17 Proven Ways to Keep Your Employees Engaged and Motivated

Prior to the industrial revolution, “work” was an activity that took place in fields and farmhouses. Then automated production moved an entire generation of workers from homesteads to factories. This was no easy commute; it was a paradigm shift. The former farmers became the first to experience the most enduring innovation of this era: the workplace.

It wasn’t love at first job-site. This was the empire of the foreman and workers had little rights. In this era of prolonged work shifts and poor labor conditions, a concept like “employee engagement” would have been pure science fiction.

Today, workers have more freedom to choose the kind of work they do, and demand a workplace that keeps them engaged. Is your workplace up to the challenge? Chances are, it’s not.

According to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report, less than a third of American workers are engaged at work. But the ROI of engaged workers is tremendous:

These employees willingly go the extra mile because of their strong emotional connection to their organization. Reaching this unique state goes beyond having a merely satisfactory experience at work to one of 100% psychological commitment.

Research suggests that the wrong people have been in charge of motivating workers. For decades, employee engagement has been in the domain of Human Resources, but companies are increasingly entrusting their managers to be the agents of change. Gallup finds that “managers account for at least 70% of variance in employee engagement” when measuring across business units. A 2013 study by Bain & Company supports this thesis:

Typically, HR groups rely on long, corporate-wide annual surveys and one-size-fits-all processes that focus on adherence, rather than encouraging changes tailored to the team level.

The studies prescribe a business- and manager-led, rather than HR-led, approach. This makes sense. Because of the close working relationship, a manager is uniquely positioned to identify when one of their employees is disengaged; they also have the power to really reach out and get that employee back on track.

Employee engagement is crucial for any organization that wants to succeed. Disengaged employees lead to lower productivity, higher turnover and poorer customer satisfaction. As a manager, keeping your team engaged should be one of your top priorities.

In this article, I’ll share 17 proven tactics to boost employee engagement based on the latest research and expert advice. Implementing even a few of these strategies can dramatically improve morale motivation and performance across your team.

Provide Employees With the Resources They Need

It’s hard for employees to stay focused when they lack the tools, training and support needed to do their jobs well. Make sure you provide:

Up-to-date technology and equipment Outdated software or hardware leads to frustration, Keep systems current
Proper training and development. Don’t assume new hires or transfers have all the skills they need. Invest in continuous learning.
Administrative support. Take care of tasks like scheduling meetings or processing paperwork so workers can focus on core responsibilities.
Ergonomic workstations. Comfortable chairs, anti-glare screens and wrist rests demonstrate you care about employees’ well-being.

When people feel equipped to succeed, they’re far more likely to be engaged and productive.

Keep Open Communication

Frequent, transparent communication prevents employees from feeling in the dark. Use strategies like:

Weekly team meetings. Discuss recent wins, challenges, goals and plans. Encourage discussion.
Monthly one-on-one meetings. Check in on well-being, career aspirations, feedback and ideas.
Feedback surveys. Solicit anonymous input on satisfaction, work environment, processes and leadership.
“Ask me anything” sessions. Let employees pick your brain through casual Q&As.
Email updates. Share company news, policy changes, personnel moves and other timely information.

The more you communicate, the more engaged employees will be. Make sure it’s a two-way street where they feel comfortable sharing openly as well.

Be Clear With Expectations

Uncertainty is a quick path to disengagement. Set clear expectations by:

Creating written job descriptions. Outline primary duties, qualifications and performance metrics for each role. Review annually.
Setting SMART goals. Align individual and team objectives to the company’s strategic priorities.
Defining processes. Document standard operating procedures for efficiency and consistency.
Providing rubrics and templates. Show exactly what quality work looks like.
Explaining decision criteria. Discuss how priorities are set and resources allocated.

When expectations are clear, employees can focus on execution rather than worrying about whether they’re on the right track.

Give Regular Employee Feedback

Ongoing feedback is better than once-a-year reviews. Provide regular guidance through:

Weekly check-ins. Review recent progress and challenges. Offer support.
Mid-year reviews. Reassess longer-term goals. Course correct as needed.
Real-time feedback. Praise positive behaviors and correct issues immediately so they don’t become habits.
Anonymous peer feedback. Gain unbiased perspectives from co-workers.
360-degree reviews. Get input from supervisors, peers, subordinates and customers.

Consistent feedback enables continuous improvement and growth, keeping employees engaged.

Improve Based on Feedback

The most disengaged teams feel their input goes ignored. Act on feedback by:

Implementing suggestions. Turn the best ideas into reality. Recognize contributors.
Explaining why certain input can’t be acted on. Honesty maintains trust.
Holding focus groups. Dig deeper into concerns through facilitated discussion.
Conducting stay interviews. Learn reasons valuable employees might leave and address them.
Tweaking processes. Small changes often have big impact on efficiency and satisfaction.

Closing the feedback loop proves you’re committed to making things better, not just going through the motions.

Identify Everyone’s Strengths

People are at their most motivated when using strengths daily. Help employees play to their strengths by:

Using assessments. Gallup’s CliftonStrengths and other tools reveal inborn talents.
Reviewing past successes. What assignments did they excel at? What praise have they received?
Probing passions. What energizes them outside of work? How could those interests be applied?
Encouraging skill development. Support growth both in and outside comfort zones.
Tailoring responsibilities. Align duties to strengths where possible. Offset weaknesses with complementary team members.

Let each person do what they do best every day. Not only will the work improve, but engagement will soar.

Invest in Career Development

Employees who feel stagnant and stuck quickly lose motivation. Promote growth through:

Cross-training. Develop well-rounded skillsets via job shadowing, special projects and mentorships.
Leadership programs. Ready your emerging talent for management roles.
Tuition assistance. Cover education expenses for approved certificates or degrees.
Conferences and workshops. Fund attendance at professional development events.
Stretch assignments. Give emerging leaders a chance to demonstrate new abilities.

You want your employees to envision a long-term future with your organization. A commitment to continuous development is key to engagement and retention.

Be Flexible

In today’s world, work-life balance is critical. Offer flexibility through:

Remote work. Enable telecommuting and flexible scheduling when possible.
generous time off. Provide ample sick days, personal days and vacations. Enforce usage.
Wellness benefits. Offer perks like on-site gyms, massages and healthy snacks.
Work-life services. Provide concierge services, dry cleaning, meals to go and other help.
Flexible hours. Allow earlier or later start and end times.

The more you can accommodate employees’ lives outside of work, the more engaged and loyal they will be.

Have Fun Together

All work and no play is a drag. Build camaraderie through:

Team lunches. Break bread together regularly.
Volunteer events. Give back to charity as a group.
Company parties. Celebrate milestones and holidays.
Activity clubs. Start groups for interests like sports, gaming or food.
Department retreats. Schedule occasional off-site getaways.

Relationships are a key driver of engagement. Bonding activities help build trust, morale and unity.

Make Sure Roles Align to Interests

Employees checked out from lack of interest in their work can’t be very engaged. Be attentive to:

Probing passions. In one-on-ones, dig into what excites each person.
Job crafting. Evolve responsibilities to better utilize unique strengths and motivators.
Internal transfers. Accommodate when promising talent feels stuck or miscast in their current group.
Career development. Help discover new roles that may be a better fit long-term.
Succession planning. Groom employees for jobs that play to passions by building relevant skills.

Matching talent to roles taps into inner motivational drives, increasing engagement exponentially.

Give Praise and Recognition

Positive reinforcement incentivizes engagement. Make praise generous through:

Public recognition. Call out great work in team meetings or the company newsletter.
Handwritten notes. Send thank you cards when employees go above-and-beyond.
Awards. Establish peer-voted programs to celebrate accomplishments.
Perks. Surprise star performers with gift cards, extra time off or coveted parking spots.
Promotions. Fast track top talent into new challenges and leadership roles.

Acknowledge contributions at every level to keep employees feeling valued and motivated.

Promote Work-Life Balance

Burned out employees check out. Combat excessive hours by:

Leading by example. Make sure you aren’t always “on” either.
Encouraging vacations. Make sure your team uses allotted time off.
Discouraging off-hour work. Refrain from emailing or calling during evenings/weekends except in true emergencies.
Planning ahead. Set reasonable deadlines that don’t require overtime to meet.
Monitoring workload. Watch for signs of overwhelm and redistribute responsibilities.

Make it clear overwork is not required or expected. Your team will be healthier and more engaged.

Offer Development Opportunities

Employees who feel stagnant quickly disengage. Promote growth through:

Job rotations. Develop well-rounded experience via cross-training assignments.
Mentor programs. Let seasoned professionals impart wisdom to up-and-comers.
Lunch & learns. Host periodic workshops led by internal experts or guest speakers.

how to keep employees engaged

The first definition of employee engagement

The earliest formal definition of employee engagement is in a paper by William Kahn called “Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work.” Kahn defines engagement as: “[the] harnessing of organization members’ selves to their work roles; in engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally.”

The key word in that definition is “express”; employee engagement is a form of expression at work that lets employees bring a truer version of themselves to the workplace—one that requires less energy to construct and to perform (in a sense) for their peers.

The paper outlines three characteristics, or psychological conditions, required to foster engagement and employee motivation at work. These are meaningfulness, safety, and availability.

Meaningfulness is the condition of a workplace enables workers to feel useful, worthwhile, and valued. Work feels meaningful when workers have the autonomy to tackle rich and complex problems and there is clear delineation on procedures and goals.

Safety means workers are comfortable (and thus able) to “show and employ one’s self” without fear of being shot down or ridiculed. It is a trustworthy and secure environment. This usually happens when workers have strong interpersonal relationships at work.

Availability is having the physical, emotional, and psychological resources to bring your full self to work. This can manifest in two ways: 1) empowering your employees in their roles and 2) removing the distractions of social systems (bureaucracy, too many meetings, etc.) or physical blockers like fatigue.

Employee engagement is not the same as employee satisfaction, though they are related. Satisfaction refers to the level of happiness or contentment experienced at work. Nor is it the same as employee performance—how effective you are at your job—because, even a top producing worker can be disengaged.

Engagement is different because it requires self-direction and intent. Engaged employees bring a strong sense of personal motivation and emotional commitment to the work. Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey, coauthors of How the Way We Talk Can Change the Way We Work, describe it as being “your whole self” at work. It’s the discretionary effort employees bring to the workplace. It’s the “above” and the “beyond.”

What managers (and only managers) can do

It’s possible for employees to be satisfied or top performers without being engaged. But engagement is a driver of both job satisfaction and job performance. Improving employee engagement almost always contributes to improved performance and job satisfaction.

Here is how you can improve employee engagement on your team.

You must help your reports understand how their daily work contributes to the organization as a whole. Individual contributors and front-line staff (like customer service and sales) are among the least engaged employees, and this is troubling; the attitude of these employees may have a direct impact on how your brand is perceived by the public. Take the time to appreciate them and help them understand how their work fits into the bigger picture.

If your employees are struggling, providing real, thoughtful feedback can help them understand why they are doing what they’re doing. Even constructive feedback helps convey that you recognize their efforts as well as their results.

Create a safe space for your employees through listening and mentorship. In fact, mentorship can drive engagement in both directions; when you encourage two-way feedback your employees feel heard.

It’s the manager’s job to make employees feel comfortable sharing their goals and ambitions—so try to tap into what they really want to get out of life. Your employees have vastly different personality types, so managers must learn to accommodate these working styles instead of trying to change them. When you learn who your employees actually are, and find out what drives them, you can then provide avenues at work that keep them motivated.

Another way to make your team feel safe, is to be more like a learning organization. These environments allow employees to feel psychological safety, and can also help people form bonds and friendships at work.

We have written about the AoR model before, since it is one of the key components of employee autonomy. You can’t “push a rope,” as the saying goes, and you get the best results from people who make their own decisions and choose how to execute on the expectations placed upon them, rather than choosing for them.

Even if your company doesn’t use the AoR model, individuals still need goals. Is your team clear on what they are setting out to achieve each day? Giving them clear objectives to work toward will help focus their energy and provide a motivating force to give it their all at work.

Meaningfulness	Safety	Availability
Answer the question	How meaningful is this work to me?	How safe is it at work to be myself?	Am I empowered to do this work?
What employees need	To understand how their work fits into the bigger picture To feel valued	To be able to be themselves at work To feel the freedom to experiment or make mistakes	Autonomy, agency Freedom to make decisions
What managers can provide	Gratitude Feedback	Mentorship Peer (two-way) feedback	Autonomy Clear objectives

Are we having fun yet? This isn’t one of Kahn’s conditions, but we think it’s important to celebrate individual efforts and keep work fun.

Rituals are an effective way to increase engagement and strengthen bonds on your team. Consider planned spontaneity as a way to shake things up, and make repetitive workflows more dynamic. And don’t forget to say thank you. It’s simple, but it works.

Employee Engagement: Retain and Motivate Your Employees

How do you motivate employees to stay engaged?

Motivation can also encourage engagement. By understanding your employee’s needs and what motivates them, you can also help them stay engaged. Some employees may be motivated by rewards, whereas others may find motivation in increased autonomy in the workplace. 18. Encourage leadership

Why is employee engagement so important?

As long as wages are not substandard, the ability to make decisions about job roles and have choices leads to higher employee engagement. “Generally speaking, the data says engaged employees do a better job for your customers, they’re more loyal to your company, and they’re going to stay longer,” says Maroney. “All good things flow from that.” 13.

How to improve employee engagement?

Employees crave feedback, and it influences their level of engagement. Start by scheduling check-ins for each employee with their manager, then encourage middle management to establish regular review sessions with their team as an ongoing initiative to improve employee engagement.

How do employees engage with their work?

Employees engage with their work more if they feel they have skin in the game. Giving them the chance to lead a meeting or spearhead a project will help them connect with their work on a different level. That can be the difference between job satisfaction and true engagement.