Why Your Employee Engagement Scores Are Not Improving

Do You Know Why Your Employee Engagement Scores Are Not Improving?
While most leaders publicly champion the importance of employee engagement, many organizations fall short when it comes to doing what actually moves the needle. Conducting an annual engagement survey may signal that you care about how committed employees feel to the company’s success. But measurement alone does not create momentum.

In fact, 80% of employees believe engagement surveys fail to drive meaningful change. When people are asked for input and see little visible follow-through, the message they receive is clear — you are just going through the motions.  Their feedback does not matter. Over time, organizational culture audits show that trust decreases, commitment weakens, and discretionary effort lowers.

The consequences are tangible. Lower engagement is correlated with:

• 12% lower profits
• 19% lower operating income
• 28% lower earnings per share

If visible and meaningful action does not follow each engagement survey, engagement scores will not improve. They will decline.

Understanding the root causes of disengagement — and taking focused, credible action in response — must happen after every survey cycle. Only then will employees believe their voice matters. And only then will engagement scores begin to rise.

Key Steps to Take When Your Employee Engagement Scores Are Not Improving

1. Get Full Leadership Commitment to Act Before You Start
   An employee engagement survey only adds value if leaders are fully committed — in advance — to transparently sharing results and taking visible, meaningful action. Without that commitment, do not move forward. If the organization has more urgent priorities or is unwilling to follow through, a survey will raise expectations you cannot meet.

   Half-hearted rollout efforts damage credibility. Employees quickly recognize when surveys are performative rather than purposeful.

   And this responsibility cannot sit solely with HR. Employee engagement is not an “HR initiative.” It reflects how connected people feel to their leaders, teammates, workplace, and the organization’s direction. Ownership must sit squarely with executive and operational leadership.

   The payoff for follow-through is substantial. Employees who see meaningful action after an engagement survey are 12 times more likely to be engaged the following year compared to those who see no visible response. Action builds trust. Trust builds engagement.

2. Create a Culture of Feedback
   Like any change management process, engagement does not improve through surveys alone — it improves through ongoing dialogue and meaningful action. People managers play a central role in creating an environment where employees feel safe speaking candidly about concerns, obstacles, and aspirations.

   Research from DDI shows that organizations encouraging frequent employee feedback are nearly five times more likely to develop high-quality leaders and maintain a strong leadership succession pipeline. When feedback flows freely, leadership capability strengthens.

   To truly improve engagement, you must hear from everyone — not just your most vocal advocates. That includes the frustrated, the skeptical, and the quietly disengaged. Their perspectives often reveal the most actionable insights.

   Make it clear that employee opinions matter. Reinforce that honest input carries no negative consequences. Most importantly, close the loop. Acknowledge what you heard. Share what will change. Explain what will not change and why. Transparency builds credibility, even when not every request can be fulfilled.

3. Use a Proven Employee Engagement Survey Tool and Process
   Data quality improves decision quality. Too many organizations rely on homegrown survey questions that lack validated links to employee advocacy, discretionary effort, performance, or retention. Poorly constructed questions produce unreliable data — and unreliable data leads to misguided action.

   To measure engagement accurately, use a scientifically validated survey tool with questions that correlate to meaningful business outcomes. A rigorous methodology ensures that what you measure truly reflects commitment, effort, and intent to stay.

   Equally important is the process surrounding the survey. Communicate the purpose clearly. Guarantee confidentiality. Share the survey results.  Provide leaders with training to interpret results constructively. Prioritize a few high-impact actions rather than overwhelming the organization with scattered initiatives.

   When leadership commitment is real, feedback is continuous, and measurement is sound, engagement efforts shift from a “check the box” HR tactic to a “move the needle” talent management strategy. That is when engagement ratings — and performance — begin to move.

The Bottom Line
To effect real change, you must understand what factors influence the problem. Only then can you change enabling factors and begin to solve the problem.  Employee engagement scores will not show real improvement unless leaders are committed to change, the survey is undertaken in an atmosphere of trust in the process, and the rollout makes sense.

To learn more about why your employee engagement scores are not improving, download The Top 10 Most Powerful Ways to Boost Employee Engagement

by Tristam Brown: CEO

Tristam Brown is an executive business consultant and organizational development expert with more than three decades of experience helping organizations accelerate performance, build high-impact teams, and turn strategy into execution. As CEO of LSA Global, he works with leaders to get and stay aligned™ through research-backed strategy, culture, and talent solutions that produce measurable, business-critical results. See full bio.