Employee engagement activities & ideas that work: get your team deeply involved

Increased or sufficient employee engagement affects multiple domains. First, it decreases negative attitudes toward the company and absenteeism. It also improves retention, helping to save resources on hiring and training new staff. These and many other factors result in the fact that high engagement can make businesses 21% more profitable.

Try some of these corporate activities to improve employee engagement. Later, you can optimize them or choose other ideas according to initial results.

Encourage celebrating birthdays, promotions, and other happy life events. Some occasions may require only warm messages and congratulations, while it may be suitable to throw a party for others. Also, remember that every professional win is important enough to be celebrated. Whether it’s exceeding the quarterly plan or making successful steps to improve collaboration within the teams, which brought visible results, it can be acknowledged. It may also be a good idea to host a yearly awards night.

One way to organize such events is through thematic team-building seminars or coaching sessions. However, voluntary company outings can be equally effective. Informal communication not only strengthens personal bonds but, with proper planning, can improve teamwork too. Book clubs, speaking clubs, and movie nights with following discussions help find common ground in values and vision.

Theme days are not necessarily unusual and fun events during off-hours. They can also include casual Fridays, lunch catering on a certain weekday, wellness days with indoor or outdoor activities, pet days, etc. Discuss possible options with the teams to learn more about their preferences.

It can be a brief weekly digest or a long monthly informal report. Such a newsletter may or may not include major business goals and successes, but it always highlights employees’ achievements and important events, from birthdays to photos from recent team-building activities.

The simplest way to gather feedback and ideas is by placing a suggestion box in the office or creating an anonymous online form. However, with HR platforms, especially the ones using AI in talent management, you can create more specific surveys and make the most from analyzing their results.

This area covers numerous options, from healthy snacks in the office to online employee activities like virtual fitness classes. A company can also offer reimbursement for mental health or sports expenses, provide a budget for setting up a home office, and organize workshops about maintaining a healthy work environment and preventing burnout.

When you use both external and internal sources of recruitment, you not only expand the number of candidates but also work on employee engagement. Consider implementing a “New hire’s buddy” program or set up mentorship opportunities. This way, a company can fill the gaps faster and save time and resources on recruiting and training.

A well-thought onboarding is only one element of a comprehensive learning system. Consider planning more in-depth job training, allocate a budget for educational expenses, and choose a talent marketplace platform to organize this process better.

Attending conferences as visitors or speakers contributes to professional and personal growth. A person gets an opportunity to network, advance their skills, and learn industry trends. Discussing this experience promotes communication within a team and knowledge sharing, and, in general, such initiatives boost loyalty to the company.

In addition to sharing professional insights, employees may be willing to talk about their hobbies. You can try innovative activities like interviews, webinars, or lunch-and-learn events. The topics may vary, so if someone wants to talk about effective time management techniques or a wise way to organize personal finance, this can be a good choice too.

According to a survey, only 29% of employees are satisfied with their career growth options. This can be a sign to examine the existing career pathing in the company and improve or completely update it. When employees know about available opportunities and how to achieve the new stage in their professional journey, they become more proactive and responsible.

You can use all possible recruiting tips and tricks to find the most productive and enthusiastic employees, but if they don’t know who can help in particular situations, these efforts become fruitless. In the case of new hires, ensure proper onboarding and mentoring. Then, team-building can help. Note that any actions that make communication easier and more transparent are some of the most important activities during work from home.