Best Employee Engagement Strategies and Ideas for 2023

Employee engagement relates to an employee’s commitment to and connection to their company.

To maintain a high level of employee engagement or increase employee engagement, companies often turn to an employee engagement strategy.

What is an Employee Engagement Strategy?

An employee engagement strategy focuses on how companies can improve the employee experience by fostering higher employee engagement.

Companies with high employee engagement and successful employee engagement strategies can expect positive outcomes including improved profitability, productivity, customer service, retention, safety and overall well-being.¹

These outcomes highlight exactly why your company should invest and focus on an employee engagement strategy.

Employee Engagement Levels

Let’s take a look at the key differences between engaged employees and disengaged employees and how your company can benefit from adopting an employee engagement strategy.

Engaged Employees²

According to research from Gallup, 36% of U.S. employees are engaged at work.
Elements of engagement include clarity of job expectations, growth opportunities and opinions counting at work.
Engaged employees are involved in and enthusiastic about their work and workplace.

Disengaged Employees³

According to research from Gallup, the percentage of actively disengaged employees is up slightly in the U.S., from 14% in 2020 to 15% through June 2021.
Actively disengaged employees report miserable work experiences and are generally poorly managed.
Among actively disengaged workers in 2021, 74% are actively looking for a new job or watching for openings.

Benefits of High Employee Engagement

If your company has high employee engagement, this may lead to various organizational outcomes including profitability, productivity, customer service, retention, safety and overall well-being.⁴

Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of an employee engagement strategy.

Improved Employee Retention

An outstanding employee experience may help employees feel valued, engaged and supported leading to better employee retention. A lack of opportunities for advancement and feeling disrespected at work are among the top reasons why Americans left their job in 2021, according to Pew Research Center.⁵

Companies with highly engaged employees experience an 18% decrease in turnover for high-turnover companies and a 43% decrease in turnover for low-turnover companies.⁶

Increased Workplace Morale

According to research from Gallup, engaged employees are involved in and enthusiastic about their work and workplace.⁷ This increased involvement and enthusiasm may help contribute to a more positive workplace morale.

Greater Productivity

In addition to more consistent staffing levels and a more positive work atmosphere, companies with higher employee engagement can also expect stronger yields and outcomes.

+18%

High employee engagement resulted in an 18% increase in productivity.⁸

Greater Employee Financial Wellness

Increasing employee engagement will pay off for your employees. More engaged employees may lead to greater wellness, satisfaction and morale increases for your employees. Simply put, they’ll be happier in their jobs and the investment will pay off.

When employees have greater financial literacy and control over their finances, that leads to better financial wellness.

This increase in financial wellness will reduce the likelihood of employees being overly concerned about their finances and give them more time and energy to focus on their jobs, leading to greater productivity and engagement.

Better Customer Outcomes

Regardless of your industry, higher employee engagement levels can also translate to success for your customer outcomes and interactions.

+10%

Companies with high employee engagement saw a 10% increase in customer loyalty/engagement.⁹

Most Common Employee Engagement Tools That Will Be Used in 2023

Offer Richer Employee Training Opportunities

Training is a great way to show that you are invested in your employees. Training initiatives can range from career development opportunities to financial wellness programs. By showing that you are invested in your employees’ professional and personal lives, you are encouraging loyalty and engagement.

Provide Greater Pay Flexibility

It’s no secret that many employees look at pay as an indicator of their happiness at work. If an employee feels they’re not getting enough support for financial wellness, they may consider looking for a new job.

By offering flexibility with pay, you are again encouraging employee satisfaction and loyalty. If you’re unable to increase pay, there are other ways to make wages more valuable. If you can’t raise salaries, how can you make your pay feel different?

Improved Financial Wellness Benefits

Offering outstanding financial wellness benefits can make a meaningful difference for employees. They can get a better hold of their finances, leading to more financial wellness and less stress.

Rewards and Recognition

According to Survey Monkey, 82% of employees consider recognition as integral to their happiness at work and 63% of employees who are often recognized at work are less likely to look for a new job opportunity in the short term.¹⁰ Companies should consider how they can meaningfully reward and recognize their employees to show their appreciation.

Focus on Work-Life Balance for Employees

As companies look for new ways to improve employee engagement, one possible approach is to shift from a work-life balance perspective to a work-life support approach and build an employee-focused pay experience.

Employee Engagement Platforms

Employee engagement platforms (also referred to as employee engagement software) refer to various tools, platforms and services designed to improve overall employee engagement for a company through feedback, surveys and other tracking tools. According to Built In, some of the most popular employee engagement platforms include Culture Amp, 15Five and Betterworks.¹¹

Remove Financial Barriers and Improve Employee Engagement With Earned Wage Access Through DailyPay

Employees using DailyPay are more likely to take advantage of on-demand pay benefits based on their personal financial situation. Your company could benefit from even higher engagement rates as a result.

Learn more about how the DailyPay Solution may improve employee engagement.

All information herein is for educational purposes only and should not be relied upon for any other use. The information herein does not constitute the rendering of professional advice by DailyPay. DailyPay does not warrant the completeness or accuracy of any information provided to you.

¹ Source:Gallup

² Source:Gallup

³ Source:Gallup

⁴ Source:Gallup

⁵ Source:Pew

⁶ Source:Gallup

⁷ Gallup:Gallup

⁸ Gallup:Gallup

⁹ Gallup:Gallup

¹⁰ Source:SurveyMonkey

¹¹ Source:Built In

Frequently Asked Questions

What is employee engagement?

Employee engagement relates to an employee’s commitment to and connection to a company. Learn more about employee engagement.
What do I do if my employee engagement is low and how can I improve employee engagement?
What are the benefits of increasing employee engagement?
How do you measure employee engagement?
What are employee engagement platforms?