When you have engaged employees, you’re not just attracting top talent; you’re keeping current employees motivated. It’s also one of the best ways to combat disengagement and burnout.
By considering how your employees’ individual values align with organizational goals and creating a culture that values meaningful work, transparency, and positivity, you can move the needle on employee engagement.
Here’s what we’ve found matters most to employees:
Compensation
Based on research about the connection between compensation and employee retention, “Offering competitive base salaries or hourly wages is an essential factor in retaining employees, as it demonstrates that the organization values their time and energy.”
Alright, no surprise there, but compensation goes further than just base salary and wage.
Compensating employees beyond salary
Let’s face it: not every employer can just pay employees more. In another post, we shared few ideas for engaging and retaining employees without paying more:
- Review the compensation mix: You can offer increased compensation by incorporating performance-based bonuses, incentives, and commissions to reward achievements without increasing base salaries or wages.
- Go Beyond a Traditional Fixed Salary Model: Consider implementing flexible compensation structures like profit-sharing or equity options to align employee rewards with company success.
Pay transparency and equity
Compensation is clearly a driver of employee engagement, but beyond the number, employees want to know that they’re paid fairly and they want to know how their compensation is set.
According to ERC’s research, 37% of employees disagree that they are paid competitively for the work they do. And since compensation information, no matter how flawed or inaccurate, is so widely available online, employees can “benchmark” their own compensation easier than ever. This puts more responsibility on employers to benchmark and adjust compensation on an ongoing basis.
Employees also want to know how their pay is determined. Unfortunately, few organizations have trained managers to discuss compensation structures with employees. A good first step is to develop a compensation philosophy, followed by sharing this throughout the organization.
Where to start with compensation
For organizations that have no formal or established strategy or process, getting started with compensation doesn’t have to be daunting:
- Develop a Compensation Philosophy: Define how you’ll pay and reward employees, balancing fixed salaries and variable incentives. Identify how you’ll conduct market research and benchmark compensation.
- Conduct a Market Data Study: Benchmark roles against credible market data sources, making sure internal job descriptions align with others in your industry for accurate comparisons.
- Build an Internal Pay Structure: Create consistent and transparent salary ranges by grouping roles based on responsibilities and skills, and regularly update the structure to reflect market changes.
Work/life benefits
It’s not that work/life benefits are a “trend,” but with the pandemic shifting many to remote work, people craving more balance, and younger generations expecting flexibility, work/life benefits are now a standard, not a perk.
Work/life balance
Workplace stress remains a big concern for employees, with 77% of employees reporting work-related stress in the past month. It’s why employees today value flexibility to manage their personal lives and family responsibilities, as well as resources to address stress levels and mental well-being.
Employers do have a growing number of benefits to offer increased balance:
- Offer flexible schedules, hybrid roles, or remote work options.
- Provide mental health resources like counseling apps or mental health days.
- Acknowledge caregiving needs with dependent care benefits or caregiver leave.
- Pilot models like four-day workweeks.
- Use feedback tools to tailor work-life benefits to employees’ individual needs.
Employe wellbeing
There’s a clear connection between organizations that prioritize employee wellbeing and have higher levels of engagement. Studies show that 70% of employees enrolled in wellness programs report higher job satisfaction compared to those not participating.
Here are a few strategies to consider:
- Develop a Comprehensive Wellness Program: Offer virtual fitness classes, wearable fitness tracker challenges, monthly wellness stipends, and mindfulness tools like guided meditation apps or lunchtime mental reset sessions.
- Provide Mental Health Support: Use anonymous mental health check-ins, subsidized counseling through local or virtual providers, and host awareness days with workshops on stress management.
Don’t forget to check-in with your health insurance provider to see if they offer wellness benefits.
Flexible work
The Economic Policy Institute highlights that while flexible work is highly sought after, access still remains inequitable, particularly for low-wage workers. Employers should continue to consider how to implement thoughtful, inclusive flexible work policies.
- Offer Flexible Schedules: Allow employees to choose start and end times that align with personal schedules.
- Provide Hybrid Workplaces: Design hybrid work models where employees split time between remote and on-site work.
- Equip Remote Employees: Provide stipends for home office setups and offer technology for remote operations like web cameras, headsets, and collaboration software.
- Ensure Equity in Access: Extend flexible work options to all roles, including traditionally on-site positions, through creative scheduling or job-sharing arrangements.
Positive and inclusive culture
Creating a positive and inclusive workplace culture is also an essential ingredient for employee engagement, employee happiness, and productivity.
According to research from the MIT Sloan School of Management and CultureX, the top elements of workplace culture that employees value include feeling respected, having supportive leadership, and alignment of leaders’ actions with core values.
To address these elements, employers can use the following strategies:
- Prioritize Respect: Implement training programs that emphasize respectful communication and behavior across the organization.
- Develop Supportive Leadership: Provide leadership development programs that focus on emotional intelligence and active listening to make sure your leaders can support their teams.
- Promote Diversity and Inclusivity: Implement diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that include policies and practices designed to give people of various backgrounds the resources they need to succeed in the workplace.
Challenging and meaningful work
Providing employees with challenging and meaningful work is another essential factor tied to employee engagement. But what exactly is “challenging” work? It’s work that stimulates employees’ skills and intellect, pushing them to grow and excel.
Meaningful work connects employees’ roles to a larger purpose. It makes them feel their contributions have a significant impact. Research shows that when employees find their work meaningful, they have higher engagement levels.
Here are a few ways employers can provide challenging and meaningful work:
- Align Roles with Organizational Purpose: Clearly communicate how each role contributes to the company’s mission. This helps employees see the true value of their work.
- Make Purpose Personal: Keep in mind each individual team member will have their own personal values, and as a result, will find or define “purpose” differently. Have employees reflect on their values and determine what they find personally meaningful.
- Show the Impact of Work: From sharing customer success stories, celebrating team member impact internally, or even creating an internal newsletter to showcase successes, recognition can be a great motivator.
- Offer Career Development Opportunities: Provide training and projects that challenge employees to develop new competencies.
- Encourage Autonomy: Empower employees to make decisions and take ownership of their work. This will give them a greater sense of responsibility and autonomy.
- Facilitate Cross-Functional Collaboration: Allow employees to work with different teams, exposing them to different perspectives and broadening their skill sets.
Just as you find opportunities to make each employees’ work more meaningful, also look for ways to automate work that employees don’t find rewarding. Leveraging AI tools can help automate repetitive tasks, freeing employees to focus on strategic and creative work
How to measure employee engagement
We’ve shared what matters to employees and what keeps them engaged, but how do you measure employee engagement and employee sentiment on an ongoing basis?
Here are a few ways to assess engagement:
- Employee Engagement Surveys & Pulse Surveys: Surveys that explore various aspects of the employee experience, including job design and challenge, performance and alignment, perceptions of leadership, and more. These surveys provide in-depth insights into overall engagement levels.
- Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS): A metric that gauges employees’ likelihood to recommend their workplace to others, serving as an indicator of overall satisfaction and loyalty. eNPS is calculated based on responses to a single question, making it a quick and effective tool for measuring engagement.
Employee engagement is about more than just keeping your team happy—it’s a key to attracting top talent, reducing burnout, and aligning your workforce with your organization’s goals.
From rethinking compensation and work/life benefits to focusing on meaningful work and a positive culture, we hope some of the insights we’ve provided help you build a stronger, more engaged team in 2025 and beyond.
