How Can You Increase Sagging Employee Engagement? Get Human

By Andrea Goodkin , Executive Vice President and leader of HUB’s People & Technology practice

Employee engagement is one of those things that seems great until it isn’t. You might not even notice it until it’s gone — until productivity and retention have fallen off a cliff.

And engagement isn’t great these days: For every 1.8 employees who say they’re engaged with work, one isn’t. If that sounds like a strong number, consider the number was 2.1 engaged workers to each unengaged worker in 2021, and 2.6 to 1 in 2020.[1]

You may see declining engagement at your organization. But even if you don’t, boosting engagement is key in boosting recruiting and retention.

One of the most effective ways to improve engagement may not be obvious, but it can work wonders: Reevaluate the employee value proposition through a human lens.

Evaluating engagement needs a new point of view — the employee’s

There are several reasons for declining engagement, including less emphasis on careers following the COVID-19 pandemic, better opportunities elsewhere and favoring environments that offer greater flexibility through hybrid work.

These reasons suggest organizations may not be considering workers’ wants and needs in crafting a value proposition. A “humanistic” employee value proposition gives workers compelling reasons to stay — and stay motivated.

Such a value proposition considers an employee’s point of view: They want to be engaged with work, but they don’t feel as if their employer is making it worth their while, financially or emotionally.

Individuals consider themselves someone with wants, needs and even a personality completely separate from work. Add that up for a workforce, and you get people, not anonymous employees, who need work conditions, compensation and benefits that fulfill their professional and personal needs.

Flexible work becomes more than a perk

As employers, it means reevaluating the role that work plays in an employee’s life, not the role life plays in their job. Think about it with work flexibility. Many employees have come to rely upon flexibility as a necessary element to balance their work and personal lives.

And to those individuals, this can be less a perk than a baseline requirement, making it a fundamental part of the employee value proposition. It’s something that helps meet their human needs. Extend this lens to other parts of the employee value proposition, and employers can offer an environment, benefits and compensation that will improve engagement.

Ultimately, an employee value proposition that fosters an emotional connection with the organization will help engagement. Underlying that value proposition are managers with empathy and compassion, or who are more humanistic, if you will.

Now, executives may bristle at the thought of being empathetic, and 68% of CEOs feel they will lose respect if they show empathy in the workplace.[2] But consider what doing so gets in return: a more engaged and more productive workforce that’s more likely to stick around when there’s opportunities elsewhere.

HUB's People & Technology practice can help connect the dots between high-tech HR functions and high touch service. Learn more here or comment below to start a conversation.

[1] Gallup, “U.S. Employee Engagement Needs a Rebound in 2023 ,” January 25, 2023.

[2] Fast Company, “Stop telling managers to be empathetic. Try this instead ,” November 11, 2021.