Employee engagement isn’t about fleeting moments of motivation or surface-level perks. Instead, employee engagement activities mean creating a workplace where people feel invested in, heard, and consistently empowered to do their best.

When done well, engagement goes far beyond job satisfaction. It drives performance, boosts innovation, enhances retention, and impacts your bottom line.

According to Gallup, highly engaged teams experience 23% greater profitability, up to 51% less turnover, and a 78% decrease in absenteeism. On the flip side,  low employee engagement costs the global economy $8.9 trillion, or 9% of global GDP. The message is clear employee engagement isn’t just a “nice-to-have.” Instead, it’s business-critical.

In this post, you’ll find employee engagement activities, best practices, interactive team building programs, and more.

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How to Make Employee Engagement a Priority

Employee engagement doesn’t have to be complicated. Ultimately, it’s about creating a workplace where people feel supported, appreciated, and connected to their work.

Engaging your team might look like arranging regular check-ins, encouraging open communication, offering chances to learn new things, or simply recognizing someone for a job well done.

Even small actions like asking for feedback, showing appreciation, or being flexible when life gets busy can make a big difference. The key is consistency. Employee engagement activities aren’t a one-time effort; they’re something that can help your team feel genuinely valued throughout the year.

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Why Engagement Isn’t Optional Anymore in the Workplace

Prioritizing employee engagement isn’t just the “right thing” to do. It’ also a smart business move. Research consistently shows that engaged employees help to drive better outcomes across the board.

According to McKinsey, employee disengagement and attrition can cost a median-size S&P 500 company between $228 million and $355 million annually in lost productivity.

On the other hand, companies that prioritize people and performance are 4.2 times more likely to outperform their competitors. Additionally, they see an average of 30% higher revenue growth, according to another McKinsey article.

The takeaway? Employee engagement isn’t just about morale; it’s a business-critical investment. Ignoring how engaged your employees feel can lead to costly turnover and lagging performance, while investing in it can drive innovation, productivity, and long-term growth.

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What Gets in the Way?

Misunderstanding the Meaning of Engagement

Some organizations still confuse engagement with employee happiness, fun perks, or ping-pong tables. While those things can boost morale, true engagement runs much deeper. It’s built on trust, meaningful work, and shared purpose that leaves employees feeling included, empowered, and fulfilled.

The “Too Busy” Management Trap

Leaders with full calendars and constant pressures often delay engagement efforts. They may assume they can get to it later or that other matters are more pressing. But consistent connection, recognition, and support can’t wait for downtime. As we explore in this article, they are often critical drivers of business success.

When Culture and Strategy Don’t Talk to Each Other

Even well-intentioned efforts fall flat when your employee engagement tactics don’t align with your overall business goals or company culture. When culture and strategy are disconnected, employees receive mixed messages – and over time, trust erodes.

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20+ Proven Ways to Improve Employee Engagement

Whether you’re building your team’s culture from the ground up, or looking to enhance your existing team building efforts, the tips below can help you create a more connected and motivated team. From personalized support to team recognition and training, here’s how to build employee engagement into your everyday.

Model Your Company Values and Mission

When employees see leadership consistently demonstrate company values, it builds trust, clarity, and a sense of shared purpose. Create a clear mission statement, reinforce core values during meetings, and recognize behaviors that reflect those values in action.

Prioritize Feedback

Consistent feedback fuels growth and signals that employee contributions matter. Use a mix of methods including scheduled check-ins, anonymous surveys, and casual conversations to ensure feedback feels natural and personalized. Additionally, you can ask employees how they prefer to receive feedback and praise.

Concentrate on Engaging Management

Managers are the frontline of engagement. Equip them with tools, training, and leadership development to become coaches, not just task managers. Encourage all managers to connect with their teams beyond performance metrics and daily tasks.

Instead, check in on how employees are feeling, where they may be struggling, and what support they might need over the long-term to thrive in their role.

Host Employee Engagement Activities

Schedule engaging team programs that allow employees to build morale and grow their knowledge together. Monthly or quarterly employee engagement activities can help connect in-person and remote workers, providing valuable opportunities to form new and stronger connections. As a result, teams feel more connected and work seamlessly together.

To book a top-rated, dynamic virtual team building session your employees will love, hit the button below! Unexpected Virtual Tours & Training offers programs for top teams around the globe, with a 5-star rating from nearly 3,000 Google reviews!

Coordinate Volunteer Opportunities

Meaningful work can extend beyond company walls. Organize volunteer events or offer paid volunteer days to connect employees with community causes. These types of activities help build bonds between team members and align the company with a larger purpose.

Prioritize Physical and Mental Health

When employees feel their best, they’re more able to contribute to and engage with the team. Consider offering mental health resources, wellness stipends, meditation sessions, or fitness classes to your team. Small benefits like healthy snacks or ergonomic chairs show employees the organization cares and creates a more energizing environment.

Recognize Top Performers

We all want to be noticed for our efforts and hard work, and your employees are no exception. For those who like celebratory attention, acknowledge wins publicly in meetings, newsletters, or your internal chat tool. Use shout-outs, work anniversary messages, or small rewards to show appreciation regularly.

Also bear in mind that some introverted employees may prefer to stay out of the limelight! Personality tests and honest conversations can help you gauge the best ways to recognize each individual team member.

Conduct Frequent Engagement Surveys

Frequent surveys (especially short “pulse” ones) let employees feel heard and give you actionable data to improve team culture. Share results transparently and follow up with visible changes so employees know that their voices matter.

Foster Innovation Through Passion Projects

Encourage on-the-clock creativity and experimentation by supporting employees in stepping outside their daily roles and pursuing passion projects or cross-functional experiments. For example, you could allocate one day per quarter for innovation, or hold internal “hackathons” to generate fresh ideas.

Create an Intentional Onboarding Process

Engagement starts on day one. Make onboarding welcoming, informative, and organized. Assign mentors, introduce core values early, offer tours, and give new hires space to ask questions and get to know the team.

Plan Company Outings

Try lunches, game nights, or hybrid team building activities to help employees connect personally, not just professionally. Offer a variety of employee engagement activity options so that different personalities feel included.

Offer Professional Development

Show employees that they have a future with your company. Map out career paths, provide learning stipends, and offer promotions or lateral moves based on strengths – not just tenure with the organization.

Encourage Training Opportunities

Learning something new lights up our brains and fuels motivation. To encourage ongoing education within your company, consider offering structured workshops, cross-training opportunities, or reimbursing skill-building courses. You can also let team members teach each other through lunch-and-learns or peer sessions.

Address Inefficiencies

Ask employees which processes or tools slow them down and work to make improvements. Automate where possible, and invest in tools that remove friction from employees’ day-to-day work. By removing these points of frustration, you can help employees feel and perform their best.

Provide Flexibility

Flexible work arrangements can increase autonomy, build trust, and even promote higher productivity. To stay competitive, offer remote or hybrid work options, flexible hours, and the freedom to manage time around personal commitments.

Form Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)

Foster inclusion and belonging; learn how to start an ERG (Employee Resource Group) that empowers everyone.

From mentorship to professional speaking opportunities and service activities, ERGs are a valuable way to help employees build skills and connections outside of their roles.

Train Managers in Engagement

Teach managers (especially first-time managers) how to deliver feedback, mentor employees, and balance expectations with empathy. Specifically, managers may need support when it comes to learning new coaching techniques, handling conflict resolution, and building their emotional intelligence so they can lead with empathy and consistency.

Starting with a workplace personality assessment, such as CliftonStrengths or Meyers-Briggs, can bring self awareness and clarity to the process, as well as shedding light on variations in personality and leadership style in the workplace.

Make Engagement a Daily Practice

Don’t wait for annual reviews to talk about engagement. Embed it into weekly meetings, one-on-ones, and regular performance check-ins. Small, frequent efforts to understand how engaged team members are show that culture is a daily priority.

Personalize the Employee Experience

Know what drives each individual, and meet them there.  Not every employee is motivated the same way. Learn what drives each person – recognition, flexibility, challenge, or connection – and adapt your engagement efforts accordingly. Consider using personality tests to inform this process.

Ask Employees to Help Solve Real Problems

Invite employees into problem-solving conversations. Give them ownership of decisions that affect their day-to-day work and encourage them to take risks without fear of blame.

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Turning Engagement into a Leadership Priority

Employee engagement doesn’t happen by accident; it starts at the top. When leaders prioritize connection, culture, and communication, engagement becomes part of the way your organization operates every day. Read on to discover how to turn engagement into a leadership priority at your organization.

Make Engagement a Measurable Business Metric

If you want to improve engagement, a good starting point it to track it as you would any other business priority. Incorporate employee engagement into your KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), and internal dashboards.

Whether you measure engagement through survey participation, manager check-in frequency, or employee Net Promoter Scores, consistent measurement keeps engagement top of mind and signals that it matters at every level of the organization.

Set the Tone at the Top

Employees naturally look to executives and managers to set the tone for company culture. When leaders visibly align themselves with the company’s values and participate in employee engagement activities, it sets a powerful example for the rest of the team.

This doesn’t mean you have to make grand gestures, unless that’s your style and you enjoy doing so! Instead, modeling engagement is about being present, approachable, and aligned in word and action. When leaders show up as real people who care, employees are more likely to feel seen and inspired.

Train Managers to Own Engagement

Your managers often have the biggest day-to-day impact on employee experience. Especially for first-time managers, equip them with the knowledge and training they need to lead with empathy, communicate effectively, and foster psychological safety.

When mid-level leaders understand their role in creating a thriving culture (and are held accountable for it), engagement becomes a natural part of their leadership approach.

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What Happens When Engagement Is a Priority

Making engagement a priority isn’t just good for morale – it also drives real business outcomes. When employees feel connected, supported, and inspired, the whole organization benefits. Here’s what you can expect when engagement is baked into your culture.

Higher Retention, Lower Turnover

Simply put, engaged employees are more likely to stay. One Gallup analysis found that teams scoring in the top quartile for employee engagement experienced 21% less turnover (for high-turnover organizations) and  51% less turnover (for low-turnover organizations).

Lower employee turnover means less time and money spent on recruiting and training – and more institutional knowledge retained over time.

Stronger Team Performance and Innovation

Engaged teams don’t just work harder; they work smarter. When people feel valued and heard, they’re more willing to contribute ideas, solve problems creatively, and support one another.

The numbers bear this out, too. An article from Forbes titled Employees in Action: Unlocking Profit Through an Engaged Workforce shares how high employee engagement can yield 23% more profitability.

Resilience During Change or Crisis

Whether it’s a reorganization, merger, layoffs, or an unexpected shift in direction, engaged employees are more likely to weather the storm alongside you. Their sense of connection keeps them grounded, adaptable, and committed – even in the face of uncertainty.

Investing in employee engagement today builds the foundation for resilience tomorrow. It’s a proactive step that helps your team stay strong, focused, and united when challenges arise.

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Our Final Thoughts: Engagement Isn’t Extra, It’s Essential

Employee engagement isn’t a bonus or a one-time project. Rather, it’s the foundation for growth, connection, and resilience. As we’ve explored, the most successful organizations treat engagement not as an initiative, but as a leadership mindset woven into daily practices.

At Unexpected Virtual Tours & Training, we help teams strengthen culture through interactive, DEI-infused experiences that drive connection and collaboration. Ready to make engagement a lasting part of your workplace? Explore our virtual team building and training programs today to get started.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Employee Engagement

How Do You Keep Engagement High During Busy Seasons?

During peak times, it’s easy for engagement to fall by the wayside – but those are the moments it matters most. Focus on micro-engagements: small, meaningful employee engagement activities that show team members they’re appreciated. A quick thank-you, a two-minute check-in, or even a Slack shout-out can go a long way.

Even when time is tight, make space to recognize hard work, ask how people are doing, and keep the lines of communication open. These simple gestures help prevent burnout and reinforce that your team’s efforts aren’t going unnoticed.

What If Some Employees Just Don’t Want to Engage?

Not everyone will be equally enthusiastic about every initiative, and that’s okay. Engagement isn’t one-size-fits-all. Instead of forcing participation, offer a variety of ways for employees to connect, contribute, and feel valued.

Some might thrive in team-building games, while others prefer volunteering, creative projects, or behind-the-scenes support roles. The key is to listen without judgment and create space for different personalities, communication styles, and comfort levels. Over time, even quiet contributors often find their own way to engage when the environment feels safe and inclusive.

Can Remote Teams Really Be as Engaged?

Absolutely. Remote engagement just requires intention and creativity. Start with consistent, clear communication – and don’t let remote workers feel like an afterthought.

Make meetings interactive, use video when possible, and include space for informal conversations or team bonding. You can also explore virtual employee event ideas, host small recognition rituals, and send thoughtful gestures like digital thank-you notes or surprise care packages to strengthen connection.

When remote employees feel included and valued, they’re just as capable of being engaged as any in-office team.

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Make Employee Engagement Easy

Looking for fun and easy employee engagement activities for your team? Fill out the short form below, and we’ll be in touch to share more about our top-rated virtual experiences! From custom programs instilling your corporate values to sessions on music, sports, and history – there’s something for everyone.