24 Inexpensive Employee Engagement Ideas

Employee engagement is an essential part of any successful company and helps to create a positive work environment, but it isn’t always easy to develop employees’ engagement in the workplace.

With this in mind, organizations are now seeking creative and effective ways to improve employee engagement.

Below, we’ve listed the best employee engagement strategies that can help your organization boost team engagement for all employees, including remote workers. So, if you want to keep improving employee engagement, develop employee performance, and retain employees, we’ve developed the best employee engagement activities, suitable for all industries.

Why is Employee Engagement Important?

• Productivity and Performance
  Engaged employees are more likely to be productive and perform at their best. They are motivated to go above and beyond their job responsibilities, take initiative, and consistently deliver results. An engaged employee also tends to be more innovative, as they feel empowered to share their ideas and contribute to the company’s vision.
• Employee Retention and Increased Job Satisfaction
  When employees are engaged, they are less likely to leave the organization. They feel a sense of loyalty and are invested in the company’s success. Studies have shown that organizations with engaged employees experience significantly lower employee turnover rates, resulting in substantial cost savings associated with recruitment, onboarding, and training new employees.
• Engaged Employees = Positive Work Environment
  An employee engagement program contributes to a positive work culture. Engaged employees are more likely to form positive relationships with other team members, seek opportunities for personal development, and support one another. This sense of camaraderie and teamwork leads to a more pleasant and rewarding workplace for everyone.

Employee Engagement Ideas And Activities

We’ve categorized our employee engagement activities based on different factors that measure employee engagement.

• Clear Communication
• Recognition and Rewards
• Training and Development
• Employee Wellness
• Fun Employee Engagement Ideas

Clear Communication

Arguably the most effective way of keeping employees engaged is through clear communication. Clear, honest communication plays a crucial role in employee engagement.

Let’s take a look at the best ways to improve communication to foster better employee engagement.

Employee Satisfaction Surveys

One way to boost communication and transparency in the workplace is through employee surveys. These should be sent out at the end of every quarter, or even every month if you prefer, but try not to overwhelm employees with what can seem like additional work. Keep the survey short and anonymous, requesting employee feedback and areas for improvement.

Decision Making

Provide opportunities for all employees to be involved in decision-making in the workplace. This is best done at meetings, allowing employees, including remote employees, to voice their opinions in a safe space and knowing that their contributions and ideas will be taken seriously by senior leadership. 

Communicate Company Goals

Ensure that company goals and organizational strategies are clearly communicated to all employees, to ensure that there is no confusion over the purpose behind the work. This transparency enables employees to feel that their work is valued, as well as motivating them to work together on a shared goal. 

Foster a Sense of Collaboration

Encourage all departments to work together, creating a sense of alignment and collaboration amongst employees. This can help to keep employees engaged, creating a fresh atmosphere in the workplace, with employees from different departments sharing ideas in meetings, either in-person or online.

Hearing perspectives from different departments and people within different sectors of the company can ensure that everyone is on the same page, and the company will undoubtedly run more smoothly with this holistic approach to communication. 

Team-Building Exercises On

the theme of collaboration, team-building exercises are an excellent way to improve communication across co-workers, and can help to better engage employees. Team-building exercises can range from in-house group projects and problem-solving tasks, to team outings at escape rooms or outdoor activity centers. 

A Suggestions Box

Implement a suggestions or ideas box in the workplace, so that employees can anonymously submit ideas, big or small, that can help improve their work environment. Encourage employees to share ideas about anything, such as improving facilities in the office, to ideas for meetings. This makes employees feel valued and lets them know they have a say in how things are run at work.

Recognition and Rewards

Recognizing and appreciating employees’ efforts and achievements is essential to their engagement, and also creates a positive company culture.

Implementing a formal recognition program that acknowledges outstanding performance, milestones, or innovative ideas can motivate employees to continue striving for excellence. Personalized employee gifts such as gift cards, additional time off, or team celebrations can also boost employee morale and job satisfaction.

Celebrate Employee Milestones

This is a great way to ensure that employees remain engaged at work, as they know that their hard work will be recognized. Examples of milestones can include work anniversaries or achieving important goals, such as a certain number of sales for the month. You can celebrate with a small party at lunchtime, paying for after-work drinks, or giving a gift to the employee. 

Implement Small, Regular Rewards

This helps to ensure that employees are consistently recognized for their hard work, as opposed to big, one-off events, and it can therefore inspire employees across the team. Reward employees with an early finish on a Friday or spontaneous, paid-for team lunches. These rewards should benefit all employees and help to keep employees excited about their contributions in the workplace.

Employee Awards Ceremony

In contrast to small, regular rewards, the recognition of your employees and their hard work can also be celebrated in an end-of-year awards ceremony. Whether you run a small business or a large company, these kinds of company events are essential to making employees feel valued.

Peer-to-Peer Recognition

To help create a culture of recognition and celebrating each other, peer-to-peer recognition is a great place to start. This method encourages employees to publicly recognize their fellow team members’ achievements and contributions in the workplace.
One simple way to implement peer-to-peer recognition is during meetings, asking each member of the department to share something positive about the person next to them, or if they’ve noticed something that stands out about a particular employee’s efforts that week.

Training and Development

Offering professional development opportunities is a crucial employee engagement strategy. Providing access to training programs, workshops, and resources not only helps to train employees but also demonstrates the organization’s commitment to their growth.

Establish a Mentorship Program

This works particularly well if you work for a large company with lots of employees, but it’s highly beneficial if you can do this for a small business, too.

After the hiring process, a mentorship program involves pairing new hires with more established employees, someone who can help to show them to ropes of the job. This helps to facilitate employee development and growth, whilst also ensuring that employees feel supported throughout their training.

Design and Organize Training Workshops

Workshops are an excellent way for employees to build new skills and improve upon old ones. You can design workshops yourself or with other colleagues, or research the best training workshops in your area that fit the skills necessary for employee growth in your company. Workshops are also a good opportunity to invite speakers and HR professionals in your industry to visit and share their insights with employees.

Encourage Involvement in Corporate Social Responsibility Programs

A great way to increase employee engagement and ensure that employees understand their purpose in the workplace on a larger scale is to offer opportunities for employees to participate in social responsibility programs. These can involve charity events, volunteer work, or looking at ways to reduce the company’s carbon footprint. 

Invite Employees to Attend Conferences and Professional Development Events

Keep up-to-date with the latest industry conferences and ask employees to attend when possible, helping them to stay engaged with their work. These events can be incredibly motivational and provide a boost to employees during slower work periods.

Establish Clear and Achievable Goals for Employees

All employees should be aware of their goals in the workplace, and things that they can work towards to help them develop. Employee engagement comes from employees understanding how their work contributes to the organization’s overall success, so have the leadership team meet with employees at the beginning of the year to discuss meaningful goals that they can strive for that align with the company values.

Employee Wellness Ideas

A healthy employee is an employee at their best, and it’s crucial that employees are supported during their time at work. Prioritizing employee well-being sends the message that an organization values its employees’ overall health and happiness, and helps to promote a healthy work-life balance.

Here are some ways to help disengaged employees with their wellbeing, and thus create a more engaged workforce overall.

Flexible Working Arrangements

This requires an element of trust on your part, but that trust helps to build employee engagement and stops employees from feeling micromanaged or overwhelmed. Remote work options and flexible hours help employees to have a healthier work-life balance, and prevent burnout.

Create a Comfortable Office Space

A comfortable workspace is essential to employee productivity and engagement. Ensure that facilities, such as computers, are up-to-date and in good working order, with the best quality applications installed on them.
Amenities should be provided in an office if the space provides it, such as a clean kitchen with stocked tea and coffee, and a comfortable seating area for employees to relax during their breaks. These small things go a long way in improving employee wellness.

Organize a Health and Wellness ProgramH

ealth and Wellness programs can include mindfulness retreats, fitness activities, or workplace yoga and meditation. Having these events available to employees ensures that they know the company prioritizes employee mental health and well-being.
Employees can use these events to better themselves and thus approach work with a more positive mindset. Some of your employees will also have very busy personal lives outside of work, so these programs can be a quiet space for them to relax and rest their minds. 

Create a Comprehensive Employee Benefits Package

This should meet employee needs and expectations, as well as be a flexible package. Don’t offer anything that you can’t provide to employees, but instead keep it positive and realistic, such as offering health insurance, retirement plans, and wellness programs. 

Encourage Diversity and Inclusion

Promote equal opportunities in the workplace, and ensure that there are clear rules against disrespect and discrimination of others. All employees should feel safe and know that any mistreatment will be dealt with properly. If possible, organize events based around the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, as an interactive way to encourage to employees to engage with this topic.

Fun Employee Engagement Ideas

Organizing team-building activities, offsite retreats, or social gatherings can promote collaboration, build stronger relationships, and foster a positive work culture. Creating opportunities for employees to socialize and have fun together can enhance their sense of belonging and commitment to the organization.

Every month, schedule one day where employees can take part in a fun event, something completely non-work related. If time is tight, schedule this for one morning or afternoon, instead. 

Below are some ideas for fun workplace activities.

Games Day

A games day is a great way to get employees working together outside of their usual work setting. Organize competitive games employees can play together, such as board games or video games. 

Work Olympics

A ‘Work Olympics’ is a fun idea that encourages team members to work together, with a side of healthy competition. This can be sports-based or can be based around office objects, for a fun twist.

Themed Days

Host themed days or weeks, encouraging employees to dress up in a particular costume. Some examples are 70s Day, Superhero Day, and Dress as Your High School Self. These kinds of events help to boost employee morale and help to eliminate the notion of work as a miserable, exhausting place to be. 

Trivia Questions

A fun idea that can also include remote team members is a trivia quiz. This is a great way for employees to take their minds off of work and have some competitive fun without any work-related pressure.

Use Employee Engagement Initiatives to Support Growth and Development

Employee engagement is essential for organizations seeking long-term success. Engaged employees not only contribute to increased productivity and profitability but also drive a positive culture of continuous improvement.

By implementing even a handful of the ideas above and adopting a genuine commitment towards employee engagement, you can create a motivated and loyal workforce ready to take on any challenge, and one where employees achieve excellent results.