Employee engagement refers to a professional’s motivation, involvement, and emotional commitment to their work and the organization’s goals.
Team member engagement fuels thriving workplaces. When people feel connected to their roles, valued by their organization, and motivated to contribute, they drive productivity, improve retention, and strengthen company performance. But engagement is more than a metric—it’s about creating meaningful experiences across the employee lifecycle.
That means building a culture where team members feel valued, inspired, and empowered to make an impact. Yet globally, only one in five professionals reports feeling fully engaged. This gap represents a clear opportunity: organizations with highly engaged teams can see up to 21 percent higher profitability.
Investing in people isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s a strategic advantage. Engaged professionals show up with purpose. They take ownership, perform at their best, and actively contribute to shared success. To build this kind of culture, HR teams need to understand what engagement looks like, how to encourage it, and how to measure its impact.
Key insights
- Employee engagement reflects the connection between a professional’s motivation, commitment, and performance, driving stronger business outcomes
- Engaged team members tend to be more productive, deliver higher-quality work, build strong relationships, and perform consistently well
- HR leaders can strengthen engagement by supporting every stage of the team member lifecycle, building a culture of integrity and individuality, and acting on regular feedback
- Tracking engagement through surveys, absenteeism, and turnover data reveals trends that help HR teams continuously improve the team member experience
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Levels of engagement
Understanding engagement levels across your organization and what they look like helps HR teams build targeted strategies that boost motivation and connection. These levels reflect how invested people feel in their work and the company:
- High: Highly engaged professionals take initiative, pursue growth, and inspire others with their energy and commitment
- Moderate: These team members meet expectations consistently but may not go beyond their core responsibilities or seek additional impact
- Low: Professionals with low engagement often feel disconnected and tend to do only what’s required, showing little enthusiasm for their work
- Disengaged: Disengaged individuals may be openly dissatisfied, lack motivation, and contribute to a negative team dynamic
Why is employee engagement important?
Engagement plays a key role in building a healthy, growing, and people-first company. It’s often a strong indicator of both business performance and team member satisfaction. Engaged team members tend to demonstrate:
- Increased productivity: Engaged team members are 17 percent more productive, which means your team accomplishes their work efficiently
- Improved quality of work: Quality improves as team members pay more attention to detail, leading to fewer mistakes
- Higher performance reviews scores: People on high-performing teams are 110 percent more likely to receive productive feedback
- Enhanced resilience: Engaged individuals bounce back quickly from challenges, adapting positively to changes
- Increased fulfillment from work: When people feel supported and aligned with their roles, they’re more likely to find purpose in their work and take pride in their contributions
- Stronger work relationships: Engaged colleagues build better connections, cultivating collaboration and support
- Higher retention rates: Organizations with strong engagement see up to 51 percent less turnover, helping retain top talent and avoid costly churn
- Lower absenteeism: Organizations with highly engaged workforces of 70 percent or more report 81 percent fewer unplanned absences
- Better wellbeing: Highly engaged workforces report their people’s wellbeing is 66 percent stronger overall compared to their peers
When should an organization measure employee engagement?
Engagement isn’t static—it evolves over time. Build regular measurement into your ongoing people strategy rather than treating it as a one-off activity.
It’s never too early to start. Capturing insights during key moments—like onboarding, team changes, or after major projects—helps you understand how people are feeling and where support is needed most. Over time, you’ll build a clearer picture of what drives motivation and where to improve.
Frequent check-ins also give your people a voice, showing them that their input shapes the culture.
Pro tip: Create a simple engagement measurement calendar that includes pulse surveys tied to major milestones or transitions. Use trends in the results to guide manager coaching, communication strategies, and recognition efforts.
How to measure employee engagement
Engagement might feel intangible, but you can absolutely measure it. While it’s not as straightforward as tracking time-to-fill or budget spend, the right tools and touchpoints can reveal how your people are feeling and where your culture is thriving.
With a mix of qualitative feedback and quantitative data, you can uncover what drives motivation and where to take action. It’s not about perfection—it’s about progress.
Employee engagement surveys
Regularly sending out surveys with both qualitative and quantitative questions is the most straightforward way to track engagement levels at your organization. Try asking questions like:
- How valued do you feel as a team member?
- How satisfied are you with your job?
- How do you feel about your team?
Try sending these surveys during key stages, such as onboarding, after leadership changes, or after project wrap-ups. Share a summary of the top themes and outline one or two immediate actions you’re taking based on what you heard.
Employee net promoter score (eNPS)
Originally used to track customer satisfaction, employee net promoter score (eNPS) can also help measure engagement. It’s based on one simple question: “How likely are you to recommend working at our company to a friend or colleague?”
People respond on a scale from 0 to 10:
- 0–6 = detractors
- 7–8 = passives
- 9–10 = promoters
To calculate your eNPS, subtract the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters.
One-on-one conversations
Having regular one-on-one conversations provides valuable insights into individual engagement. These discussions help managers connect with team members, address concerns, and offer support. This open communication can help leaders identify engagement barriers and tailor strategies to meet individual needs.
360-degree reviews
360-degree reviews offer a comprehensive view of a professional’s performance by gathering feedback from peers, managers, and direct reports. This holistic approach identifies strengths and areas for improvement, creating a culture of continuous learning, growth, and engagement. Organizations can enhance collaboration and morale by understanding how team members perceive each other.
Key metrics that help track engagement
In addition to specific methods for measuring engagement, certain metrics can help you track it in concrete ways. Some indicators give a clear view of how connected and motivated people are, guiding more effective strategies.
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Employee absenteeism
Absenteeism, a metric you’re probably already tracking, gives you a numerical picture of how often your people are absent from the office. High rates might indicate a negative employee experience. While companies often track it operationally, high absence rates can reveal deeper engagement or wellbeing challenges, making it a critical metric for HR teams to monitor.
Distrelec Group turned to HiBob to gain a 360-degree view of its people data, including absenteeism trends. With increased visibility into time-off patterns, the HR team could explore potential root causes and take a more proactive approach to team wellbeing.
With health and wellbeing taking center stage during the pandemic, HiBob’s insights helped Distrelec identify team members who may have been struggling with mental health due to remote work or prolonged isolation. The data prompted more targeted support and highlighted the need to improve communication around existing resources.
Turnover rate
Turnover is more than just a staffing issue—it’s a signal. It shows how well you retain your people, which is closely linked to engagement levels. When people leave, especially early in their journey, it often reflects a gap in engagement, connection, or cultural alignment
Oviva Healthcare implemented HiBob to unify their global HR operations and improve visibility into key engagement and retention drivers. With HiBob, they launched targeted development and recognition programs that helped boost connection across teams.
As a result, Oviva saw a 10.5 percent reduction in voluntary turnover—while also achieving a 301 percent ROI on their HR investment.
Employee retention rate
Retention rate measures how successfully you keep your talent over time. A strong retention rate reflects a positive work environment where people feel valued and motivated to stay. HR leaders can examine this metric to uncover insights into what drives retention and identify areas for further enhancement.
Montu, Australia’s leading medical cannabis company, scaled 1,400% in just 18 months. To support sustainable retention, they used HiBob to build scalable onboarding, consistent performance reviews, and internal development processes.
Leveraging HiBob for goal tracking and career development, Montu created a growth-minded culture that supports retention—even during hypergrowth.
How HR leaders can improve employee engagement
HR leaders can cultivate a company culture that encourages motivation and enthusiasm for reaching personal work goals and company objectives. Implementing the following practices and values can create fertile ground for engagement:
1. Consider the employee lifecycle
A positive first impression during onboarding sets the tone for long-term engagement. A strong experience during the onboarding process helps people feel grounded in their role and environment, laying the foundation for the rest of their journey.
Pro tip: Build a consistent onboarding journey that includes preboarding emails, welcome checklists, and 30-, 60-, and 90-day touchpoints. Assign onboarding buddies to help new hires feel supported and connected from day one.
2. Encourage integrity and individuality
A culture that values honesty, empathy, wellbeing, and a strong work ethic helps build engagement. Welcoming people’s innovations and contributions encourages them to feel comfortable and supported in developing their skills.
Pro tip: During team meetings, spotlight individual wins tied to company values or goals—this reinforces impact and visibility. Offer personalised development options, like stretch projects, mentoring, or skill-building courses, tailored to how each team member learns and works best.
3. Assess changes
Managers and HR leaders can track changes and observe their progress through an HRIS platform and relevant metrics. Evaluating the adjustments holds leaders accountable for their decisions and enables them to learn from their successes and failures.
Pro tip: After rolling out an engagement initiative, host small group feedback sessions or listening circles with team members and managers. These conversations can reveal context behind metrics, surface unexpected insights, and build trust by showing your commitment to continuous improvement.
4. Carefully select and mentor managers
Managers play a central role in shaping team engagement. Hiring those who lead with empathy, nurture strengths, and inspire performance can make a lasting difference. Even experienced managers benefit from support—mentorship and coaching opportunities can equip them to lead, guide, and unify their teams more effectively.
Pro tip: Include leadership scenarios in manager interviews to assess empathy and coaching ability. Once hired, offer regular manager roundtables and access to leadership development programs focused on communication, feedback, and emotional intelligence.
<< Want to engage your people? We have 35 ideas to help you succeed! >>
Employee engagement ideas
Looking for some creative ideas for things you can do in your office to boost engagement? There are endless opportunities, but here are some of our favorite engagement hacks:
- Encourage positive team member-manager relationships by instating regular check-ins and creating a transparent culture of ongoing, open communication and two-way feedback.
- Allow people’s strengths to thrive. Do strength assessments early on and offer opportunities for people to use and develop their strongest abilities.
- Instill a sense of purpose and meaning into people’s work by having strong company values and mission.
- Make sure people know what the company expects of them and have all the tools and resources they need to succeed.
- Implement a system that allows for a consistent flow of recognition and praise.
- Encourage connection and relationship-building by offering events and opportunities for socializing.
- Promote corporate giving by organizing team volunteering events and supporting charitable initiatives. This creates a sense of community and shared purpose.
- Introduce wellness programs that focus on physical and mental health, such as yoga sessions, to enhance overall wellbeing and engagement.
- Support work-life balance by offering flexible work arrangements, such as remote work options and flexible hours, allowing team members to manage their personal and professional lives effectively.
- Create an inclusive work environment by celebrating diversity, promoting equal opportunities, and encouraging open dialogue.
Beyond engagement: What else matters for people experience
While engagement is vital, there’s more to consider in the team member’s experience. Even highly engaged teams can still face burnout, feelings of not belonging, or challenges with tech processes. These factors can lead to dissatisfaction despite strong engagement.
To create a truly thriving workplace, organizations need to look beyond engagement and address these interconnected elements.
Employee experience
Team member experience is about making every touchpoint—big or small—feel intentional, inclusive, and aligned with your culture. That includes how people access information, how feedback is handled, how tech supports their flow, and how well the work environment reflects their needs.
Try walking through the full team member experience—from hiring to career development to offboarding—through the lens of a new joiner. Identify moments that might feel unclear, impersonal, or disconnected. Then, partner with your people to redesign those touchpoints for clarity, care, and consistency.
Performance management
Performance management isn’t just about tracking outcomes—it’s a key driver of engagement. When professionals receive regular feedback, feel supported in their growth, and clearly understand how their work contributes to team goals, they’re more motivated to perform at their best.
A continuous approach—built on trust, clarity, and development—helps people feel seen and valued, which deepens their connection to their role and the organization.
You can encourage managers to hold monthly one-on-ones that go beyond project updates. Use these sessions to recognise progress, explore development goals, and check in on wellbeing. Consistent conversations like these help maintain momentum and boost engagement across teams.
Talent strategy
A thoughtful talent strategy does more than attract and retain top talent—it helps fuel engagement throughout a person’s experience at your company. When professionals see a clear path for growth, feel aligned with the organization’s goals, and trust their leadership, they’re more likely to stay motivated and committed.
Aligning hiring, development, and retention efforts with real-time business needs and market trends creates a workforce that’s both resilient and energised to grow and contribute.
Use engagement insights to shape your talent strategy. Identify patterns among high-performing, highly engaged professionals, then refine your sourcing, onboarding, and development programs to bring in and grow more of the right talent.
Include employee engagement as a core HR strategy
Engaged team members drive progress. When individuals show up enthused—whether they work from home or on-site—they elevate the company. They spur progress and momentum in their company through their social interactions, innovations, and high performance. This zest for improvement, development, and success is fundamental to building a thriving and vibrant community of growth-minded individuals.
Employee engagement FAQs
What are the types of employee engagement?
Engagement shows up in three key ways: cognitive, emotional, and behavioral. Cognitive engagement is about how people think about their roles and the organization. Emotional engagement focuses on feelings toward work and colleagues. Behavioral engagement involves actions that support the company’s goals.
Knowing these types helps in crafting strategies that boost overall engagement.
What causes an employee engagement strategy to succeed?
Successful engagement strategies are built for the long term. They’re not one-off initiatives—they evolve with your people, your culture, and your business. What sets them apart is a clear sense of ownership, ongoing iteration, and strong alignment between leadership and HR.
When engagement efforts are embedded into daily workflows, supported by data, and championed from the top down, they’re more likely to stick—and make a meaningful impact.
Who is responsible for implementing engagement strategies?
Everyone has a role to play when it comes to encouraging an engaged workforce:
- Senior leaders: They set the tone by aligning company values with daily operations. Their commitment influences how people adopt engagement strategies throughout the organization.
- HR: HR professionals design and implement engagement initiatives. They analyze data, gather feedback, and work with leadership to create plans that resonate with the team.
- Managers: Managers facilitate engagement on the frontline. They build relationships, provide support, and ensure team members have the resources they need.
- Team members: Team members contribute by participating in initiatives and providing honest feedback.
Improving employee engagement with HiBob
If your engagement scores are low, it may seem daunting to try to figure out how to move the needle in the right direction. But you don’t have to be alone in the effort. HiBob’s HR platform can be one of your most valuable tools in improving engagement, with several features designed to enhance the team member experience.
- HiBob creates a streamlined, exciting onboarding experience to engage people from the start of their time with your organization
- Shoutouts and Kudos encourage open communication and recognition to create an engaging culture of inclusivity and transparency
- Clubs allow people to connect with each other remotely, and helping build camaraderie and connectivity
