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Employee Engagement » Employee Engagement Case Study

25 Most Impactful Employee Engagement Case Studies for 2024

Introduction to employee engagement.

In today's highly competitive business environment, employee engagement has emerged as a critical driver of business success. It represents the level of commitment, passion, and investment employees have in their work and their organization. More than just job satisfaction, employee engagement is about employees feeling valued, involved, and connected to their work and workplace.

Engaged employees are not merely satisfied with their jobs; they are enthusiastic, motivated, and committed. They are the ones who are willing to go the extra mile, contribute their best ideas, and stay with their organizations in the long run. They are the backbone of any successful business, and their engagement is the key to unlocking a company's full potential.

Defining Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is a complex concept that encompasses a range of factors, from the emotional connection an employee feels towards their organization, to their level of satisfaction with their role and their motivation to perform to their best ability. It's about creating an environment where employees feel empowered, respected, and part of something bigger than themselves.

Why Employee Engagement Matters

Research has consistently shown that organizations with high levels of employee engagement are more profitable, have higher productivity levels, and experience lower turnover rates. Engaged employees are more likely to stay with their organization, reducing the costs associated with staff turnover. They are also more likely to be productive and deliver high-quality work, which can drive business growth and success.

Moreover, engaged employees are more likely to be advocates for their organizations, promoting their company's products and services to others and enhancing the company's reputation.

At its core, employee engagement is about creating a positive, inclusive, and inspiring workplace culture where employees feel valued, heard, and motivated to contribute their best. It's a win-win situation: employees are happier and more fulfilled, and businesses are more successful.

In this blog post, we will delve into 35 impactful case studies that illustrate the power of employee engagement in driving business success. From leveraging technology to fostering a culture of engagement in diverse workforces, these case studies will provide valuable insights and practical strategies for boosting employee engagement in your organization.

The Importance of Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is more than just a buzzword in the corporate world. It is a vital element that drives productivity, fosters innovation, and ultimately, contributes to a company's bottom line. In this section, we will delve into the significance of employee engagement and why it should be a priority in every organization.

1. Driving Productivity

Engaged employees are not just working. They are passionate, enthusiastic, and committed to their work. They strive to exceed expectations and continuously seek ways to improve their performance. As a result, their productivity levels are significantly higher than those of their disengaged counterparts. According to a study by Gallup, businesses with high employee engagement levels have 21% higher productivity.

2. Enhancing Employee Retention

Employee engagement is intrinsically linked to employee retention. When employees feel engaged, they are more likely to stay with the company. A sense of belonging, feeling valued, and being part of a purposeful mission can significantly reduce turnover rates. This not only saves costs associated with hiring and training new employees but also preserves the valuable knowledge and experience within the company.

3. Fostering Innovation

Innovation is the lifeblood of a company's growth and sustainability. Engaged employees, with their high levels of commitment and enthusiasm, are often the source of innovative ideas. They are more likely to take the initiative, think outside the box, and contribute to the company's innovation efforts.

4. Improving Customer Satisfaction

Engaged employees are more likely to provide exceptional customer service. They understand that their role is crucial in shaping the customer's experience and perception of the company. Hence, they invest more effort in serving customers, leading to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.

5. Boosting Profitability

All of the above factors - increased productivity, improved retention, enhanced innovation, and better customer service - contribute to boosting a company's profitability. A study by Towers Perrin found that companies with engaged employees had a 19% increase in operating income over a 12-month period.

In conclusion, the importance of employee engagement cannot be overstated. It is a critical factor that influences a wide range of business outcomes. By prioritizing employee engagement, companies can reap substantial benefits, from increased productivity and innovation to improved customer satisfaction and profitability.

6 Case Studies on Boosting Employee Engagement with Technology

In this digital age, technology has become an integral part of our lives, influencing how we work, communicate, and engage with our surroundings. The same holds true for the corporate world, where technology has emerged as a powerful tool to boost employee engagement. Here, we present six compelling case studies that shed light on how various organizations have leveraged technology to enhance employee engagement.

1. Tech Titan: A Gamified Approach

Tech Titan, a leading technology company, used gamification to boost employee engagement. They developed an internal mobile app that transformed mundane tasks into exciting challenges. Employees could earn points, badges, and rewards for completing tasks, sparking competition and fostering a sense of achievement. This innovative approach led to a 25% increase in employee engagement within a year.

2. HealthCare Plus: Virtual Reality Training

HealthCare Plus, a renowned healthcare provider, introduced virtual reality (VR) for employee training. The VR simulations provided a realistic, immersive experience, allowing employees to practice procedures and protocols in a risk-free environment. This training method not only improved employee skills but also boosted engagement levels by making learning more interactive and enjoyable.

3. FinServ Corp: Harnessing AI for Personalized Learning

FinServ Corp, a financial services firm, used artificial intelligence (AI) to create personalized learning paths for its employees. The AI system analyzed each employee's skills, strengths, and areas for improvement to develop tailored training programs. This personalized approach made learning more relevant and engaging for employees, leading to increased participation in training programs.

4. EcoEnergy: IoT-Driven Employee Wellness Program

EcoEnergy, a sustainable energy company, launched an Internet of Things (IoT)-driven wellness program. They provided employees with wearable devices to monitor their health metrics, encouraging them to adopt healthier habits. The program created a sense of camaraderie among employees as they collectively worked towards their wellness goals, leading to higher engagement levels.

5. GlobalComm: Collaborative Tools for Remote Work

GlobalComm, a multinational communications company, implemented collaborative tools to engage its remote workforce. Tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams facilitated seamless communication and collaboration, making remote employees feel more connected to their teams. This initiative resulted in a significant increase in engagement among remote workers.

6. Retail Giant: Augmented Reality for Employee Onboarding

A leading retail company used augmented reality (AR) for its employee onboarding process. New hires could use AR glasses to virtually explore the company's facilities and learn about its processes. This innovative onboarding experience made new employees feel welcomed and engaged from day one.

These case studies demonstrate the transformative power of technology in boosting employee engagement. By embracing digital tools and solutions, companies can create more engaging, rewarding, and meaningful work experiences for their employees.

8 Case Studies on Employee Engagement in Diverse Workforces

Diversity and inclusion have become a crucial part of organizational culture. A diverse workforce brings a variety of perspectives and approaches to the table, fostering innovation and creativity. However, managing a diverse workforce and ensuring high levels of employee engagement can be a challenge. Here, we present eight case studies that illustrate successful strategies for engaging diverse workforces.

1. IBM's Diversity Networking Groups

IBM, a multinational technology company, has implemented Diversity Networking Groups (DNGs), which are employee-led groups formed around common interests, backgrounds, or demographics. These groups have played a significant role in promoting diversity and inclusion, leading to higher employee engagement levels.

2. Johnson & Johnson's Employee Resource Groups

Johnson & Johnson, a multinational corporation, has leveraged Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to engage their diverse workforce. These ERGs, which include groups for women, veterans, and the LGBTQ+ community, have fostered a sense of belonging, thereby enhancing employee engagement.

3. Coca Cola's Global Office of Diversity

Coca Cola established a Global Office of Diversity, which focuses on fostering an inclusive culture and promoting diversity. This initiative has led to increased engagement as employees feel valued and recognized for their unique contributions.

4. Accenture's Inclusion and Diversity Strategy

Accenture, a leading global professional services company, has implemented an inclusion and diversity strategy that focuses on creating a culture of equality. This strategy has resulted in increased employee engagement and a more innovative work environment.

5. Microsoft's Autism Hiring Program

Microsoft has introduced an Autism Hiring Program, which offers inclusive interview experiences for candidates with autism. This initiative has not only diversified their workforce but also increased engagement among these employees who feel valued and included.

6. Starbucks's Inclusion Academy

Starbucks has created an Inclusion Academy, a training program focused on providing people with disabilities with the skills they need for logistics roles within the company. This initiative has resulted in increased engagement among these employees.

7. Deloitte's ALL IN Diversity Strategy

Deloitte, a multinational professional services network, has implemented an ALL IN diversity strategy. This strategy focuses on fostering an inclusive culture where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed, leading to higher levels of employee engagement.

8. Google's Employee Resource Groups

Google has leveraged Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to engage their diverse workforce. These ERGs, which include groups for women, veterans, and the LGBTQ+ community, have fostered a sense of belonging, thereby enhancing employee engagement.

In conclusion, these case studies demonstrate that fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment can significantly boost employee engagement. By implementing appropriate strategies, organizations can ensure that every employee feels valued and included, leading to higher levels of productivity and innovation.

6 Case Studies on Employee Engagement through Team Building Activities

Employee engagement is not just about work; it's also about fostering a sense of camaraderie, trust, and mutual respect among team members. Team building activities are a tried-and-true method of achieving this. Here are six case studies that showcase the power of team building activities in boosting employee engagement.

1. A Tech Giant's Approach to Team Building: Google

Google, one of the world's leading technology companies, is renowned for its unique approach to team building. They've implemented a program called "gPause," which encourages employees to take part in mindfulness exercises together. This initiative has led to enhanced team cohesion, reduced stress levels, and improved productivity, proving that team building activities don't always have to be grandiose or expensive to be effective.

2. Building Trust through Adventure: Johnson & Johnson

Healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson turned to adventure-based team building activities to foster trust and collaboration. They organized a series of outdoor challenges, including rock climbing and rafting. These activities required employees to rely on each other for success, thus strengthening their trust and rapport. The result? Improved team performance and higher employee engagement levels.

3. Creative Engagement: Pixar

Pixar, the renowned animation studio, uses creative exercises as team building activities. By encouraging their employees to take part in sketching sessions and storytelling workshops, Pixar fosters a culture of creativity and collaboration. This approach has not only resulted in some of the most successful animated movies of all time but also in a highly engaged workforce.

4. Team Building through Social Responsibility: Salesforce

Salesforce, a global leader in CRM, has integrated social responsibility into their team building initiatives. They offer their employees seven paid days off each year to volunteer for a cause of their choice. This unique approach to team building has fostered a sense of unity and purpose among employees, leading to increased engagement and job satisfaction.

5. Virtual Team Building: Scavify

In the era of remote work, Scavify has taken team building to the digital realm. Our interactive scavenger hunts not only foster team collaboration but also inject fun into the workday. These virtual activities have proven effective in maintaining high levels of employee engagement, even when teams are physically apart.

6. Physical Fitness as Team Building: Reebok

Reebok, a global athletic footwear and apparel company, uses fitness challenges as a team building activity. They offer CrossFit classes to their employees, promoting both physical health and team spirit. This approach has resulted in a more engaged, healthier, and more productive workforce.

These case studies illustrate the significant impact of team building activities on employee engagement. Whether it's through mindfulness exercises, adventure activities, creative workshops, social responsibility initiatives, virtual games, or fitness challenges, team building can effectively foster a sense of unity and engagement among employees.

8 Case Studies on Employee Engagement Initiatives in Large Corporations

As we delve deeper into the subject of employee engagement, it's essential to consider the unique challenges and opportunities presented by large corporations. These behemoths of the business world often have thousands, if not tens of thousands, of employees spread across multiple locations, sometimes even spanning continents. Given this, fostering a sense of engagement and connection amongst employees can be a daunting task. However, numerous large corporations have successfully implemented innovative engagement initiatives. Let's look at eight such case studies.

1. Google's '20% Time' Policy

Google, known for its innovative work culture, introduced a '20% Time' policy. This initiative allows engineers to spend 20% of their working hours on any project they choose. This policy has not only boosted engagement but also led to the creation of some of Google's most popular products, including Gmail and Google News.

2. Microsoft's 'Hackathon'

Microsoft hosts an annual Hackathon, where employees from all over the world come together to work on passion projects. This event fosters a sense of camaraderie and engagement amongst employees, while also promoting innovation and creativity.

3. Ford's 'Employee Resource Groups'

Ford has established multiple Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to promote diversity and inclusion. These groups, which include Women at Ford and Ford Employees Dealing with Disabilities, provide support, encourage engagement, and foster a sense of belonging amongst employees.

4. Apple's 'Blue Sky'

Apple introduced the 'Blue Sky' program, which allows a select group of employees to spend a few weeks on a project outside their usual work scope. This initiative boosts engagement by allowing employees to explore new areas and bring fresh ideas to the table.

5. Amazon's 'Peculiar Culture'

Amazon has created a 'peculiar culture' that encourages employees to be innovative and think outside the box. This culture, which includes practices like writing six-page memos and banning PowerPoints, keeps employees engaged and invested in the company's success.

6. Starbucks' 'Bean Stock'

Starbucks offers a program called 'Bean Stock', which gives eligible employees company shares. By making employees part-owners, Starbucks not only boosts engagement but also ensures that employees have a vested interest in the company's performance.

7. Salesforce's '1-1-1 Model'

Salesforce follows a unique '1-1-1 model', where it contributes 1% of its equity, 1% of its employee's time, and 1% of its products to philanthropic efforts. This initiative fosters a sense of purpose and engagement amongst employees, who take pride in their company's commitment to social responsibility.

8. Unilever's 'Sustainable Living Plan'

Unilever has implemented the 'Sustainable Living Plan', which aims to halve the environmental impact of its products by 2030. This initiative has boosted employee engagement by aligning the company's goals with the personal values of its employees.

In conclusion, these case studies highlight the innovative strategies large corporations are using to boost employee engagement. While the specifics vary, the underlying theme remains the same: when employees feel valued, supported, and part of something bigger, they are more likely to be engaged.

Conclusion on Employee Engagement Case Studies

In a rapidly evolving business landscape, these employee engagement case studies serve as a testament to the power of effective engagement strategies. They highlight how various organizations, regardless of their size or industry, have successfully harnessed the potential of their workforce by fostering a culture of engagement.

It's clear that employee engagement is no longer a luxury, but a necessity for businesses aiming for long-term success and sustainability. From leveraging technology to facilitating remote work, fostering diversity, and implementing team-building activities, businesses are exploring innovative ways to keep their employees engaged and motivated.

The case studies we've explored have demonstrated that employee engagement is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Each organization has to consider its unique circumstances, workforce dynamics, and strategic objectives to shape its engagement initiatives. However, the common thread running through all these case studies is the positive impact of genuine and consistent employee engagement on overall organizational performance.

As we move into 2024, the importance of employee engagement is only set to increase. With the rise of remote work and the increasing emphasis on diversity and inclusion, businesses will need to continue innovating and adapting their engagement strategies to meet the changing expectations of their workforce.

In conclusion, these case studies underscore the transformative power of employee engagement. They serve as a powerful reminder that when employees feel valued, heard, and engaged, they are more likely to contribute their best work, leading to increased productivity, improved employee satisfaction, and ultimately, heightened business success. As such, employee engagement should be at the forefront of every business leader's strategy moving forward.

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7 effective employee engagement case studies and strategies for a productive workplace.

7 Effective Employee Engagement Case Studies and Strategies for a Productive Workplace

  • 1. Acknowledgment and Appreciation
  • 2. Emphasis on Employee’s Holistic Wellness
  • 3. Initiatives that are Development-Focused
  • 4. Develop a Sense of Purpose, Values & Mission
  • 5. Maintain Transparent Communication Channels
  • 6. Create Conducive Working Conditions
  • 7. Create Space for Fun & Happiness

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Are you looking for employee engagement case studies? Learn from some of the best companies out there that have successfully increased employee engagement. See how they did it and what worked for them.

As more and more employers in today’s corporate world realize the importance of employee engagement , the demand for effective and result-oriented employee engagement programs is rising. The internet may present many employee engagement initiatives, but here’s something more: case studies to prove that certain employee engagement strategies are really effective. Follow our blog to know more about employee satisfaction and ensure that your company is teeming with higher employee engagement initiatives.

According to Johnson and Johnson “ the degree to which employees are satisfied with their jobs, feel valued, and experience collaboration and trust. Engaged employees will stay with the company longer and continually find smarter, more effective ways to add value to the organization. The end result is a high-performing company where people are flourishing and productivity is increased and sustained.”  

Nokia Siemens describes employee engagement as “ an emotional attachment to the organization, pride and a willingness to be an advocate of the organization, a rational understanding of the organization’s strategic goals, values, and how employees fit, and motivation and willingness to invest discretionary effort to go above and beyond”.

While we learn what employee engagement means and its importance, incorporating practical and effective employee engagement programs as part of company culture is the right recipe for success.  Here are certain strategies for best employee engagement with case studies. 

Acknowledgment and Appreciation 

The first and foremost step to boost employee engagement is making sure your employees are valued, acknowledge, and appreciated. This motivates employees to become more productive, stay on track with tasks and perform well. This can be done in many ways and you need to choose an approach that your employees can relate with. While some enjoy public recognition, others don’t. Hence, you can work on innovative recognition ideas. 

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According to a study , social workers in a company received personalized letters of recognition at their home addresses. The workers were chosen randomly and half of them received letters while the rest half didn’t receive any. The first half of the letter was chosen from a few positive motivational sayings and the second half of the letter had a personal note of appreciation written by managers. After a month of the letter experiment, the workers who received letters felt more recognized and appreciated for their efforts, compared to those who didn’t get any. This also had a positive effect on their motivation levels and well-being, according to the results of this study.  

  • Emphasis on Employee’s Holistic Wellness 

There are many components of employee wellness like nutrition, work-life balance, mental health, and stress management, to name a few. A healthy employee will be more productive and employees who are mentally and physically healthy will exhibit positive motivation, and better morale and resulting in a win-win for both employers and employees. A wellness program can be a good way to start where employees get a chance to explore yoga, in addition to vacation days. A wellness room provides employees with a personal space for their personal needs. 

The indispensable role of wellness and an overall effective wellness strategy for an organization can be best understood based on a study that explored the objective of workplace wellness programs and their impact on employee health and medical expenses and so on. The study identifies certain key factors to boost wellness ideas in a corporate set up such as: 

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Effective communication strategy 

Organizations that were part of this research emphasized the importance of how a wellness program is communicated to employees, both in-person and mass information campaigns, with messaging and clear interaction getting the highest priority.

Accessibility of wellness programs

Making wellness programs accessible for all employees is an effective strategy to boost the levels of employee engagement in their organization.

Engaged leadership

According to this study, for wellness programs to be successful, senior leadership should imbibe wellness as an integral and important part of the company culture. 

Effective use of existing resources

Organizations leverage the existing resources and then build relationships, which also include health plans to provide employees with more options.

Ongoing assessment

Most companies agree that continuous assessments are required for employers to better understand their employee’s wellness needs. 

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Initiatives that are Development-Focused  

Ongoing development is key for every employee and there are a few development-focused initiatives that you can adopt actively to help your employees gain professional growth like professional networking, master’s or even Ph.D. programs, industry seminars, training courses and conferences, internal promotions, mentoring groups, and career coaching. 

This study titled A Study on the Influence of Career Growth on Work Engagement among New Generation Employees involved six companies from diverse industries like consulting, finance, management, real estate, and so on. The findings of this study show that: 

Organizational identification (IO) is very important for engagement levels and career growth.

Employee career growth positively impacts work engagement;

Person-organization value is positively linked to career growth and organizational identification (IO).

If employees recognize that they can make career progress in a company, they feel more attached and this increases employee loyalty, particularly for the new generation. It motivates them to put in the extra effort, improve performance and work on new skills, and so on. 

Develop a Sense of Purpose, Values & Mission 

 A visible employee engagement program to achieve higher employee satisfaction levels requires employees to gain a sense of purpose, portray the company’s values and understand the mission. It is important to also understand what each of these attributes stands for. 

Purpose 

A company's purpose is the reason it exists in the first place. Purpose-driven companies are devoted to achieving goals that are bigger than just making money and increasing shareholder value. They also want to make a positive impact on the world around them and approach their work sustainably and ethically. In other words, they're committed to making a difference. 

Mission 

The mission of a company is similar but not identical to its purpose. Many people use the terms interchangeably, but we see the main difference as follows: the mission statement focuses on what the company has been built to achieve. 

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Values 

Values are important because they act as a compass for the overall expectations of an organization - they guide how employees do their job, how managers communicate with clients and partners, and how workers interact with their peers. By understanding and sharing company values, employers can make better decisions that reflect the priorities of the business.

According to a study by Deloitte , a company’s purpose and mission impact corporate confidence as well, as indicated by the results of this study.

Nearly half of all executives (47%) say that they can identify with their company's purpose, while only 30% of employees feel the same way. 

A whopping 44% of executives believe that exemplary leadership involves setting an example that lives and breathes the company's purpose - but only 25% of employees share this belief. 

41% of executives believe that a company's purpose plays a significant role in major corporate decisions, whereas only 28% of employees feel the same way.

38% of leaders claim that their company's purpose is communicated clearly and openly to all, but only 31% of employees actually think this is the case.

Ultimately, teaching your employees about the company's purpose, mission, and vision takes time and patience. It's a gradual process, but when done correctly, it has numerous benefits for employers. Creating a sense of purpose for your employees allows you to see numerous benefits in the long run such as a more committed workforce and less employee turnover. 

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Maintain Transparent Communication Channels 

Many employees feel reluctant to share their concerns and opinions with their managers or peers, either due to a perception that their managers don’t pay much attention to them or maybe they tried earlier but no action was taken by the leadership. Encouraging employees to share their concerns with leaders has its own benefits. 

Practicing reflective listening helps managers to understand the message, through attentive communication. 

Making employees understand they are respected helps them to respect you back and this is an employee engagement strategy based on common sense.

Acknowledging employee views is a way of recognizing a diverse range of ideas and respecting what they say, even though in the end you may still agree to disagree.

Seeking employee’s inputs actively helps to boost job satisfaction levels. 

A research study analyzed communication between employers and employees and its impact on engagement levels.   The findings supported the general definition of engagement as a sense of shared responsibility between both supervisors and employees, proving that establishing communication with your employees has a wide range of benefits and can work wonders for a company’s employee engagement levels. 

“Our staff has praised the increased communications level Workmates delivers. We use it to communicate important project matters and give staff specific ‘kudos’ or even recognize their birthdays. More importantly, we use Workmates to clarify important project details that needed rapid dissemination among the entire team.”

case study about employee engagement

Create Conducive Working Conditions 

While expecting high performance from employees by an organization is quite natural, it is also equally important to provide necessary conditions for employees to do their best, by supporting them in any way you can. You can encourage positive and healthy competition at workplace, show zero tolerance for toxic behavior, maintain a clean and healthy workplace ambiance and create supportive teams. One way to support your workforce is by encouraging them to focus on things that are already good in their lives. 

According to a consultant, Stephanie Pollack , a visible change is possible when employees are encouraged to know more about the benefits of gratitude and become aware of good things already existing in their lives. Showing gratitude has a plethora of benefits that range from reducing stress to making people feel better about themselves. It's important to build a culture of appreciation in your company so that employees feel comfortable expressing gratitude to one another and also feel appreciated in their jobs. This will not only lead to employees appreciating their jobs and coworkers more, but it will also help them appreciate themselves on a whole new level. Creating a grateful environment takes time, but it's worth it to see the positive transformation it can have on your organization as a whole. 

Create Space for Fun & Happiness

Workers who are content with their jobs are more likely to be motivated, productive, and engaged than those who are unhappy with their work. And happiness usually comes with having fun. However, this doesn't mean that employees should neglect their tasks or ignore deadlines. Learning how to balance work and play is key to being successful in both areas.

Employees should get the chance to do fun stuff to uplift their moods and refresh their minds and thoughts. This will make them more productive while handling their daily tasks. This can be in the form of having lunch together, organizing joke sessions, quizzes, celebrating employee milestones and birthdays, hosting parties, sports activities, recreational outings, and so on.  According to a study “ Finding Fun in Work: The Effect of Workplace Fun on Taking Charge and Job Engagement” , having fun in the workplace motivates employees in a positive way improving their job satisfaction levels, productivity, commitment, energy,  and creativity. It also helps to reduce anxiety, turnover, stress, and absenteeism.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to improving employee engagement in the workplace. You can employ one or more of these strategies based on case studies and see what works best for you and your workforce. Creating a nurturing and fun-filled productive place can make a great difference for your company and its growth in the years to come. 

Author Bio:

This article is written by a marketing team member at HR Cloud. HR Cloud is a leading provider of proven HR solutions, including recruiting, onboarding, employee communications & engagement, and rewards & recognition. Our user-friendly software increases employee productivity, delivers time and cost savings, and minimizes compliance risk.

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And yet, research shows that 40% of employees feel isolated at work, leading to lower employee engagement . Connection in the workplace is the feeling of being part of a community engaged in something bigger than any one person. Stages of Connection that Drive Employee Engagement . Revised by Kenna Bryan.

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Flimp’s 2022-23 Open Enrollment Case Study and Trends Report Sees Employee-Engagement Rate Reach 74 Percent with Use of Tech-Enabled HR Solutions

Flimp Communications

AUGUST 15, 2023

Fourth-annual report analyzes 250 digital benefits-communication campaigns that touched nearly 775,000 employees with targeted OE messaging, educational videos and other trackable content.

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Case Study: How Bonfyre’s Top Manufacturing Site Improved Employee Engagement?

AUGUST 11, 2022

Results: Our client achieved the following: Bonfyre metrics: Business impact: As mentioned earlier, the client saw double-digit increases in engagement scores , including significant improvements in core employee engagement areas, such as wellbeing, recognition, and comfort speaking up, since implementing Bonfyre.

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How To Apply Design Thinking in HR (+ 3 Case Studies)

AUGUST 16, 2023

For example, a projected company sale will cause speculation about job longevity and distract employees from their work. Instead of focusing on the problem of decreasing productivity , a design thinking methodology would look for ways to address concerns and increase employee engagement throughout the course of the sale.

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Case Study: Donaldson

DECEMBER 24, 2020

Paycor Onboarding empowers us to drive employee engagement and excitement while automating all of the paperwork.”. Download the full case study here. Paycor’s Core Solutions Helps Donaldson Save Time and Eliminate Errors. Jeanette Stahli, Vice President of HR. Prior to Paycor. Want More Information?

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Case Study: Enhancing Employee Engagement and Recognition at Virtua Health

C. A. Short Company

OCTOBER 16, 2023

About Virtua Health Virtua Health is a prominent not-for-profit healthcare system located in southern New Jersey. With over 14,000 dedicated colleagues, Virtua is committed to delivering exceptional healthcare services and resources to its community.

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New Case Study: Healthcare System?s Recognition Program Increases Employee Engagement by 9%

MAY 26, 2020

Tidelands Health has more than 2,500 employee , physician, and volunteer partners working to promote wellness, prevent illness, encourage recovery, and restore health. Download the full case study . Increase employee engagement by giving meaningful recognition to its employee partners. The Challenge.

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Case Study: Supermarket chain correlates manager Bonfyre activity to store performance

MARCH 24, 2023

Data continues to show that people leave managers, not companies, and ensuring managers actively participate in and sustain employee engagement is paramount. Data continues to show that people leave managers, not companies, and ensuring managers actively participate in and sustain employee engagement is paramount.

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13+ HR Case Studies: Recruiting, Learning, Analytics, and More

SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

As someone who has worked in the HR profession, I know well the full value of stories, examples, and case studies . While much of the work we do at Lighthouse Research & Advisory focuses on quantitative research studies , we do a fair amount of qualitative research as well. Using Hackathons for Branding and Retention.

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Navigating Pay Changes: Lessons Learned from Noteworthy Case Studies | HR Cloud

AUGUST 30, 2023

Whether it's adjusting salaries, implementing new compensation structures, or addressing issues related to pay equity, these changes can have a significant impact on the overall success and employee satisfaction of a company.

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The Evolution of HR with AI Technologies

FEBRUARY 19, 2024

AI also plays a crucial role in enhancing employee engagement strategies. By analyzing employee feedback and performance data, AI can identify what motivates employees , what training they need, and how to improve their job satisfaction.

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Case Study: Manufacturing Client Connects Frontline Employees

MAY 2, 2022

It’s also important to know that industries with deskless workers experience very high turnover – which is inevitable when employees are disengaged and do not feel connected to their company. Why is the manufacturing employee experience so critical for business outcomes? Work email *. Bonfyre is committed to your privacy.

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Resolving Conflict: A Case Study

Civility Partners

JANUARY 27, 2023

Register for our March 19 webinar if you want to: Learn more about DISC Gain insight on your communication preferences Get some tools for conflict resolution Understand how DISC profiles tie into employee engagement , or Brush up on personal leadership skills. Our webinar’s going to be packed with all that and more.

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Your In-Depth Guide to Implementing Job Shadowing (+ Google Case Study)

AUGUST 14, 2023

Benefits of job shadowing Benefits for the organization Enhanced employee engagement : Job shadowing can also help to enhance employee engagement by allowing employees to learn more about their colleagues and the company.

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[CASE STUDY] Transforming Organizational Culture

JUNE 10, 2021

We recently put together a case study regarding one of our clients, Rainbow Municipal Water District (RMWD), and thought we’d share it in case you were looking for ideas on improving your own workplace culture. The post [ CASE STUDY ] Transforming Organizational Culture appeared first on Civility Partners.

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Case Study: Bonfyre helps call center leaders to engage teams in a remote setting

APRIL 27, 2023

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at some of the challenges call center leaders face when engaging their remote teams and how Bonfyre has helped enable them to be successful. It was found that engaged call center employees are 21% more productive than disengaged employees . Bonfyre is committed to your privacy.

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Flimp Communications’ 2021-22 Open Enrollment Case Study and Trends Report Shows Digital Postcards Drive Extraordinary Employee Engagement Rates of 72 Percent

MAY 24, 2022

May 25, 2022 Boston, MA Third-annual report offers analysis of over 200 digital benefits communication campaigns that reached 700,000+ employees with targeted OE messaging, educational videos and other trackable content Flimp Communications, the leading full-service provider of digital employee communication and engagement solutions, today revealed.

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The Best New Books on Employee Engagement

JANUARY 21, 2019

The world of HR is constantly evolving, so it is absolutely critical for leaders and HR professionals to stay on top of emerging trends and innovative approaches to address classic conundrums, like employee engagement . . Engaged employees means productive, loyal employees . By Glenn Elliott & Debra Corey.

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Case Study: Credit Union

OCTOBER 1, 2020

Today’s case study explains how TimeSimplicity can help a typical small credit union maintain quality customer service while controlling operating expenses through automated credit union employee scheduling. We’ve just added recruiting, onboarding, benefits enrollment, performance reviews, and employee engagement !

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Navigating Uncertainty: The Strategic Imperative of Investing in People and HR Tech

FEBRUARY 7, 2024

UAE businesses are increasingly recognizing the pivotal role of HR tech in streamlining operations, enhancing employee engagement , and fostering a culture of innovation. This collection of case studies showcases success stories where savvy UAE companies harnessed the power of HR tech to drive out of the box results: 1.

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Learning Management Case Study: Gerber Poultry

DECEMBER 6, 2019

Specifically, they needed a tool to deliver personalized training courses to employees , track completions for compliance purposes and eliminate the manually-intensive work that was required for Gerber’s HR team.

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The Neuroscience of Employee Engagement

FEBRUARY 6, 2018

Job satisfaction is at the heart of employee engagement . Today, neuroscience (the study of the nervous system) can explain the fundamentals of human motivation at a molecular level. This makes me question: how can we leverage neuroscience findings to help optimize employee engagement initiatives? Let’s explore ….

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DOES EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT MATTER TO ORGANIZATIONS WITH HIGH TURNOVER? - DecisionWise

FEBRUARY 9, 2018

Recently, we have had several organizations come to us with the same basic question: What can we do to improve employee engagement if 90% of our employees stay less than 6 months? It might be tempting to think that employee engagement simply doesn’t matter in these types of scenarios. ACME Cleaning Services, Inc.,

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How to Boost Call Center Employee Engagement in 2024

DECEMBER 21, 2023

Would you like to reimagine how call centers function and improve their productivity and efficiency by increasing employee engagement ? Call centers are increasingly improving performance and customer service by boosting employee engagement . Read on to learn how you can boost employee engagement in call centers.                      

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Case Study: Meeder Investment Management

JANUARY 17, 2020

Adding Paycor Recruiting , Onboarding and Learning Management to their HR process helped Meeder Investment Management save time and increase employee engagement . “I Paycor’s LMS helped increase productivity across the workforce by offering a consistent training experience for employees , including onboarding courses for new hires.

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7 seamless ways to make your workforce adopt new technology. (+ case studies) | HR Cloud

MARCH 1, 2023

However, getting your workforce to adopt new technology poses many hurdles that management and employees must overcome to achieve the desired results.

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New Case Study: Recognition Builds Community at Chelsea Groton Bank

DECEMBER 2, 2019

Download the full case study . Terryberry is a provider of employee rewards and recognition programs, serving thousands of clients in North America and the UK. The post New Case Study : Recognition Builds Community at Chelsea Groton Bank appeared first on Terryberry. The Solution.

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Case Study: Employee Survey Leads to Empowered Teams & Improved Workplace Culture

EngagementMultiplier

JULY 11, 2022

As part of the re-founding process, the company fielded its first comprehensive employee engagement survey using Engagement Multiplier, which included an assessment of the workforce’s engagement levels across multiple dimensions and invited direct employee feedback.

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TEKsystems Builds Expertise as Degreed Powers Badging & Credentialing

If companies focus on enhancing their rewards and incentives programs, job satisfaction and employee engagement can improve.” Democratizing Learning, Promoting Expertise & More At TEKsystems, participants can earn a mix of three types of badges — Knowledge, Milestone and Experience. In combination, these lead to a Role badge.

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Employee Engagement Strategy: “3 Ways to Improve Employee Engagement in Your Organization” by Marie Johnson

The Incentive Solutions News blog

JUNE 26, 2020

Employee Engagement Strategy: Improving Work with Marie Johnson. Our eBooks, FAQ’s and case studies are packed with information about deploying an incentive program that best suits your needs. Incentive Rewards. Our Incentive rewards inspire motivation in your participants and produce the most ROI for your brand.

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Case Study: Krauss Maffei

OCTOBER 28, 2020

Paycor’s employee self-service features and user-friendly solutions help Krauss Maffei keep their employees engaged . Now, employees can speak fluently to their benefits offerings and they’re more engaged with the open enrollment process than ever before. Download the full case study here.

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10 Best Employee Engagement Softwares in 2023

Employee engagement software has emerged as a powerful solution in today's fast-paced business landscape, offering organizations a dynamic tool to foster a culture of engagement , collaboration, and productivity. What is an employee engagement software? Pros Comprehensive employee engagement solution.

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The Great Resignation’s Achilles Heel: Employee Engagement

Semos Cloud

FEBRUARY 4, 2022

The Great Resignation’s Achilles Heel: Employee Engagement . The lack of Employee Engagement is the basic issue you should tackle when trying to battle The Great Resignation in your organization. Read case study : Our Client Increased Employee Engagement Through Recognition. All, Best Practices.

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The Talent Slow Fade: A Case Study of Motley Fool’s Approach to Engagement

JULY 6, 2017

Note: As in all case studies and stories of successful talent approaches, I don’t advise copying any of the firm’s policies or approaches and trying to integrate them into your workplace without first considering the cultural elements necessary for success and what this would look like applied to your unique culture.

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13 Employee Engagement Trends for 2020

Vantage Circle

DECEMBER 5, 2019

Employee engagement is a very abstract concept. It is the “emotional connect” that an employee feels towards its organization. Same goes for employee engagement . With every new generation in the workforce, employee engagement trends change drastically. 13 Employee Engagement Trends for 2020.

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Case Study – Zoos Victoria

NOVEMBER 30, 2020

Each of these key actions areas has key objectives linked to them, providing Zoos Victoria with the ability to align employees ’ individual responsibilities to the organisations strategy, through clearly defined objectives. Achieving the business strategy is the key success factor for Zoos Victoria.

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Case Study: Increasing employee engagement through the HRM (Harrods)  

harrods

Increasing employee engagement through HRM

A Harrods case study

Harrods is a brand that is recognised all over the world. Its Knightsbridge store has 1 million square feet of selling space with over 330 different departments. Its global reputation and prestige is instilled through its brand values. Brand values represent what an organisation stands for. Harrods values are – British; Luxury; Service; Innovation and Sensation.

Harrods has been in business for over 160 years. It employs 4000 employees with an additional 3,500 agency and concession employees. In 2010 Qatar Holdings purchased Harrods from Mohamed Al-Fayed. The new owners are strongly committed to all of Harrods’ employees. They recognise that engaged employees are essential to the continuing success of the business. Such employees are likely to be happy and consistently high performers who want to progress their careers with Harrods. Managing employee relationships is the role of the Human Resources department.

Harrods carried out its first comprehensive employee survey to find out what they thought about working at Harrods. The employee survey has now become an integral aspect of Harrods’ Human Resource Management programme. The survey results were used to create strategic plans for change focused on improving employee engagement and trust. The four main elements were:

  • Changing Organisational Structure
  • Changing Leadership
  • Improved communications
  • Living brand values

Find out how the human resource management ensured these elements were implemented in the full case study.

There have now been four employee surveys. Each survey has seen a higher return from employees and an improvement in the indicators of employee engagement as a result of the actions the HRM team took. Significantly, 91% of employees have stated in the most recent survey that they are proud to work for Harrods and employee turnover has halved in the last five years.

This content is not owned by Engage for Success. And you can download a pdf of the report Employee Engagement at Harrods – Engage for success 2012 .

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How Companies Can Improve Employee Engagement Right Now

  • Daniel Stein,
  • Nick Hobson,
  • Jon M. Jachimowicz,
  • Ashley Whillans

case study about employee engagement

Start by connecting what people do to what they care about.

A year and a half into the pandemic, employees’ mental “surge capacity” is likely diminished. Managers must take proactive steps to increase employee engagement, or risk losing their workforce. Engaged employees perform better, experience less burnout, and stay in organizations longer. The authors created this Employee Engagement Checklist: a distilled, research-based resource that practitioners can execute on during this critical period of renewed uncertainty. Use this checklist to boost employee engagement by helping them connect what they do to what they care about, making the work itself less stressful and more enjoyable, and rewarding them with additional time off, in addition to financial incentives.

As the world stumbles toward a Covid-19 recovery, experts warn of a surge of voluntary employee departures, dubbed the “Great Resignation.” For instance, one study estimates that 55% of people in the workforce in August 2021 intend to look for a new job in the next 12 months. To counteract the incoming wave of employee turnover, organizations — more than ever — need to focus on cultivating employee engagement .

case study about employee engagement

  • DS Daniel Stein is a fifth-year doctoral student in the Management of Organizations (MORS) Group at UC Berkeley, Haas School of Business. He conducts research on groups and teams, focusing on commitment to one’s group. He studies commitment across multiple levels, ranging from teams to organizations.
  • NH Nick Hobson is chief scientist and director of labs for  Emotive Technologies , a behavioral technology think tank that brings together leading academic researchers, technologists, and business strategists in order to create and share knowledge. A PhD-trained behavioral scientist and adjunct lecturer at the University of Toronto, Nick’s research and client practice specializes in employee experience (EX) and the influence of behavioral science as a tool for business success.
  • Jon M. Jachimowicz is an assistant professor in the Organizational Behavior Unit at the Harvard Business School. He received his PhD in management from Columbia Business School. He studies how people pursue their passion for work, how they perceive passion in others, and how leaders and organizations seek to manage for passion.
  • Ashley Whillans is an assistant professor in the negotiations, organizations, and markets unit at the Harvard Business School School and teaches the “Negotiations” and “Motivation and Incentives” courses to MBA students and executives. Her research focuses on the role of noncash rewards on engagement and the links between time, money, and happiness. She is the author of Time Smart: How to Reclaim Your Time & Live a Happier Life (Harvard Business Review, 2020).

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Impact case study

Improving employee engagement and performance.

  The resulting increase in the profile of employee engagement within the HR community undoubtedly helped to stimulate wider interest by business and within government. Mike Emmott CIPD's Advisor on Employee Relations

Dr Emma Soane

Research by

Dr Emma Soane

Department of management.

LSE's Emma Soane played a key role in research that helped to define and disseminate best practice in the area of employee engagement

What was the problem?

How people engage with their work affects both the individual satisfaction they derive from it and the contribution they make to an organisation's performance.

Without properly understanding the factors and processes involved, managers cannot hope to develop greater engagement among their staff.

In the UK little has been known about how individuals engage with their work. Filling this research gap has been vital on two counts: first, to develop effective measures of engagement, and second, to assess the contribution engagement makes to individual and organisational outcomes.

The results have wide-reaching implications for leadership practices and managing human resources in general.

What did we do?

In 2006 the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) commissioned Professor Katie Truss at Kingston University to investigate the processes through which individuals engage with their work. LSE Assistant Professor of Management Emma Soane was the project's Assistant Director and responsible for developing the theoretical foundations for its initial stages, which included a nationwide survey of 2,000 employees. (Soane did this work while at Kingston Business School and joined LSE in 2008.)

The following year Truss, now at the University of Kent, established a consortium of eight public- and private-sector organisations to take the research forward. Besides Truss and Soane, the team was composed of researchers at other UK and international universities, including: Rick Delbridge (University of Cardiff); Kerstin Alfes (Tilburg University, the Netherlands); Amanda Shantz (York University, Toronto); Mark Gatenby (University of Southampton); and Chris Rees (Royal Holloway, University of London).

The next stage of data collection and analysis involved 5,291 survey responses from employees and managers and 180 interviews with managers, and resulted in a CIPD report aimed at practitioners titled Creating an Engaged Workforce, findings from the Kingston Employee Engagement Consortium Project (2010).

A further phase of data collection took place between 2010 and 2012, involving responses from 2,173 employees and managers in five organisations, plus additional longitudinal data for 318 participants and a detailed study of the links between engagement, performance data and absenteeism for 264 participants.

At an individual level, the research demonstrated that employees' engagement with work stems from three factors: its perceived meaningfulness, their perceptions of line and senior managers, and opportunities for two-way dialogue with managers.

High levels of engagement were associated with enhanced performance, greater innovation, a stated intent to remain with the organisation, greater well-being and a belief that current workloads were sustainable. Low levels of engagement, on the other hand, were associated with higher levels of ‘deviance’, such as absenteeism.

At an organisational level, the research showed that policies and practices in human resource management (HRM) have a direct bearing on engagement, which then influences individual-level outcomes, notably performance.

What happened?

One of the outcomes of the research was a new measure of engagement: the ISA (Intellectual, Social, Affective) Engagement Scale. Soane and colleagues were responsible for devising and validating the measure and comparing it against other engagement scales. The paper outlining its development was published in a practitioner journal, Human Resource Development International (Soane et al, 2012), and made freely available to researchers and practitioners.

The early findings of the research influenced the UK Government when they were highlighted in a presentation made to No 10 Downing Street in July 2008. This led directly to the establishment of the MacLeod Review into employee engagement, which was commissioned by then Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Right Honourable Lord Mandelson and published as Engaging for Success in July 2009.

The research had influence on the practitioner and human resources communities through its connection with CIPD. After commissioning the initial study, CIPD continued to work with the research team as part of an Employee Engagement Consortium involving organisations wishing to learn how to raise levels of engagement, and published a series of case studies between 2008 and 2011 analysing the engagement practices of employers in different sectors.

These case studies not only produced research findings, but also led to changes in policies and practices in participating organisations and, as a result, to concrete improvements in employee engagement and performance. For example, a manufacturing company reduced accident levels, labour turnover, product rejection rates, and overhead and direct costs while improving employee energy, enthusiasm and new product innovation, while a government department completely revised its approach to HR and a city council experienced significant increases in measures of employee engagement, motivation and pride. 

The research provided a forum for debate between academics and practitioners through a seminar series supported by a £15,000 grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Five free seminars were held between 2011 and 2013 at the Universities of Kent, Cardiff and LSE, attended by a total of 460 delegates. The seminars sought to explore the evidence and develop a theory to explain the links between employee engagement, organisational performance and individual well-being. Attached to the third seminar was a free doctoral symposium for 13 students.

The final seminar was run in conjunction with the 'Engage for Success' group, a movement launched by Prime Minister David Cameron in March 2011 based on the findings of the MacLeod Review and situated within BIS. The organisations involved in this movement accounted for more than two million employees. The 'Engage for Success' co-chairs, David MacLeod and Nita Clarke, said of the seminars: 'The programme brought together practitioners, experts, thinkers and consultants to share practice, shine a light on the importance of this topic, and offer best practice. The work has made a significant and critical contribution through developing the required insights for organisations…by creating networks to facilitate this.'

The seminar series resulted in the establishment of an Engagement Research Community subsection of the Engage for Success LinkedIn group, attracting 209 members within the first month and comprised of both academics and practitioners. It also yielded a special issue of the International Journal of Human Resource Management, published in July 2013. Members of the research team also co-edited and contributed chapters to a book for practitioners and researchers on Employee Engagement in Theory and Practice (Routledge, 2014).This brought together 29 leading scholars from the field, including William Kahn who published the original article on employee engagement in 1990.

Search all impact case studies.

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Google Boosts its Employees’ Engagement

Case Study: How Google Boosts its Employees’ Engagement

You might have heard about this mantra: ‘happy employees produce better results.’ this is the mindset of google to keep its employees productive and satisfied. this article explains more..

Let’s say you’re a company providing software development services . If your developer’s team isn’t enthusiastic about their projects every day, you’re not going to achieve excellence. This is productivity’s power. But remember productivity is dependent on the company’s culture.

Why is everyone talking about Google’s culture or work environment? We know that Google is one of the most influential and powerful companies around the globe. The company follows a pretty well unique culture instead of corporate culture.

It has something that every big organisation needs to follow to level up their employees’ engagement or morale. The culture of any company is vital to its success and Google is perfectly right on the track.

It has one sole purpose:  Keep the employees happy and keep up the productivity.

Google has been at number ONE place from the past six years and featured on  Fortune’s  annual list of  ‘Best Companies to Work For.’  And this is not it. Google has also been named as the tech company with the best culture. (Reported by Forbes) Furthermore, Google has a 4.4 rating on  Glassdoor  based on 6000+ employees reviews.   

Google’s morale

This is what the employees of Google answered the questions asked about their work culture.

  • Acknowledged for the efforts?

Yes: 61 % Employees

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No: 39% Employees

  • Job Security?

Very Secure: 34 % Employees

Neutral: 19% Employees

Insecure: 8% Employees

Very insecure: 5% Employees

  • Work Environment?

Positive: 85% Employees

Negative: 15% Employees

  • Excited about going to work daily?

Yes: 80% Employees

No: 20% Employees

So, without further ado, let’s move towards the ways Google uses to boost its employees’ engagement .

“There are way easier places to work, but nobody ever changed the world on 40 hours a week. But if you love what you do, it (mostly) doesn’t feel like work.”- Elon Musk.

How Google Keeps Its Employees Productive And Engaged?

Exclusive perks.

Today, employees want a job in a company that makes them love what they do. Never for financial benefit or intellectual recognition. Yet instead of chance to add to the common good.

The major differentiator is to make a real difference.

Google offers different perks to its employees to show them that they are not only investing in their overall health but their future as well.

  • Chef-prepared free organic food (breakfast, lunch, and dinner);
  • Free dental and health checkup;
  • Free and unlimited dry cleaning;
  • Subsidised massages;
  • Several foosball, ping pong, video games stations;
  • On-site physicians;
  • Gyms/swimming pools memberships;
  • Free haircuts from professional hairdressers;
  • In-house nap pods;
  • Death benefits to deceased employees’ families, and;
  • Hybrid car subsidies.

Flexibility

Google has been one of the very first companies that had a vision of understanding the employees’ needs. It lets its workers have a flexible schedule so that they can work on their terms and enhance creativity and productivity. They have given their employees complete freedom to work in a way that is most suitable to them.

Knowing the employees well

Google had gone through a series of laboratory tests to figure out the productivity of their employees. They had four different experiments that included 700 participants. All the employees were treated to free drinks, fruits, and chocolates or shown a comedy movie clip.

They also enquired some of the participants about the family tragedies as a part of their assessment. After this, they found that happiness is the reason for 12% more productivity.

Google promotes an innovative and diverse organisational culture that has been a part of its employee’s life. A positive creative atmosphere and a safe working space offered by Google to its workers keep them comfortable and happy at work. The concept that being a part of Google is about being smart and wise encourages the employees to think openly and keeps them productive.

Nowadays, there are different creative coworking spaces which are known to be a perfect alternate to a workplace. These spaces are believed to deliver various advantages such as strong networking and increased engagement.

Google’s founders were researchers who had a belief in innovation and freedom of thinking. This is one of the main factors that influenced the style of Google’s leadership.

According to Brassfield, 2013, a positive leadership style stimulates inspiring and motivating employees to develop innovative ideas and inventions.

Keeping people inspired

Future Workplace, in 2017, demonstrated in a study that one of the biggest threats to employees’ engagement is employee burnout. It has also been found out that many proficient workers are often overburdened with the tasks that lead to halted innovation, incomplete work, etc.

What does Google do about keeping its employees productive, inspired, or motivated? Google’s strategy for this is  20% time . Every employee devours up to 20% of his time at work each week on ventures that inspire him.

This concept inspires employees as it allows them to concentrate on things they love or are passionate about. It can prevent burnout, decrease turnover, increase engagement.

Google tablet

Image: Pexels

Career development

Google provides an extensive professional growth program that is successful and creative and guarantees long-term performance for all the employees. The career development program of Google is one that ensures incentives are provided to employees to meet their professional and personal progression.

Google has adopted a unique way to promote the professional development of all its employees. CareerGuru  is a career coaching that provides all the details to the employees by Google’s leaders about working at a specific role in the company.

Creativity Encouragement

The companies that believe in fostering a culture of creativity have happy, satisfied, and motivated employees. Google leads the way in promoting creativity in their employees.

They are free to express their ideas as a solution to any problem. Moreover, employees are encouraged to work wherever they are comfortable in the workplace. Google has a set up where rather than just considering an applicant’s professional background, they look to recruit people who are normally inquisitive and fond of learning.

Trusting Employees

Google believes in trusting their workers because trusted employees feel more valuable. It can also boost the sense of job satisfaction and can also decrease the rate of staff turnover.

In a survey by PwC, reliable employees are 76% more engaged in their work than those in a low trusting environment. Trusted employees are happier and they have the urge to go the extra miles.

Culture based on qualitative data

Google has always been searching out different ways to optimise the performance of its employees while ensuring their happiness and satisfaction. Everything done at Google is based on real data. They use the qualitative and quantitative facts to set up processes and every single rule that is streamlined.

Google has additionally performed researches to discover how much paid time off new mothers would need and ways of building an improvised and better culture.

Fun workplace

Have you ever been allowed to design your own workstation at your company?

Probably not. But Google does it. It lets the employees design their desks or workstations.

When you see the pictures of the workplace, it seems an interesting adult play and work area and not a dull and lifeless space.

Google has always tried to push the boundaries of its workspace.

Collaboration of coworkers

At Google, the employees are urged to collaborate. They have a program called ‘Googler to Googler’ to keep them productive and promote skills such as management, public speaking, orientation, or extracurricular activities.

It is crucial to build a sense of community to create a positive culture. The company has arranged several micro kitchens around the whole workspace where coworkers can have a little chit-chat session. No one has to spend time on deciding where to eat because Google has various break-out spaces for lunch.

Google’s way of listening

Google employees have developed great software and projects that include Gmail, AdSense, Google News, etc. and all these big projects were originated because of its staff productivity approach. Google has a way of collecting employees’ feedback and listening to their suggestions that is  gDNA.

  • The employees utilise a device ‘Google Moderator’ , the result of 20% time strategy, to inquire about something and vote on inquiries of others;
  • The company holds a meeting, every Friday, where the managers react to the most famous inquiries of the week;
  • Leaders or managers utilise a charting instrument called Google-O-Meter to measure the prominence of various worker bits of advice;
  • Leaders likewise plan “Fixits” to comprehend huge, critical issues; and,
  • Fixits are 24-hour runs where team members give their full focus around discovering solutions for explicit issues.

So, can Google teach us anything?

If you are planning to adopt these learnings at your organisation just like Google keeps its employees productive, it’s essential to test the progressions first and measure the results.

It’s a great deal of work, however, the engagement advantages will make the difficult function admirably justified.

About the Author

Usman Akram is a digital marketer and SEO specialist who’s passionate about experimenting and discovering new SEO tactics and strategies to dominate search rankings while bringing an unmatched user-experience. As of now Usman is serving Buzz Interactive , a leading digital marketing agency as the head of SEO.

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Employee Engagement Best Practices and Case Studies

Delivered june 7th, 2021 . contributors: bahri s., key takeaways.

  • Employee engagement is essential in the workplace; a study found that employee engagement decreased turnover by 14.9% and increased productivity by 69% in workplaces.
  • BKD had used Quantum Workplace's platform to promote continuous coaching to employees as well as build "an inclusive feedback culture for more frequent and meaningful conversations."
  • Internal c o m m s play a key role in "ensuring a good mutual understanding and cooperation within the workforce." According to a survey by Harris Poll, over 70% of employees were engaged when their organization provided clear internal communication regarding information of value.

Introduction

B e s t practice: employees' ideas.

  • The program should be developed around employees' ideas. This can be done through employee suggestion programs and by replacing the old suggestion box.

Employee Engagement Chart

  • Similar to customer feedback programs, employee suggestion programs ( ESP ) invites employees to voice their concerns and share ideas for solutions. While many companies already offer ESP's, many of them don't utilize technology to ensure that it's as effective as possible. And although a wooden suggestion box placed on the wall is a good start, suggestions aren't always checked regularly; this risks resentment and confusion. Switching to a digital solution can increase accountability and improve the process for listening to employees' suggestions.
  • According to a study conducted by the Employee Involvement Association, organizations can expect to save almost $350 annually per employee through the implementation of an employee suggestion system.
  • According to Charles Martin, the author of Employee Suggestion Systems : Boosting Productivity and Profits, "companies that set up effective "suggestion systems are finding that employees have great ideas that can lower costs, increase revenues, improve efficiency, or produce greater quality."

B e s t Practice: Internal C o m m s

  • The company should ensure that good internal c o m m s are part of their employee engagement solution.
  • Internal c o m m s play a key role in "ensuring a good mutual understanding and cooperation within the workforce."
  • According to a survey by Harris Poll, over 70% of employees were engaged when their organization provided clear internal communication regarding information of value.
  • According to Forbes , "when employees are kept in the loop of what’s happening internally, their loyalty and satisfaction increase ultimately improving the annual revenue and reputation of the company."
  • Gallup found that companies with a highly engaged workforce outperform their competitors by 147%.
  • The Holmes Report revealed that companies with strong internal comm strategies gave shareholders 47% higher returns.
  • Trade Press Services posted an article regarding the importance of using internal c o m m s to enhance business growth. They revealed that "85% of employees said they’re most motivated when management offers regular updates on company news."
  • An example of good internal communications leading to positive outcomes can be seen in the case of Thomson Reuters. When Thomson Reuters improved its internal c o m m s , they were able to address their problem regarding how their employees are not placing enough importance on innovation. After implementing good internal c o m m s , Thomson Reuters saw "an upturn in the number of requested innovation projects."

Case Study: Microsoft

  • Microsoft is a multinational tech company that sells computer hardware, software, and related services; they are an example of a company that's successfully developed an employee engagement program for their employees. Microsoft had invested heavily in internal c o m m s and the improvement of employee experience in various departments.
  • For example, Microsoft had teamed up with Centrical to make their contact center service agents be more productive, responsible, and engaged.
  • Microsoft had implemented Centrical in its call centers for its "ability to fuel engagement through advanced g a m i f i c a t i o n , while combining learning and performance data into one platform."
  • The program would reward call center agents intrinsically as well as give them personalized goals. Using Centrical, agents are given a visual reminder showing them how every activity they do matters and would get them closer towards their goals. Microsoft would offer employee points and badges to those who exhibit positive behaviors such as adherence to schedule.
  • Soon after this program was implemented, 78% of Microsoft's call center agents expressed that they felt more empowered and ready to do better at their work, and absenteeism dropped by 12% overall.
  • Microsoft had utilized its own products (e.g. Microsoft 365 ) in order to improve communications and employee engagement.
  • The programs had resulted in more interconnected and personalized employee experiences; it has also enabled Microsoft employees to innovate, create, and collaborate seamlessly among the teams that they belong to and work with.
  • Eighty-five percent of Microsoft employees say that they are proud to be part of the company.

Case Study: BKD + Quantum Workplace

  • BKD is in the professional/scientific/tech services industry , and they are one of the largest U.S. advisory and accounting firms; they have between 2,501 to 5,000 employees.
  • According to Julie Cummings, the managing director and chief human resources officer ( HRO ) at BKD, they built their programs by listening to the themes and feedback gathered through their annual engagement survey as well as other feedback tools, and then generating action plans to support improvement." She also added that the company had identified a direct link between engagement and employee performance.
  • BKD utilized Quantum Workplace to provide a solution for performance management transformation. BKD knew that it was imperative to implement an effective solution that would drive frequent and meaningful coaching conversations. By implementing this solution , BKD could "drive employee engagement, increase performance, and help with employees' goal achievement."
  • Through their employee engagement survey data , BKD was able to identify what would most efficiently engage employees. And based on the findings, BKD implemented "one-on-ones". Within this tool, templates were created to efficiently "drive quarterly conversations between career coaches and employees, encouraging regular touchpoints and more meaningful discussion about goals and development."
  • BKD also used the same approach with feedback by providing employees with a tool they could use to request and give real-time feedback to ensure that employees were on the right path for success.
  • Through this tool , "employees could gather input from different perspectives, including from a 360° view, to provide them with a deeper self-awareness, better relationships, and professional development acceleration."
  • Key Performance Successes:
  • Eighty-six percent of employees are "proud to work with BKD."
  • Seventy-six percent of employees believe that "BKD’s people-first culture drives their overall success."

Case Study: M o l s o n Coors Beverage Company

  • M o l s o n Coors operates as a brewing company that brews and produces beer. M o l s o n Coors is an example of a company that has successfully executed an engagement plan amongst its employees.
  • Their employee engagement initiatives have produced engaged employees that were five times less likely than non-engaged employees "to have a safety incident and seven times less likely to have a lost-time safety incident."
  • Engagement had also improved sales performance at M o l s o n Coors. And as a result of the initiatives , the company had saved over $1.7 million in just one year.

Research Strategy

Did this report spark your curiosity, how to use employee motivations to increase employee engagement - emergenetics, employee suggestion systems - benefits, cost, elements of a successful suggestion system, microsoft unveils new employee experience platform — microsoft viva — to help people thrive at work - stories, microsoft engagement case study - centrical, microsoft employee engagement, reinventing the employee experience at microsoft, 7 reasons why internal communication is important in the workplace, how internal communications methods are used to enhance employee engagement -vibons, 3 effective ways to improve your internal communication to boost employee engagement, the companies nailing internal communication today: 11 inspiring examples • blink, 7 companies with great internal communications, 17 must follow employee engagement best practices for hr managers, using internal communications to enhance business growth - trade press services, internal communication is changing. are you keeping up • blink, bloomberg - are you a robot.

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  • February 22, 2018
  • 8 minute read

Employee Engagement Case Studies: A Look at Hyatt’s Wildly Successful Strategy

Employee Engagement Case Studies A Look at Hyatts Wildly Successful Strategy

Today’s world-renowned Hyatt hospitality brand traces its origins to 1957 when brothers Jay and Donald Pritzker purchased the original Hyatt House motel that planted the seeds of a hospitality empire. The company now has over 600 properties in more than 50 countries and employs more than 100,000 people.

Known for upscale lodging and fine dining on-site, Hyatt is also building a reputation for having an outstanding employee engagement strategy. More specifically, the company focuses on employee development and promotion from within .

The company also makes it a point to share that their comprehensive employee engagement strategy is not an add-on developed to keep employees content. Rather, it is a pillar of the company’s overall business strategy – one that has seen steady growth as well as avoidance of problems that often plague the hospitality industry, such as high employee turnover.

Turnover Much Lower at Hyatt than Competitor Hospitality Chains

Finding hotel housekeeping associates has always been challenging, and the problem has worsened over the past several years . Not only do many housekeeping professionals change jobs frequently in the pursuit of better pay or more flexible hours, many housekeeping professionals who stick with a hospitality brand want to step up to more responsible positions, and when they do, more housekeeping vacancies open up.

A hospitality brand whose employee engagement strategy does not include housekeeping staff, or that relegates staff appreciation to National Housekeeping Appreciation Week in September, can expect to continue to deal with high turnover.

Check out Hyatt’s average Retention Scores measured on various parameters, which is impressive. This is because the company offers outstanding training, hires and promotes from within, and has a rock-solid commitment to employee diversity. Hyatt’s employee engagement strategy encompasses all employees, not just corporate or managerial ones.

Top Reasons Hyatt Employees Are Engaged in Their Work

Hyatt employees themselves list several reasons why they remain engaged in their work, and all of them go right back to the company’s employee engagement strategy. Not only are there tangible perks like travel discounts and free or subsidized on-site meals in the company’s well-respected restaurants, Hyatt makes it a point to listen to employees and to train them how to listen effectively to each other and to hotel guests.

Additionally, the company offers tuition reimbursement, encouraging employees at all levels to further their education. They also team up with organizations like Khan Academy to provide skill training to employees so that more employees have more access to expanded career choices. In short, Hyatt does not just talk about investing in their employees. They actually do it.

Commitment to Diversity Is More Than Lip Service

A company does not expand into over 50 countries and employ more than 100,000 people while maintaining strong employee loyalty without being committed to employee diversity . Hyatt does not just parrot talking points about diversity; they act. As a result, the company has earned awards such as the Human Rights Campaign Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality , has been recognized by the AARP for employing older workers, and has been recognized by Hispanic Business Magazine and the NAACP for their commitment to hiring people of color.

By openly committing to diversity in the workplace, Hyatt automatically improves its transparency and demonstrates that people from all backgrounds are welcome, which is greatly beneficial to overall employee engagement. In fact, it is safe to say that an employee engagement strategy that glosses over employee diversity or does not mention it at all is an employee engagement strategy that will fall short.  

employee-engagement-strategy2

Empowerment as a Pillar of the Employee Engagement Strategy

Employee empowerment is a key element of Hyatt’s employee engagement strategy. Employees who feel unable to act to solve the inevitable problems that arise in day-to-day business cannot be expected to be engaged in their work because their efforts are stopped before they can start. Hyatt offers ongoing training opportunities for employees and trusts them to act when problems arise. This not only results in problems being solved more quickly, but it also improves employee engagement because engaged employees are ones who know that their work makes a difference on multiple levels.

Empowerment of employees to listen and solve problems not only helps them in their current work, but also helps prepare them for greater responsibilities, and this is critical in a company that likes to promote from within.

Hyatt Understands the Connection Between Engagement and Business Outcomes

Ultimately, Hyatt’s employee engagement strategy is about creating better business outcomes. A company that is in a constant cycle of replacing workers due to high turnover simply cannot achieve the level of competence of a company that has loyal, well-trained employees. Companies that demonstrate to employees that their development as a person and as an employee is important by reimbursing education costs naturally have more engaged employees than those that do not.

The right employee engagement strategy does several things, but two of the most important are empowering employees to excel on a daily basis and making employee engagement part of the very foundation of working for the company. The investment and effort are real, but the rewards show a consistent, strong ROI from such an approach.

How an App Can Help Orchestrate Your Employee Engagement Strategy

The elements of your company’s employee engagement strategy must be specific to your company, of course, but technology in the form of the employee engagement app can make the implementation of the strategy significantly more effective. With HubEngage, you can develop a highly customized employee engagement app that will become an indispensable part of your overall employee engagement strategy.

HubEngage offers a fully customizable employee engagement app platform for the hospitality and travel industry that lets you add your brand elements, customize your user interface, and offer functionalities that are known to improve employee engagement. For example, HubEngage allows you to deliver training modules, solicit employee feedback, deliver instant notifications, and provide employees with personalized content feeds that simply help them do their jobs better. You can even make it fun with gamified learning and fun productivity tools.  See firsthand how HubEngage can transform your organization.  Schedule a demo today with a specialist today. 

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case study about employee engagement

Case study: Modern approach to employee engagement

Informed insights and a sophisticated mix of digital communication are unlocking the power of employee engagement to improve health and lower costs.

When employees are engaged in their health care by actively using the programs and services available to them, outcomes improve, costs can decrease and employees may be more productive.

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As the right message is crafted for each target audience, a number of data-driven steps are taken to reach each employee at the right time in the right place. That means developing a strategy to reach employees exactly when they are in need of a relevant cost-saving or health solution. Thus, based on where employees are searching, reading, viewing and buying, UnitedHealthcare can deliver the right message — reaching the people looking for that message at, or around, the time they are searching for it.

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Measuring the Impact of Leadership on Employee Engagement 

Employee disengagement is soaring, but leaders can turn that around. Learn why leaders play a key role in driving and maintaining engagement, and how building trust is a crucial skill to inspire your teams.

Publish Date: February 20, 2024

Read Time: 8 min

Author: Rosey Rhyne and Stephanie Neal

In today’s dynamic and fast-changing work landscape, employee engagement has been on fragile ground. Disengagement has become so pervasive that it has soared in traditional and social media attention. In the past year, trends about employees’ lack of engagement (aka “Quiet Quitting”) emerged on Google Trends more than any other work topic in the past five years. 

Much of this is about the climate at work right now. Employee attrition is at an all-time high at many companies, and fractured teams have left leaders struggling to create connections and positive employee experiences. Many companies have also laid off employees, often leaving a distrustful and disengaged workforce in their wake. 

Because of these factors, measuring the impact of leadership on employee engagement has become challenging. Leaders who could once get a read on engagement and productivity based on time spent in the office have had to confront the challenges of driving engagement across dispersed teams. Newly onboarded employees may not have had any connection with their leaders or others on their teams outside of a Zoom call.  

Companies need to evaluate their approach to improving employee engagement now. In a strong job market, where turnover has been a constant challenge, companies must consider how their efforts translate to creating better workplace experiences that will attract, grow, and retain top talent. How well you engage employees hinges on leaders’ abilities to navigate these challenges and inspire their teams. 

The Leader’s Big Role in Engagement Today 

Employee engagement is more than employees being happy at work. It’s how people show up at work and how committed they are to their role and team. 

DDI defines employee engagement as people’s emotional and intellectual commitment to an organization. Engaged employees believe in what they do and feel valued for doing it. As a result, they put discretionary effort into their work and are enthusiastic about achieving superior results. 

Leaders have a clear role to play in driving and maintaining engagement among their team members with: 

  • Meaningful work: Leaders help the team see that what they do matters and how they contribute to their company’s objectives and bigger goals. 
  • Individual value: Leaders show appreciation for team members and encourage them to grow. 
  • Positive environment: Leaders set the workplace tone to ensure that people feel enabled to do their best work. 

Alongside all the changes happening in the workplace, employee expectations have evolved. Employees today place a greater emphasis on flexibility, work-life balance, and having a sense of purpose at work. Leaders need to adapt to these changing expectations by taking a more comprehensive approach to how they view and support their employees while fostering an inclusive culture that values individual contributions.  

Recognizing the diverse needs of employees in this climate, it's become more important for leaders to offer flexibility in work arrangements and demonstrate a commitment to employee well-being to engage and retain talent.  

The State of Employee Engagement 

Employee engagement is an evergreen concern for leadership and HR teams alike. With the emergence of new employee listening platforms and increased frequency of disruption (e.g., shift to remote or hybrid work), many HR teams have been keeping a closer eye on engagement at a more granular level.  

Gallup has been researching the current state of global employee engagement for decades. The most recent results indicate that only 23% of employees are engaged . In other words, roughly 3 out of 4 employees are not wholly applying themselves to their work.

Signs of burnout are growing among leaders, with 72% reporting that they often feel used up at the end of the day, an increase from 60% in 2020.

Global Leadership Forecast 2023, DDI

In the United States, the percentage of the workforce reporting that they were engaged in their role increased from 2009 until January 2020, at which point it dramatically decreased . The U.S. has since failed to rebound to the levels reached in 2020. 

According to recent research, this shortage of engaged employees could cost the global economy approximately 7.8 trillion dollars annually . Further the article noted, it could contribute to productivity loss, often putting additional pressure on those who remain engaged to work harder to meet goals. The result? Companies could miss their opportunities to be competitive in their markets. High performers become burnt out and organizations struggle to meet strategic objectives. And the effect is noticeable amongst leaders: 72% report that they often feel used up at the end of the day, an increase from 60% in 2020, according to our 2023 Global Leadership Forecast . 

Other regions around the globe are also struggling. For example, Europe has the lowest regional percentage of engaged employees, hovering at only 13% in Gallup’s 2023 State of the Global Workplace report.   

Why is engaging employees such a big challenge? The answer is clear: Leaders worldwide need to do more than manage their teams’ workloads. The right leadership skills are paramount to being a successful leader today. According to Gallup, up to 70% of variance in an employee’s engagement depends on their leader. Additionally, leaders need to guide their team members through the unknown. Political, civil, health, and other challenges can arise and impact the global workforce without warning. Leaders must be able to act with agility and provide guidance.   

The Relationship Between Employee Engagement and Retention  

In addition to productivity loss, disengagement costs companies critical talent if it is not addressed before it’s too late. As employees disconnect from work, they may be considering other employment opportunities.  

We found that high-potential leaders are 2.4X more likely to report intentions to stay at their companies if they have career goals and development plans to help them achieve those goals. Further, leaders are less likely to report intending to leave if their manager helped instill a strong sense of purpose in their role.  Not only were leaders more than twice as likely to intend to stay with their company, but they were also 9X more likely to report feeling engaged in their roles. Put simply, employees worked hard when they had a purpose and felt valued, knowing their managers were investing in their development. 

In addition to demonstrating care and instilling strong purpose-driven work, leaders could have retention conversations with their team members to understand better what they value in their roles. Retention conversations allow leaders to understand what changes can be made—or what they should continue doing—in order to retain team members. Retention conversations also help signal to team members that their leader appreciates their input and perspectives.

When leaders feel a strong sense of purpose, they are 9X more likely to feel engaged in their role, and 2.4X more likely to intend to stay at the company for the next year.

But while retention conversations are valuable, retaining everyone is not the goal. An absence of turnover could result in employees continuing to be a part of their company even if they aren’t actively working. Disengaged employees can still show up without actually contributing to their organizations.  

So, what is a healthy turnover rate? Gallup suggests a turnover rate of around 10% is considered healthy. However, typical turnover rates vary dramatically by industry, geographic location, and even by the nature of the jobs themselves.  

For example, the latest research from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an average of 2.2% turnover for voluntary quits last month. This drop was due to slight decreases in turnover in the healthcare and social assistance industries , which continue to have elevated turnover rates compared to other industries.  

The Key Skills Leaders Need to Engage Their Teams 

A core set of key skills enables leaders to engage their teams. Based on our 2023 Global Leadership Forecast research, these five skills help leaders maintain and improve employee engagement:

case study about employee engagement

1. Communicating with empathy: 

Leaders are an organization’s core system of communicators.  Especially in a rapidly changing work environment, it’s critical to keep employees well-informed about changes that affect them so that they aren’t confused or surprised. Frequent communication will not only keep employees well-informed but also allow them to make the best use of their time and resources. 

case study about employee engagement

2. Building trust: 

Leaders who build trust with their employees are more likely to engage their team members through behaviors like sharing credit and opportunities for development and being vulnerable. Displaying vulnerability is especially important for gaining newer employees’ trust because they may view their leaders as more human if leaders acknowledge having difficulties. Our research showed that when leaders regularly display vulnerability, their employees are 5.3X more likely to trust them. And even better, when leaders genuinely acknowledged their failures or shortcomings, they were 7.5X more likely to maintain trust over those who did not.

case study about employee engagement

3. Coaching for growth: 

Coaching is a crucial skill for leaders to drive engagement and provide the experiences that employees seek for their career development. By providing meaningful, supportive feedback that motivates team members and helps individuals improve their performance, leaders play an essential coaching role in their organizations. Coaching for growth is even more critical in a strong job market where individuals can more easily find new work.  Employees may be more tempted to look elsewhere and leave their jobs if they find better growth and development opportunities. Leaders can leverage coaching opportunities to identify and create new growth opportunities within and to help engage and retain talented team members. 

case study about employee engagement

4. Recognition: 

Employees want to be recognized and rewarded for their contributions, and leaders are uniquely positioned to ensure that their team’s contributions are valued. Encourage leaders to own this role with a more regular cadence of recognition. Remember: Recognition should not be a once-a-year event but an ongoing occurrence to show appreciation for good work and to let employees know when they are doing well.     

case study about employee engagement

5. Supporting well-being: 

A manager’s role in supporting well-being has become more crucial due to worldwide challenges and unrest. A commitment from leaders to employee well-being significantly impacts their team members’ engagement. In fact, employees whose leaders show concern for their well-being are 3X more likely to be engaged. Additionally, our research has shown that organizations, where managers demonstrate care for well-being, are 2.3X better prepared to prevent employee burnout and resulting turnover.  

Measuring the Impact of Leadership Development on Engagement 

At the end of the day, developing leaders with these critical leadership skills helps them build connections with their team members, creating a stronger foundation to weather disruptions. A recent article in Forbes reported that the most significant influence on a team’s engagement is their leader’s ability to show they genuinely care.  

We see similar results in our impact evaluation research after leaders undergo training to develop their skills. Leaders are more engaged in their roles after receiving quality training in core skills. Of those who participated in DDI’s training and completed a post-training evaluation on their experiences, 88% reported feeling more engaged in their leadership roles than before training. They also reported feeling more valued as a contributor to their organization and having a stronger interest in growing within the company. 

The benefits also expand to their teams. Eighty-five percent of leader participants reported increased team member engagement after training. What’s more, direct reports of leaders who received training said they were also highly engaged and productive. Eighty-nine percent of direct reports said they were engaged in their role on the team, and 82% reported increased team productivity. 

In Conclusion:

Engagement starts with leadership.

Companies need to harness the power of leadership to be competitive in today's environment. Leaders play a unique and crucial role driving company performance beyond overseeing work. They need to be engaged in their roles and have the skills to weather even the most unpredictable situations while building strong relationships with their team members. 

Strong leadership equipped with the right skills will help increase engagement and retention, and even help to recruit the best talent to join their teams.  

HR teams can set leaders up for success. Through practices and programs established to enhance their leadership development skills, HR can help improve engagement and also allow leaders to recognize their valuable contributions.  

Learn more about how to improve employee engagement and retention through better leadership.     

Rosey Rhyne is a senior research manager on DDI’s Center for Analytics and Behavioral Research (CABER) team, where she applies her background in I/O psychology and people analytics to better understand how to improve the leadership and employee experience.  

Stephanie Neal leads DDI’s Center for Analytics and Behavioral Research (CABER), where she and her team manage strategic market research and trend studies on leadership in the workplace. 

Topics covered in this blog

  • Leadership Development

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Employee Engagement: A Case Study

  • Author: Sheryl McAtee
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  • Employee Engagement

In this article, we share a case study about an organization that dramatically improved its employee engagement scores related to performance management.  The organization received feedback that high performance was not sufficiently differentiated and acknowledged in the organization, and rewards were not well aligned with performance.

First, the management team analyzed the problem. While annual performance ratings did differentiate performance and led to differences in performance bonuses, this was not an open process. People only saw their own results, and the high performers didn’t realize they were getting greater rewards. Further, the bonuses only came once a year.

In addition, the managers realized that they needed to target employee engagement in a way that appealed more to millennials, which made up a large part of the workforce. This called for a more real-time process, where employees were publicly praised and quickly rewarded for both small and large successes.

To act on these insights, here’s a look at the management team’s next steps:

  • Share the Results : The management team openly shared the survey results, analysis and proposed goals. The team then engaged in an interactive working session in a staff meeting to develop a specific action plan.
  • Engage the Team: The outcome of the staff discussion was the chartering of a short-term awards task force, which was asked to develop a proposal for a new awards program for the organization.  The task force was small, but represented different parts and levels of the organization. The management team gave the task force core parameters to make sure their outcomes were aligned with the larger organization’s award policies.
  • Guide and Train the Team: The management team saw that the standing up of the task force also provided an opportunity to develop other skills needed in the organization: team facilitation, project management and presentation skills. A facilitator from the management team guided the team’s process to teach them these skills in real time and ensure an outcome, while allowing the actual content to be theirs.     
  • Create Feedback Opportunities: Part of the task force’s job was to present their proposals to the management team and the broader organization. This gave task force members a chance to practice presentation skills and provided valuable practical feedback.
  • Focus on Implementation and Institutionalization: Once the task force was done, the management team invested effort to roll-out and then institutionalize the new awards program. The program included many different awards strategies, including peer recognition, spot awards and an Employee of the Quarter award.

Three years later, the awards program is still active and working well. Scores related to performance management shot up by 20% in just one year, and the organization has applied the same change management model in other areas as well.  It’s a great reminder that true engagement happens one project at a time!

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University Hospitals Birmingham - listening to retain

20 February 2024

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This case study shares learning from the approach to retention at University Hospitals Birmingham. In particular it highlights how the trust adopted a new approach to organisational culture and staff engagement which has had a positive impact on staff retention. Effective use of data is a key element and has played a key role in making progress. The trust still faces challenges but has improved retention and is moving in right direction.

University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB) identified the need to enhance its’ organisational culture and employee experience. After a prolonged period marked by substantial transformation and change, and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the trust developed a multifaceted approach to improving retention, with a particular focus on employee engagement. 

The new approach was developed based on feedback from staff and now includes more intensive support in early career, use of stay interviews and enhanced development opportunities. Underpinning this work is the strategic use of data and analysis.

Key benefits and outcomes

Since the project started, the trust has observed:

  • a reduction in turnover and vacancies
  • enhanced levels of employee engagement
  • a reduction in sickness absence rates.

What the organisation faced

In 2018, UHB underwent a merger with Heart of England NHS Trust, forming one of the largest NHS foundation trusts in the country. The consolidation of these two trusts required rapid and extensive changes, to bring four hospitals under one single organisation. However, much of this work was put on hold at the start of the pandemic.

During the pandemic, many staff had a change to their working locations and those who could work from home were asked to do so. These changes resulted in uncertainty and significant upheaval for staff, impacting team dynamics and a sense of belonging to their teams and the wider organisation. 

In the post-covid period, staff turnover increased and the response from staff surveys identified high levels of burnout, disengagement, and poor employee experience. Feedback identified that due to the significant changes that had occurred, and the pace in which they had been delivered, staff were left with feelings of change fatigue, and many lacked a sense of belonging to the trust. 

UHB aimed to explore how to reduce turnover while identifying strategies to enhance both the experience of staff and culture within the trust. 

What the organisation did

A strategic retention and engagement group was established to better understand the reasons for turnover, and to agree a strategy for improvement. The group centred its efforts on three key areas: 

  • Enhancing attraction and engagement.
  •  Improving development opportunities for staff.
  • Creating a positive organisational culture. 

In its first year, the group focused on improving the methods of gaining insightful feedback from staff. This included:

  • A new exit and leaver process: Leaver forms are completed via a QR code, and the trust now has central access to responses. From this, patterns and themes can be identified and be used to inform trust-wide improvement. The questions were also improved, to encourage staff to provide ideas for future improvements, which has provided UHB with rich data about employee experience in different settings. 
  • The introduction of a 100-day engagement programme:  A monthly engagement event with staff takes place throughout the first 100 days of their employment, providing feedback about the induction and onboarding process. This programme was informed by detailed data analysis, which showed a disproportionate number of staff leaving the trust within their first year of employment, to enable improvements to the induction and onboarding process. 
  • The introduction of stay interviews: Stay interviews have been introduced to provide further information about why staff were staying at UHB, and why they were considering leaving. UHB aims to roll this out trust-wide in 2024, to proactively address issues concerning staff to further improve retention. 
  • Engagement in both high and low-turnover departments : Engagement sessions with staff in high-turnover areas took place to understand views of local departments as well as the wider trust. Extensive engagement work took place in ‘hotspot’ areas, identified through staff experience indicators, including sickness, staff survey results and turnover, leading to bespoke support interventions. The team was also mindful to approach areas with low turnover to understand more about what is working well and how this leaning can be shared. Staff were also asked what they wanted to see from the trust’s reward and recognition offer, and what was important to them. This has contributed to a proposal for flexible bank holidays and extended salary sacrifice schemes. 
  • Roll out of trust talent management framework: A talent management framework, comprising of a talent assessment toolkit and succession planning toolkit has been developed. Key to this was empowering managers to have regular talent conversations with their staff, enabling a person-centred approach to talent and development. Managers have been provided with the tools to engage with staff appropriately depending on their individual goals and ambitions. This engagement with staff has enabled local departments to better understand what their staff need to encourage them to stay and grow their careers at UHB. 

Results and benefits

As a result of the engagement, the trust has seen more staff completing the staff survey, leaver questionnaires and exit interviews and attending the weekly CEO update, showing a definite increase in staff engagement. There was a clear message of support from the trust chief executive, which has also inspired staff to come forward and share their experiences. In the past year, the trust has seen an improvement in turnover, from 12.85 per cent in November 2022, to 11.46 per cent in November 2023. 

Collaborating with teams locally to comprehend their concerns and desired workplace improvements has also yielded significant benefits. Teams have been able to feed in their ideas to make the working environment more positive on a day-to-day basis. It has also contributed to the development of people management resources and training programmes. 

There is still a significant journey ahead as UHB embarks on a cultural transformation journey after a recent culture review. However, the programmes of work that have commenced are anticipated to continue to have a positive impact. Examples of future projects the trust will be taking forward based on the feedback received from staff are team-based rostering, legacy mentoring and a talent development programme targeted at BAME staff, those with a disability and who are neurodiverse.

Overcoming obstacles

The project group regularly engaged with staff who felt they had previously provided their feedback to the trust, and nothing had changed. Therefore, critical to the success of the project was engagement with line managers and staff about what was being done and why. This helped to reduce scepticism and improvement engagement in the roll out and delivery of the work. Communicating key messages about how the trust was acting on the feedback that had been gathered, showed staff they were being listened to and that UHB was doing something about the information received. 

Take away tips

  • Collaborate: Cross-team working has enabled engagement with a wider remit of staff. Having the expert opinion and buy-in of different staff groups, enabled engagement with staff who may normally find it difficult to engage with the trust.
  • Small wins add up: A significant amount of the activity that has taken place to date are   local interventions in hot spot areas rather than trust-wide strategic initiatives. While trust-wide work is essential, working with local teams can still make a significant difference. 
  • ESR won’t tell you everything: Workforce metrics and KPIs are incredibly useful but they don’t tell the whole story on their own. Proactively speaking to staff about their experiences provided UHB with a deeper level of insight and inspiration for future programmes of work. 
  • Be proactive in reaching out: Don’t wait for people to come to you to share their experiences. Going to them in their place of work will enhance the depth of knowledge and understanding you will gain from their feedback and will ensure the feedback is balanced and representative of different staff groups. 

Contact details

For more information about the work in this case study, please contact Lily Anstey, Deputy Chief People Officer at UHB [email protected]

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