Improving Employee Engagement: 3 Basic to Get Right

Improving Employee Engagement Matters
Let’s strip it down to the essentials: improving employee engagement doesn’t have to be complicated, but it must be intentional. When done right, it drives retention, productivity, and overall organizational performance.

Why Engagement Cannot Be Ignored
Ask yourself:

• Are you convinced that employee engagement is a critical driver of business success?
• Do you agree, as the research shows, that engaged employees are more likely to stay, reducing costly turnover?
• Are you aware that employees who report high job satisfaction are more than 40% more productive and effective than their disengaged peers (Harter, Schmidt, & Hayes, 2002; Gallup, 2023)?

If the answer is yes, you already understand why improving engagement must be a top business and people priority.

Three Practical Ways for Improving Employee Engagement
From that fundamental understanding of how critical employee engagement is to business success, here are three simple, and yet effective, ways to improve employee engagement based upon organizational culture assessment findings:

1. Measure: Understand Your Starting Point
   You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Assess current organizational health to understand where your organization stands relative to industry benchmarks. Without ongoing measurement, progress remains anecdotal at best.

   Collect actionable data through surveys, team meetings, and one-on-one discussions. Create an environment of frequent feedback where employees feel safe to share candid feedback. This transparency allows you to identify trends, surface challenges, and act decisively to improve engagement over time.

2. Develop: Equip Leaders to Inspire
   Managers are pivotal. Research from Buckingham & Goodall shows that poor leadership is consistently a leading driver of employee disengagement and turnover. To combat this, invest in leadership development and new manager training that equips managers with the skills to motivate, coach, and recognize their teams effectively.

   Provide multiple avenues for growth — mentorship, formal training, and stretch assignments. When leaders are empowered to lead well, teams become more productive, more loyal, and better aligned with organizational goals.

3. Listen: Ask A Simple, but Powerful Question
   Sometimes, the simplest actions yield the greatest insights. Ask your employees directly: “When are you at your best?”

   The conversations that follow uncover what energizes your team, what drains them, and where you can better align responsibilities with their strengths. Listening carefully and acting on these insights reinforces trust, boosts morale, and strengthens engagement across the board.

The Bottom Line
A clear, focused approach — measure, develop, listen — provides a strong foundation for improving employee engagement. Start with this 1-2-3 framework before layering in more complex initiatives to address specific challenges. By making engagement a deliberate part of your organizational culture, you set the stage for higher productivity, lower turnover, and a workforce that is motivated to excel.

To learn more about improving employee engagement, download The Top 10 Most Powerful Ways to Boost Employee Engagement: According to Employees.