How to Improve Engagement in the Workplace

Engagement is linked to a wide range of business outcomes, including employee wellbeing and productivity. That’s one reason why it’s remained the top priority for HR teams for the last four years, according to our 2025 State of People Strategy Report. But employee engagement also impacts business success and profitability, meaning HR teams are under a great deal of pressure to keep engagement levels high. 

For HR leaders, managers, and executives looking to improve engagement, the first step is to ask employees for their thoughts. Then, create strategies designed to address any specific feedback or issues you’ve identified, and use HR tech to bring these ideas to life. Here’s what that can look like. 

The Importance of Employee Engagement

According to McLean & Company’s Employee Engagement Trends Report 2024, engaged employees feel energized, passionate, and dedicated. “They are highly involved with their work and the organization,” shared Amanda Chaitnarine, director of HR diagnostics, advisory and data insights at McLean & Company.

While engagement is intertwined with satisfaction, they’re not the same thing. McLean & Company’s research has found that “Satisfied employees feel comfortable and are generally happy that their needs are being met,” said Chaitnarine. 

In contrast, she added that an engaged workforce consistently exceeds performance requirements, helps others for the betterment of the organization, recommends opportunities for improvement, stays at the organization because of what they give to it (more than what they get from it), and has a sense of pride and purpose in their work.

To tap into those kinds of benefits, companies first need to know how engaged their employees are — before figuring out ways to improve that feeling even more. 

5 Ways to Improve Employee Engagement 

While the definition of employee engagement might stay relatively static, the workplace elements that influence how engaged your employees feel at any given point are changing all the time. 

That means HR teams must continually adjust and evolve their strategies to improve employee engagement levels. Here are five ways to do that. 

1. Assess current engagement levels.

"Without asking employees what will engage them, you’re only getting half the story,” explained Chaitnarine. That means it’s essential to establish a baseline for current engagement levels before developing and tracking the impact of any new strategies. 

Chaitnarine recommends this kind of qualitative data as a valuable way to tap into the employee voice, “which humanizes the data and brings the organization’s engagement story to life.”

Longer employee engagement surveys can be combined with employee Net Promoter Scores (eNPS) and shorter pulse surveys to gain a deeper understanding of employee motivations and what matters most. While these surveys might bring some unexpected comments or uncomfortable reading, they’re the only way to identify where to improve. 

2. Take immediate action.

Once you’ve established current engagement levels, it’s time to identify some areas for improvement. Here are some short-term options to get you started:

Recognition Bursts 

Patrice Williams-Lindo, founder and CEO of Career Nomad, recommends rapid, meaningful shoutouts as a way of celebrating wins and helping employees feel valued for their contributions. Look for ways to easily embed this kind of praise into every day, like by using Lattice Praise to immediately and publicly show appreciation. 

Action Plans

These help set out how you’re going to address any issues brought up by employees. They typically center around themes like:

• Fairness
• Diversity
• Self-efficacy
• Engagement
• Management
• Team culture
• Feeling valued
• Team learning
• Job satisfaction
• Fit and belonging
• Work relationships
• Psychological safety
• Commitment to the company

Action plans are a key step in what Chaitnarine called a “purposeful listening strategy.” She explained that continually asking employees for feedback without taking action only contributes to disengagement or quiet quitting, as employees lose trust in an organization’s listening efforts. 

Instead, an action plan ensures intentional, meaningful action. “Provide a broad plan with timelines, detailing when the results will be shared, how survey result priorities will be chosen, whether focus groups or other qualitative methods will be used for further details, and who will own the action plans,” recommended Chaitnarine. 

Open Communication 

“People want to know their work matters,” said Williams-Lindo. But if employees aren’t sure about a company’s long-term vision, it’s hard for them to see how their actions make any difference. One way to immediately improve engagement is to create a shared sense of purpose and alignment by openly communicating the company’s values, mission, and goals. “Start by connecting individual roles to the company’s mission in clear, tangible ways,” she recommended. “Purpose inspires action.”

Creating company values and sharing them through your mission statement helps build trust and foster a sense of belonging, where employees can feel like hard work matters and their values align with those of the company. Open communication also dovetails with company culture, an essential element of engagement. 

3. Develop a culture of engagement.

Creating a sense of belonging and community among employees takes time — but it’s worth it. A 2023 report from Gallup and Workhuman found that employees who feel strongly connected to their organization’s culture are 3.7 times more likely to be engaged at work than those who don’t. 

“For employees to do their best work, they need to feel connected to, respected, and trusted by their colleagues and their leader,” said Lawrence Walsh, managing director and cofounder of There Be Giants, a global OKR consultancy and Lattice service partner. That means companies need to develop a workplace culture that prioritizes engagement and psychological safety. 

“When employees feel able to speak up without fear, it creates a stronger, more diverse, inclusive, and innovative environment. If you want to get the best out of your people and create productive, effective teams, psychological safety is an essential workplace component,” added Walsh. 

Williams-Lindo agreed, saying that engagement thrives in environments where employees feel safe, valued, and empowered. To achieve this kind of organizational culture, with engagement as the beating heart, leaders and HR teams need to concentrate on these key elements: 

• Leadership
• Accountability 
• Work environment 
• Employee recognition 
• Effective communication 
• Company mission, purpose, and core values

Once these elements are in place, it’s much easier to create a workplace culture where employees feel they belong. But to maintain that culture, it’s also important to ask for, and act on, employee feedback to show their voices are heard and valued. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is using HR tech like Lattice to measure company culture and conduct surveys like stay interviews, which help gain deeper insights into longer-term engagement strategies. 

4. Focus on professional growth.

Nurturing growth helps boost engagement. And Lattice’s 2025 State of People Strategy Report found that for 68% of HR teams, learning and development (L&D) opportunities are the top strategy for improving engagement aside from increasing compensation.

While internal training, paid training, and conference attendance are popular components of growth strategies, thinking outside the box can help maximize results. No-strings-attached L&D stipends, job rotations, and manager input can all support employee growth and offer individualized opportunities for career development and learning. 

A structured talent development program can also help employees see a path forward for their careers, which boosts engagement, decreases employee turnover, and creates a strong manager pipeline of future leaders. 

5. Look at cross-departmental collaboration.

Departmental silos can create friction, frustration, and disengagement. Walsh noted that this kind of disconnection means team members often end up losing sight of the bigger picture. “This can result in conflicting objectives and duplicated efforts,” he said. “It can also create bottlenecks where information doesn’t flow, and can stall progress on strategic initiatives.” 

In contrast, cross-functional working creates a greater sense of collaboration based around shared objectives. “There’s increased transparency, and also it can bring about diverse perspectives which can enable more innovation and create solutions that you may not have had with one department alone,” Walsh explained. 

This kind of collaboration also helps enhance engagement. “Employees can feel more motivated when they collaborate with others across the organization,” said Walsh. He added that this kind of company-wide mindset can support morale and encourage better results, too. 

Using Technology to Boost Engagement

“HR tech is the amplifier for engagement,” said Williams-Lindo. “It takes intention and scales it across teams with efficiency and impact.” But while HR tech has incredible potential — it comes with a caveat: “It’s only as powerful as the people who wield it,” she cautioned.

To harness its power in the right way, here are some tried-and-tested methods of amplifying engagement with HR tech. 

Create transparency and clarity with goal-setting software.

When working with clients at There Be Giants, Walsh recommends using goal-setting software like Lattice to align individual, team, and company goals, helping foster a sense of purpose and direction. He mentioned that the transparency and clarity offered by HR tech also help employees focus on the priorities of the business that will move the needle. Walsh said that the cross-functional approach that HR platforms promote also helps speed up results. “It’s a win-win for employees and senior leadership teams alike,” he added. 

“When setting goals, the use of HR tech is something we always advise our clients, no matter how small they are,” Walsh said. He’s seen clients using spreadsheets, but this approach can become chaotic as organizations grow. 

Compare this chaos to the clarity and transparency offered by HR tech, and the benefits are evident: “With a dedicated goal-setting or OKR tracking system like Lattice, employees can clearly see how their quarterly goals contribute to the bigger picture,” said Walsh. “It’s a much more visual and intuitive experience compared to a spreadsheet. As people update their progress and add key results, they get instant feedback, this shows whether they’re on track or not to hit their key results. That kind of visibility keeps everyone engaged and motivated.” 

Easily collect and analyze employee engagement data.

In addition to offering alignment and clarity through goal-setting and tracking capabilities, HR tech also makes collecting employee feedback a breeze. Many platforms, including Lattice, offer the following options: 

• Pulse surveys: These short, anonymous surveys gather real-time data about how people feel about work, helping monitor engagement, measure the impact of initiatives, and identify areas for improvement. 
• Onboarding and exit surveys: These surveys help HR teams better understand the employee experience for new hires and those leaving the company, helping identify what factors influence employee retention. 
• eNPS surveys: Using one question, eNPS surveys help HR teams gauge how employees feel about the company they work for. Tracking this over time helps uncover whether engagement strategies are working.

Williams-Lindo uses the insights from these kinds of surveys to spot issues like burnout or disengagement as soon as possible, enabling leaders to take meaningful action — before problems escalate.

She also highlighted that HR tech can be used not just for tracking, but for transformation. “Platforms that offer tailored learning paths, AI-driven coaching, and mental wellness resources create a culture where every employee feels like a priority,” Williams-Lindo explained. 

But surveys and strategies aren’t the only way to boost engagement. Many companies are turning to objectives and key results (OKRs) as well. 

The Role of OKRs and Goals in Engagement

The OKR methodology supports employee engagement by providing purpose, alignment, and clarity. “Having clear goals helps employees understand how their work contributes to the company’s wider mission, which gives them a sense of purpose,” Walsh said. 

This sense of purpose also helps people find their focus. “Employees are less likely to feel overwhelmed when they know what’s most important and what success looks like,” added Walsh. “They can focus on priorities and not get bogged down with tasks that aren’t as important.”

Walsh explained that OKRs also encourage employees to take ownership of their work and feel invested in the process. But, a key part of the OKR process is tracking progress. “By tracking goals and who’s owning what, it allows everyone to see progress and celebrate wins — both big and small,” Walsh said. He added that recognition can also spur employees on and motivate them to do their best. 

OKRs are also a great way to empower growth because they typically include stretch goals designed to encourage creative and original thinking. “Push your people to dream bigger while giving them the support to achieve,” suggested Williams-Lindo. “That balance of challenge and encouragement keeps motivation high.” 

Goal management software, like Lattice OKRs & Goals, makes it easier to create, track, and report on OKRs, by integrating them into where your employees already work. Regular check-ins with managers also help ensure employee goals stay front and center, rather than sitting on the shelf. 

Monitoring and Adjusting Employee Engagement Strategies

“Engagement is a living, breathing thing,” said Williams-Lindo. “It grows — or withers — based on how well we nurture it.” 

But nurturing engagement also means HR teams need to truly listen to their people, by monitoring the success of their strategies. And if those strategies aren’t working, HR teams need to embrace change. “Engagement strategies should evolve with the workforce,” Williams-Lindo said. “Whether that means adapting schedules, expanding remote work, or revisiting wellness programs, staying agile is key,” she explained.

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