagement can lead to declining morale, high turnover, and missed opportunities – and once your company finds itself in this situation, it is difficult to get back on track.

In this article, you will learn how to improve employee engagement at every stage of the employee lifecycle – from tips on recruitment to insights from exit interviews.

We also provide expert tips on how to measure employee engagement over time. IceHrm, our award-winning software, helps HR professionals replace tedious spreadsheets with accurate people analytics that capture the state of your company in real time.

What does employee engagement look like?

Engaged employees are often enthusiastic about their work. They do more than the bare minimum and care about achieving successful outcomes.

Engaged employees communicate proactively with supervisors and colleagues, participate in meetings and provide feedback on ideas, take part in team-building activities and enjoy them, and respond thoughtfully to surveys.

Start with effective recruiting and onboarding

When hiring new employees, your decisions can significantly influence employee retention throughout the company. Choosing new employees who fit well into your existing team and feel welcome promotes employee retention from the very beginning.

Align recruiting with the company culture and values.

Every new hire has the potential to change the way employees interact with each other and thereby either strengthen or weaken the company's values and culture.

Every new person on your team has the potential to change the way employees interact with each other and thereby either strengthen or weaken the company's values and culture.

To be a valuable hire, a new employee must fit the organization in many ways, including salary expectations, respect for company values, the skills required for the position, and the ability to get along well with colleagues and supervisors.

Don't neglect onboarding

New employees first need to find their way around the processes that are second nature to more experienced colleagues and may need support with basic tasks. Nevertheless, 65% of new employees report that they have no contact person for questions, and 62% say they receive hardly any adequate training. Since effective onboarding is crucial, you should not neglect training and relationship-building, which promote employee retention from the very beginning.

Strengthen teamwork

Teamwork is important in the workplace for several reasons:

• It brings together different perspectives and can thus lead to innovative ideas.
• It helps managers boost the motivation of their employees working from home – a crucial factor for today's hybrid teams.
• It allows employees to learn from each other and thereby improve overall performance.
• It contributes to building positive relationships and promotes a culture of collaboration.
• It helps teams avoid conflicts and nip negative moods in the bud.
• It leads to increased motivation, which can positively impact business results.

If you're wondering how to boost employee motivation, teamwork is a good place to start. The motivation generated through better teamwork can increase productivity by 18% and profitability by 23%, while simultaneously reducing absenteeism and turnover by 78% and 21%, respectively.

Maintaining Open Lines of Communication

An effective communication tool is crucial for increasing employee motivation and performance through employee engagement. Give managers at least half an hour each month for one-on-one meetings, during which only the employee’s current performance is discussed. In these meetings, positive aspects can be highlighted, areas for improvement identified, and mutual requests for clarification or support on upcoming projects can be made.

Using performance management software to track goals can optimize the outcomes of these discussions and strengthen collaboration between managers and employees.

Show Respect

Sometimes the key to motivated employees lies in treating them differently. More personal responsibility and attractive additional benefits are two ways to achieve this.

Give Your Employees More Autonomy

If your employees feel unmotivated, a change of tasks can help. Offer your employees the opportunity to try new tasks. This allows them to better recognize their strengths and interests. A relaxed leadership style that allows your employees to determine their own working hours, work locations, vacation days, and workload also contributes to a better work-life balance.

Give Time and Money

Recognition means more than bonuses (although employees do appreciate a bit more money) or time off. Review your company's recognition structure. Do managers regularly give informal recognition for good performance? Do supervisors acknowledge individuals or departments after successful projects? Meaningful recognition boosts employee motivation and shows them their value.

Invest in Employee Engagement

Like many things in life, employee engagement is not free. However, this does not mean that your company has to spend a fortune to motivate employees. Thoughtful budget planning for these measures can increase engagement across the entire company.

Software Tools for Employee Engagement

HR managers often struggle to measure employee engagement. Instead of dealing with Google Forms and spreadsheets, we recommend investing in comprehensive HR software that combines the following HR activities:

• Applicant Tracking System
• Performance Management Software
• Employee Satisfaction Survey Tools
• Recognition Programs
• Compensation Analysis Software

IceHrm offers these and more features in an intuitive platform that allows you to keep track of employee engagement metrics at any time. Thanks to our numerous integrations that synchronize seamlessly with our platform, you can continue to use many of your familiar and reliable tools.

Equipment, Tools, and Resources

No one wants to go to work without the necessary tools. Whether in the office or the factory, your employees should have modern equipment. Investments in tools, computers, and software demonstrate your commitment to your team.

Continuous Employee Development

Studies repeatedly show that many employees turn away from their companies due to a lack of professional development opportunities. Even Generation Z college graduates expect their employers to invest in their training; 63% consider this essential for their career success.

Employee development plans motivate employees not only through good compensation. They also help companies remain competitive. This is especially important when it comes to increasing employee engagement in healthcare, where patient outcomes are at stake.

5 Ideas for More Employee Engagement

Now that you know the basics of how to increase employee engagement in the workplace, you can develop a concrete plan for your company. Use these ideas as inspiration.

1. Create a successful first day at work

With everything new employees have to learn on their first day, there are far more meaningful ways to spend their time than filling out forms. An HR information system with an e-signature feature allows new employees to fill out forms in advance so they can focus on more important matters. Additionally, create a comprehensive onboarding presentation and give new employees time to get to know their new teams, for example, over a lunch together at a nice restaurant.

2. Assign a mentor

Even the best first day can't cover everything. But once the onboarding is over and work begins, new employees often find it difficult to know when and how to ask questions – or whom to turn to. A mentor provides each new employee with a familiar point of contact for professional or cultural questions.

3. Regular Employee Surveys

Studies show that employee satisfaction has a significant impact on engagement and productivity. eNPS surveys (Net Promoter Score) and other engagement surveys help you gauge your employees' mood by measuring dissatisfaction, general sentiment, and more. With these important insights into employee sentiment, you can take action to improve employee engagement before smaller issues turn into bigger problems.

4. Promote Employee Groups

Employee groups (Employee Resource Groups, ERGs) represent specific interests, backgrounds, and demographic characteristics of your workforce. They can be more casual and hobby-oriented – for example, a film club – or focus on topics like diversity and representation in the workplace. Funding and supporting ERGs not only helps employees connect with each other but also demonstrates your company's commitment to inclusion.

5. Measuring Employee Engagement Through Exit Interviews

When ending an employment relationship, the exit interview provides managers with the opportunity to receive honest feedback and learn from each other. If the employee has left the company voluntarily, it is important to understand the reasons for this and examine how it can contribute to improving employee satisfaction. Don’t forget to maintain contact, as some employees may return later with new skills and experiences.

Increasing employee engagement is not a single project but a continuous, multi-faceted strategy requiring commitment at every stage of the employee lifecycle. From hiring the right cultural fit to providing development opportunities, the process must be systemic and measurable. IceHrm provides the comprehensive HR software platform essential for driving and tracking these initiatives. Its integrated features—including the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) for culture-aligned recruiting, e-signature for seamless onboarding (Idea 1), and tools for running regular employee surveys (eNPS) (Idea 3)—allow HR managers to replace fragmented processes with a single, intuitive system. By centralizing performance management, communication tracking, and recognition programs, IceHrm empowers HR professionals to gain real-time analytics on employee sentiment, enabling proactive, data-driven decisions that consistently maximize engagement and organizational success.