When employees aren’t fully engaged, productivity drops, team morale suffers, and turnover can spike. But even small initiatives—like recognition programs or flexible scheduling—can spark measurable improvements in employee motivation, collaboration, and retention.

In this post, you’ll find over 30 practical ideas, from training to team-building, all designed to boost employee engagement.

Key Engagement Initiatives

Leadership & Supervisory Training

Effective leaders set the tone for the entire organization. Providing leadership and supervisory training helps your team communicate clearly, resolve conflicts, and sharpen their skills.

Things to Try

1. Employee Training: Offer training for supervisors to learn evidence-based strategies and build leadership skills that they can use on the job. Through ERC research, we’ve found supervisors tend to be more engaged when they receive four types of training: general, specialized, training to help them in their current role, and training to help them qualify for their next role.  
2. Peer-Led Workshops: Encourage managers to share real-world experiences and best practices in small-group sessions.
3. Structured Mentorship Programs: Mentorship is important. In fact, per ERC data and research, it’s a key driver of employee engagement. Consider pairing emerging leaders with seasoned supervisors to fast-track skill development. Mentees can gain real insights beyond what’s learned “in the classroom.” 
4. Leadership “Book Clubs”: Choose books, articles, or podcasts on effective leadership; meet monthly to discuss key takeaways and how they apply to your workplace.

Impact

• Better Manager Readiness and Confidence: Supervisors who complete training report higher self-assurance in leading teams. This can be tracked by improvements in employee feedback surveys on leadership effectiveness.
• Measured Gains in Team Engagement: Well-trained leaders are typically better communicators and coaches. As a result, teams often see an uptick in project completion rates, fewer interpersonal conflicts, and higher overall satisfaction scores.
• More Strategic Decision-Making: Leadership training gives managers proven frameworks for problem-solving, reducing the time spent on trial-and-error solutions. This can provide quicker resolutions to workplace issues and fewer team bottlenecks.

Compensation Studies

Conducting regular compensation reviews helps organizations stay competitive and fair. It also demonstrates that the leadership values and respects its employees.

Things to Try

5. Develop a Compensation Philosophy: Clearly articulate your organization’s core values and objectives around pay. This will help ensure consistency in compensation decisions and help employees understand the rationale behind them. A compensation philosophy is such a critical foundation of an organization’s pay practices that according to ERC’s data and research over 90% of award-winning organizations have one.  
6. Conduct a Market Data Study: Compare your pay for job ranges to regional market and industry benchmarks based on your organization’s industry, geographic market(s), and revenue base/organizational size. Identifying where you stand helps keep your top talent and attracts talented candidates, especially in competitive markets.
7. Build an Internal Pay Structure: Map roles and responsibilities to clear pay grades and salary ranges. This creates clear career progression for employees and leads to internal pay alignment. 

Impact

• Better Talent Retention: Market competitive and internally aligned pay structures reduce turnover.
• Stronger Organizational Trust: When employees know there are established guidelines in place to promote fairness in pay decisions, morale improves and concerns about pay disparity diminish.
• Clearer Career Pathways: Employees better understand the path for advancement within defined pay grades. This encourages goal-setting and professional growth.

Employee Recognition Programs

Meaningful recognition boosts morale and shows your team you value their hard work. A well-rounded program could include formal awards, casual everyday shout-outs, and even public spotlights to celebrate successes.

Things to Try

8. Peer-to-Peer “Shout-Outs”: Encourage employees to publicly recognize coworkers for specific achievements, whether in team meetings or on a shared communication platform.
9. Spot Bonuses & Gift Cards: A small monetary reward or gift card given on the spot can reinforce positive behaviors and highlight outstanding performance in real-time.
10. Formal Monthly or Quarterly Awards: Create a structured program where managers or team leads nominate employees for hitting key milestones. Present the awards in team meetings or through a virtual announcement.
11. Innovation Time: Offer employees dedicated hours or days to explore process improvements or new ideas. Showcase and celebrate the best concepts in a team meeting or company newsletter, recognizing innovative thinking across the organization.

Impact

• Higher Engagement & Retention: Employees who feel valued are more likely to be engaged and stay with the organization. In fact, years of ERC research has found that employees who agree with the statement ‘I am recognized or praised when I do a good job,’ are more engaged than unrecognized employees. 
• Stronger Sense of Community: Recognition programs also help employees feel connected and supported by their peers. So much so that employees who receive regular appreciation report stronger ties with their teams, another predictor of engagement, along with a more collaborative and trusting environment.

Employee Assistance Programs (EAP)

Comprehensive EAPs give employees access to mental health, financial, or personal support when they need it. Often, underutilization occurs due to a lack of awareness.

Things to Try

12. Comprehensive EAP Services: Offer a package covering mental health counseling, financial guidance, and legal support. Make sure employees know how to access these resources confidentially and at no cost.
13. Employee-Focused Communication: Regularly remind staff about available EAP options via newsletters, internal chats, or team meetings. Include quick links or phone numbers so help is always easy to find.
14. Manager Training on EAP Referrals: Per ERC’s research, 99% of top-performing workplaces have an established practice of checking in with employees on at least one of the following: work-life balance, physical work arrangements, organizational support, and mental health. Remember to educate supervisors on recognizing early signs of stress and burnout and empower them to refer employees to EAP resources in a supportive, non-judgmental way.

Impact

• Improved Well-Being & Productivity: Employees with support systems in place are less likely to miss work due to stress or health-related issues, positively affecting attendance and overall output.
• Reduced Healthcare Costs: Early interventions and counseling often help prevent more serious health issues, leading to lower insurance claims over time. (Source: SHRM)
• Higher Morale & Job Satisfaction: When employees know their organization cares about their well-being, they typically exhibit greater loyalty and engagement.

Flexible Work Arrangements

Flexible scheduling options help employees manage personal responsibilities and maintain work-life balance. This autonomy often translates into higher engagement and reduced burnout.

Things to Try

15. Hybrid Schedules: If possible, allow employees to split their week between in-office and remote days. This offers the best of both worlds: face-to-face collaboration and focused work time at home. According to ERC data and research, up to 79% of top performing workplaces offer some version of hybrid work schedules. 

16. Compressed Workweeks: Let employees work their required hours in fewer days (e.g., 4×10). This can free up an extra day for personal responsibilities while maintaining full productivity.
17. Flexible Hours & “Core” Availability: Set essential hours (e.g., 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) for meetings, and let employees choose the remaining times they work. This provides autonomy without sacrificing team collaboration. Again, per ERC, 72% of top performance workplaces offer flex time schedules. 
18. “Meeting-Free” Days: Designate one day a week (or month) with no scheduled meetings to encourage deep work and boost efficiency.
19. Work-from-Anywhere Trial: Offer employees a short-term experiment—like a “work-from-anywhere” month—allowing them to log in from any location.

Impact

• Measurable Gains in Productivity: Teams often complete tasks more efficiently when they can work during their most productive hours or in an environment that minimizes distractions.
• Reduced Absenteeism & Burnout: Flexible options help employees manage personal commitments, leading to fewer sick days and higher overall morale.
• Wider Talent Pool: Remote and hybrid approaches allow hiring from different geographic areas, helping you tap into a broader range of skills and experience.
• Happier Employees: Providing flexibility demonstrates trust, which can increase loyalty and lower turnover rates.

Improved Communication

Consistent, transparent communication helps employees see the big picture and understand how their roles support company goals. It also reduces confusion and silos.

Things to Try

20. Regular Team Huddles: Schedule brief, focused check-ins—daily or weekly—to align on goals, discuss updates, and tackle obstacles as a group.
21. Company-Wide Town Halls: Host open forums where leaders share business updates and invite questions. This promotes transparency from the top down and makes everyone feel heard.
22. Multichannel Communication: Use tools like Slack or Teams for quick messaging, email for formal updates, and intranet pages for reference materials. This keeps important info organized and accessible.
23. Anonymous Q&A: Allow employees to submit questions or concerns anonymously, then address them in huddles or Town Halls to answer questions in a judgment-free environment.

Impact

• Faster Decision-Making: Clear channels of communication reduce back-and-forth delays, speeding up projects.
• Reduced Confusion & Errors: Efficient communication leads to fewer mix-ups and more cohesive planning.
• Stronger Trust & Engagement: Transparency at all levels helps employees feel “in the loop,” more engaged, and less likely to leave. This bears out in ERC’s data and research which has clearly shown that employee engagement is higher when the organization’s leadership communicates consistent and clear information. 

Performance Management Programs

Supplementing annual reviews with ongoing feedback can improve engagement and goal-setting. Frequent check-ins help employees adjust quickly and recognize progress in real-time. 

Things to Try

24. Regular Check-Ins: Beyond annual appraisals, schedule more frequent, brief meetings where employees and supervisors discuss current projects, potential roadblocks, and growth opportunities.
25. 360-Degree Feedback: Gather input from peers, direct reports, and cross-functional teams. Collecting feedback from multiple angles helps provide more well-rounded insights.
26. Reverse Mentoring: Pair newer employees (often more tech-savvy or experienced in emerging trends) with seasoned leaders, who have more experience and institutional knowledge. Both parties benefit from each others’ perspectives and expand their skill sets.
27. Growth Sprints: Encourage employees to tackle specific skill-building or performance-improvement goals within a short timeframe. Share outcomes in a brief presentation or team debrief.

Impact

• Increased Accountability & Clarity: More frequent check-ins and goal setting reduce ambiguity, helping teams understand exactly what’s expected. So much so that according to ERC data and research, 97% of top performers understand how their contributions impact the organization’s overall performance. 
• Better Retention & Engagement: Employees who receive regular feedback and development opportunities are more motivated and less likely to seek new roles elsewhere. ERC engagement research has found all employees are more engaged when their supervisor provides regular feedback on their performance. 
• Quantifiable Performance Metrics: Setting clear benchmarks and monitoring progress helps leaders pinpoint high performers and identify skill gaps.
• Stronger Leadership Pipeline: Programs like reverse mentoring and growth sprints reveal emerging talent. This makes succession planning smoother and prepares future leaders.

Team-Building Activities

Well-planned team-building events strengthen relationships and improve collaboration. These activities also help employees learn about each other’s strengths and roles. From ERC’s research we know people and teams are frequently cited as reasons top performers stay. We also know 91% of award-winning organizations successfully use teambuilding as a retention strategy. 

Things to Try

28. Off-Site Workshops or Retreats: Organize structured activities that encourage team bonding—think trust exercises, problem-solving challenges, and collaborative games in a new environment.
29. Volunteering & Community Service Days: Rally teams around a shared cause. Working together in a non-work context builds camaraderie and a sense of shared purpose.
30. Cross-Department “Lunch & Learns”: Have teams from different areas meet over lunch to discuss projects, challenges, and insights.
31. Department “Swap” Day: Give employees the chance to work briefly in another department. This will give them a deeper appreciation for colleagues’ day-to-day tasks.

Impact

• Stronger Cross-Functional Collaboration: Teams that understand each other’s roles communicate more effectively. In fact, coworker cohesion is a key driver of employee engagement, based on ERC data.
• Improved Company Culture: Frequent, meaningful interactions across departments reinforce a culture of respect, innovation, and belonging.

Now that you have these strategies, the next step is to measure progress and see how your people actually feel. Gather the data you need with an employee engagement survey so you can identify initiatives that are meaningful to your team.