10 Inspiring Employee Engagement Examples For A Thriving Workforce

Were you aware that employees who are not engaged or actively disengaged cost the world $8 trillion in lost productivity? This is as much as 9% of the global GDP.

Another survey indicates that only 32% of employees are engaged in the workplace, whereas 18% are actively disengaged. 

Businesses are constantly looking for ways to deal with the challenge of employees quietly quitting at work or simply going through the motions until they find a good opportunity. 

There can be many reasons for this. It can be a lack of recognition from managers, poor communication, or having an unclear understanding of the company’s mission. 

It brings us to the most pertinent question: How can we boost employee engagement at work? 

Here, we will provide a detailed overview of workplace engagement, its importance, and its benefits. 

Also, learn about a few examples of employee engagement that can be valuable lessons for your future efforts.

What is Employee Engagement?

Technically, employee engagement is an HR concept. It refers to the level of enthusiasm and dedication that employees feel toward their jobs. 

Engaged employees are more likely to care about their work and the company's performance. 

The key is to make your workers feel they are not just in it for a paycheck. They must be well-linked to their performance, ultimately impacting an organization’s overall success. 

Why Employee Engagement Matters?

Before we move further to successful employee engagement programs, let’s understand the many benefits of this approach at your organization.

• Reduces Absenteeism: Employees who love what they do and where they do it are less likely to take days off without reason or consulting their managers. 
• Increases productivity: Engaged employees are more likely to work harder and proactively try to reach their goals. This ultimately leads to greater productivity.
• Lower employee turnover: An effective employee engagement strategy can deter workers from seeking new jobs. The key is to make their experience at your organization positive to increase satisfaction rates. 
• Better communication: Engaged employees can influence their team members by setting good examples and helping promote effective communication and dialogue with their colleagues.  
• Builds morale: High morale helps to build employee loyalty. It shows that your workers are focused on their jobs and share your company's vision. 

Now, let’s look at some employee engagement initiatives examples.

Examples of Employee Engagement in Companies

Here, we have shared a few successful employee engagement examples. You will learn how these various companies have been able to completely change their employees’ experiences by implementing some excellent team engagement strategies. 

1. Recognition and Rewards Programs

Recognition and rewards programs can greatly boost employee recognition. They can involve anything from simple praise to tangible items like gift cards or bonuses. 

If you want to avoid traditional monetary awards, you have several other options. Try experimenting with experiential rewards to create a memorable experience for your employees. These include a sunset cruise, a cooking class, or a spa day.

Example 1: One of the leading employee engagement initiatives includes Zappos’ reward programs. This famous online retailer gives employees $50 each quarter for a well-done job. Additionally, the company introduced the concept of ‘Zollars,’ which are its dollars that can be accrued and then cashed in for various benefits.

Example 2: Similar to this, Southwest Airlines introduced various recognition programs for its employees. One example is the Southwest Airlines Gratitude initiative, which allows all employees to recognize and thank one another through points. These points can then be redeemed for gift cards or merchandise. 

2. Flexibility and Work-Life Balance Initiatives  

You can also increase staff engagement at your company by introducing various flexible work settings. 

For example, a hybrid work setting allows employees to freely manage their time without interruptions. It creates a space where workers can maintain a healthy balance between their work and personal lives. The result? More productivity and greater job satisfaction.

Don't be stressed if you cannot implement such a work setting at your organization right now. There are other ways as well. You can encourage your employees to take vacations or breaks. You can implement policies that force your workers to take vacation days instead of simply accruing them. 

Example 3: FullContact, a tech company, took a great initiative to boost positive employee engagement practices at its organization. It introduced the concept of Paid Vacation. In addition to the mandatory paid vacations that employees were entitled to, the company started paying a separate amount for their employees to go on vacation. The amount is $7500. 

Example 4: Buffer, a social media management company, pulled off a similar stunt. It organizes whole-company team retreats twice a year, which allows its employees to fuel their happiness and further increase their creativity at work.

3. Diversity and Inclusion Programs

Another great strategy for employee engagement at work is introducing various diversity and inclusion programs. For example, you can host sessions where your employees from different backgrounds can share which holidays mean the most to them. You can then offer them time off accordingly. 

You can also host a fun potluck lunch party for your employees. Ask them to bring one dish inspired by their culture and heritage. It can be a great way to try out different cuisines and a valuable platform for sharing and connecting. 

Example 5: Intuit is a fantastic company that has implemented various DEI programs for its employees. These include the Intuit Abilities Network, Intuit African Ancestry Network, Intuit Indian Network, and Intuit Indigenous People Network.

Example 6: Github’s Communities of Belonging is another great example of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. It includes nine initiatives to uphold its employees’ culture: Adacats, Blacktocats, Neurocats, Octoasians, Octogatos, Octoqueer, Octoseven, Octovets, and Parentocats. 

4. Learning and Development Opportunities

A successful L&D program can be a great way to understand the exact needs of your employees. In this way, you can then help them master the required skills so that they can become successful in their respective roles. Additionally, such programs help your workers understand your brand and your organization's values. 

Example 7: Zappos is a second presence on our list. They host various shadowing sessions for their employees. Individuals are given a few hours to ‘shadow’ their co-workers to understand daily tasks. This increases employee engagement by building connections with co-workers.

Example 8: Google also introduced the ‘20% time’ concept. This concept allows employees to set aside their daily tasks on any day of the week and focus solely on a chosen project. 

5. Community and Social Responsibility

Lastly, CSR, or Corporate Social Responsibility, has proved to be a successful tool for employee engagement. You can host a fundraiser campaign for a charity or even organize a volunteer day for your employees. It will allow your employees to feel more valued and inculcate a sense of purpose. They can see themselves as part of something bigger than their daily work tasks. 

Example 9: Patagonia, an American retailer, has provided quality on-site childcare since 1983. This has increased productivity and the work quality of its employees in unimaginable ways. 

Example 10: Facebook Social Good has been a powerful tool for creating positive changes in the world. Creating fundraisers, donating to non-profits, or joining social good groups takes a few minutes. The goal is to empower all businesses and communities and impact issues that matter to them.

As mentioned above, these are a few employee engagement programs examples. Now, let’s move on to the strategies.

Staff Engagement Strategies: Programs That Work

We have shared a few employment engagement strategies with you here. You can use them to create or improve your employee engagement initiatives. Let’s take a look. 

I. Communication and Transparency

• Implement communication and visibility from the top down.
• Include a two-way communication system. Give your employees different channels to provide feedback to the higher-ups.
• Build clear ownership in your daily processes. This will help promote accountability.
• Document important workplace discussions and decision-making.
• Invest in goal alignment software. This will help your employees understand what their colleagues are trying to do and can track their progress.

II. Encouraging Feedback and Innovation

• Encourage feedback through regular check-ins or 1:1s. In case your employees do not feel comfortable sharing their issues with their manager, you can also incorporate an anonymous feedback system. 
• Conduct volunteering opportunities so that your workers can connect on a much deeper level.
• Form Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to highlight cultural uniqueness and diversity among your employees.
• If you have hired a new employee, make it a habit to check in regularly with them to assess their progress. This will help them get valuable feedback, which they can use to succeed in their job role.

III. Cross-Training and Career Mobility

• Provide career development resources for your employees. These can include online learning platforms, workshops on skill development, or any mentorship program.
• Design job rotation. Guide your employees through different departments to expose them to various job roles within your organization. This will help them expand their institutional knowledge while maintaining productivity.
• Offer incentives, such as bonuses or extra pay, to encourage your employees to invest in cross-training opportunities.
• Collect regular feedback from employees involved in cross-training. This will help you understand the program's gaps and rectify them accordingly.

Employee Engagement Goals Examples

Moving on, it is not enough to implement only the above-mentioned practices to increase team engagement at your workplace. 

You must also measure employee engagement practices to understand how they fluctuate over time. 

Here are a few measurable employee engagement metrics to help you in this process. 

• Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)

It means answering one simple yet powerful question: How likely are your employees to recommend your company as a great workplace? 

Employees who select nine or higher are considered promoters on a scale of one to ten. Individuals who select six or lower are known as detractors. The eNPS is determined by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters. 

• Employee Retention Rate

It describes the percentage of employees who stay at an organization over some time. A higher number usually means your company's workforce is highly engaged and, therefore, more productive. 

• Absenteeism

A high absenteeism rate usually means you are not doing enough to keep your employees engaged. It can indicate many things, like poor working conditions, a lack of work-life balance, or bad leadership. 

Apart from these three, there are also other similar metrics to measure workplace engagement. They include voluntary employee turnover rate, employee satisfaction, and employee performance.

The Role of Employee Engagement in Corporate Success

Team engagement plays a very important role in influencing the success of any organization. As discussed above, it leads to higher productivity, better employee retention, and improved job satisfaction. 

Take higher productivity as an example. Employees who are well-connected with their jobs and understand how their contributions align with that of the organizations are more motivated. 

They are more likely to go above and beyond to complete all their job responsibilities. Investing time and effort will no longer seem like a chore. 

Engaged employees will be more proactive in achieving their personal and business goals. 

Similarly, high employee engagement also means a reduced employee turnover rate. 

When you are hiring any new candidate, you are spending a huge amount of time and resources. From recruitment to training and development, the list of expenditures is quite long. 

On top of that, if your employees leave within just a few months of joining the company, it’s almost like a waste of all those resources. You can avoid such scenarios and retain top talent by making your workers feel valued and appreciated.

Building a Culture of Positive Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is an ongoing process. You can't simply expect positive results overnight. 

By focusing your efforts on what’s on the minds of your workers, what they need to do their jobs better, and what truly motivates them, you can avoid all the turmoil that comes with disengaged employees. 

Furthermore, don’t underestimate the power of good leadership. The effectiveness of an engagement culture relies on one simple truth: people emulate what they see. Leaders who are actively involved in engaging with their workers and who invest in growth can inspire the same in their team members.

Empower your Team with Skuad’s Employee Engagement Solutions

Skuad’s global workforce management platform offers various benefits for both employers and employees. We feature various capabilities, like automated payroll management, seamless communication challenges, and compliance with local employment laws. 

Additionally, Skuad offers access to a dedicated customer support team. This ensures that your employees are 100% clear about their job roles, payroll preferences, and event leave policies. 

‍Connect with our experts today and guarantee a positive, productive work environment for all your team members.

FAQs

1: What is an example of employee engagement in the workplace?

Recognition programs, career development initiatives, and pulse surveys, are some of the many employee engagement examples. 

2: What are employee engagement activities?

Workplace activities employee games/tournaments, and wellness programs help to boost corporate employee engagement practices.

3: What is positive employee engagement?

Positive employee engagement refers to employees' mental and emotional connection to their organization. It describes how well an individual is invested in their work and the company’s goal.