By Jay Caldwell
For good reason, employee engagement has become a key focus for organizations worldwide. It is closely linked to productivity and retention. Understanding what drives engagement—and strategies to nurture it—can help employers create environments where workers thrive, leading to tangible benefits for both individuals and the organization.
According to ADP Research’s Today at Work 2025, Issue 1 report, nearly one in five workers worldwide reported being fully engaged on the job in 2024—a record high in data going back a decade. This was the third consecutive year the share of engaged workers grew. Globally, 19% of employees say they feel fully engaged on the job, up five percentage points from the pandemic low of 14% in 2020.
Employers can consider the following factors and strategies to continue driving employee engagement within their organizations.
Understanding What Drives Engagement While there are a multitude of factors pushing engagement, a few stand out in the recent research report.
Leaders make a difference. ADP Research finds that when the team leader is fully engaged at work, 65% of team members are fully engaged as well, compared to 35% who are not fully engaged. In comparison, when the team leader is not fully engaged, less than 1% of team members are fully engaged, while 99% are not fully engaged.
Teamwork has an impact. Teamwork is imperative for organizational success for many reasons, including engagement. According to ADP Research, 55% of workers who feel they are on the best team report full engagement compared to 10% who do not believe they are on the best team. There's room to improve here. The analysis finds 19% of global workers believe they are on the best team.
Location is key. Each company is different in their needs and functions. Because of this, some organizations are not able to offer flexible working arrangements like others can. If the organization is able to provide workers with more location flexibility, the analysis offers some interesting findings. Within the U.S., 31% of hybrid workers report full engagement, compared to 24% of office workers and 16% of remote workers.
As technology is impacting the workplace now more than ever and workers are questioning if they have the skillset for the future, supporting growth is essential to keeping employees engaged. In fact, ADP research finds workers who feel strongly that their employer is providing the training they need are nearly six times more likely to recommend their company as a great place to work.
Strategies to Nurture EngagementThere are a few strategies that businesses should consider when working to keep employee engagement moving in the right direction.
Emphasize leader engagement and team design. According to the data, both engaged leaders and strong teams can have an outsized impact on lifting engagement throughout the organization. If leaders are engaged, this engagement may trickle down to the rest of the company. Prioritizing engagement among leaders can provide a tremendous ROI for leaders with limited resources who are unable to develop a comprehensive engagement strategy touching the entire organization. Additionally, evaluating current team structures is a targeted tactic that can bring broader benefits. Are teams built in the best way possible to ensure collaboration, transparency, and productivity? Are certain teams not gelling? Are other teams not communicating enough?
Define the future. From executives to team leaders to individual contributors, defining the future of the business with clear communication is key to engagement. When workers know the direction and long-term goals of the business, they’re more likely to be motivated to help achieve those goals, while being less likely to wonder why there is a lack of communication. Better yet, involving leaders and employees in shaping the company’s future direction so they can see their fingerprints in the company’s strategy can be even more impactful. Involve employees throughout the organization in strategy creation rather than looking at them as an execution arm. Seek their input and expertise as it’s likely they are dealing with day-to-day things that would be instrumental in shaping strategy. This kind of involvement can get the whole organization on the same page and rowing in the same direction, which is a big plus for engagement. In addition to defining the future of the organization, it’s important to also articulate what is expected of employees. This could include key projects in the short and long term, skills, approach to management, and expected behaviors.
Frequent communication is key. Today, there are a number of HR technology solutions that offer leaders and team members a platform to check-in on a recurring basis and align on strengths, weaknesses, goals, and priorities—no matter where they are based.
Invest in the future. Continuous investment in career and skills development demonstrates to employees that leaders are committed to their long-term success at the organization and beyond. On career development, are leaders having conversations with workers at every level to understand where they’d like to go and help lay out a plan to get there? When it comes to skills development, investing in on-the-job learning and creating space for workers to build new skills while also doing their current job is crucial. As technology is impacting the workplace now more than ever and workers are questioning if they have the skillset for the future, supporting growth is essential to keeping employees engaged. In fact, ADP Research finds workers who feel strongly that their employer is providing the training they need are nearly six times more likely to recommend their company as a great place to work and 3.3 times more likely to describe themselves as highly productive.
Recognize employees. Recognizing great work is core to lifting engagement within the organization. How do team leaders recognize individual contributors for their work on a specific project? How do executives recognize team leaders for spearheading a successful project or for implementing a new strategy? How does the organization recognize them for driving the engagement and retention of the workforce?
Analyze and improve workflows. Take time to review the systems, tasks, and processes that managers and their teams are expected to execute against and identify opportunities to create efficiencies and improve experiences. Streamlining workflows can make for a more enjoyable experience, which can help nurture engagement. It shows care and appreciation for the everyday work that’s being done at the organization. Additionally, looking at the HR tools and systems managers use on a daily basis to ensure they provide the best experience possible can remove the friction that gets in the way of focusing on their people. Organizational engagement is a key ingredient to long-term business morale and success. In a world that’s constantly evolving, nurturing engagement within the workforce can bring consistency and certainty so that the business is prepared to always succeed.
Jay Caldwell is chief talent officer for ADP.