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Employee Engagement

2 min read
December 3, 2025
Employee Engagement

High employee engagement is essential for organizations because it leads to loyal and motivated employees. Employee engagement can increase competitive advantage. Measuring and enhancing employee engagement is done through an employee engagement survey.

 

What is Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is different from employee satisfaction. Employee engagement focuses more on passion for work and a strong connection with the organization. An engaged employee exhibits positive behavior towards the organization and its goals. Employee engagement includes loyalty, enthusiasm, and motivation of employees.

What Contributes to High Engagement?

There are several factors that contribute to high employee engagement:

  • The personal goals of employees should align with those of the organization. Employees will be more motivated and engaged if they see that their work has an impact. Therefore, give employees a voice to provide input.
  • There should be good career advancement opportunities within the organization. This way, employees focus more on the long term, which increases employee engagement. It also reduces the risk of unwanted turnover.
  • Expressing satisfaction with employees is important. Employees become more engaged through positive feedback, such as a simple compliment!

High employee engagement should not be taken for granted. Therefore, it is useful to measure employee engagement through an employee engagement survey. The insights from this survey can then be used to decide on actions to improve employee engagement.

Measuring Employee Engagement

If you want to increase the level of engagement in your organization, you must first measure employee engagement. An employee engagement survey is the way to enhance employee engagement. This survey measures loyalty, enthusiasm, and motivation of employees. The results show which teams have high employee engagement, where engagement is not as high, and where improvements are possible. Teams with many engaged employees generally work more efficiently and perform better.

Increasing Employee Engagement

Employee engagement can be increased in several ways. First, it is wise to thoroughly analyze the results from the employee engagement survey to see in which teams employee engagement is lowest and where improvements can be made. There are several ‘standard’ points that are often important for employee engagement:

  • Giving Employees Enough Space
  • Providing Good Career Advancement Opportunities
  • Opportunities for Self-Development
  • Transparency from Management
  • An employee should know why they are doing their work

Once it is clear which points need attention, it is advisable to engage in a dialogue with employees about how these points can be improved. This dialogue brings us to point two. It is extremely important to show employees that their input is taken seriously and that action is actually taken. Nothing is as demotivating as an employee survey for show. This may seem obvious, but in daily practice, Highberg still sees too little follow-up on employee surveys.

Benefits of Employee Engagement

The benefits of employee engagement are significant. Employee engagement determines the success of the organization. Organizations with few engaged employees remain stagnant, while organizations with many engaged employees grow. Engaged employees take those extra steps that others do not and take on tasks that would otherwise be left undone. They see the importance of the organization. Additionally, an engaged employee performs more work (more productive) because they feel a connection with the organization’s goals and strategy. The loyalty of an engaged employee is high, which results in less turnover, less absenteeism, and longer retention of knowledge within the organization. Engagement also leads to positive statements about the organization externally, such as positive stories towards customers (higher NPS), friends, and family (higher eNPS). Besides engagement, it is also important to measure employee satisfaction, because without satisfied employees, engaged employees are not as valuable. These two go hand in hand!

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How Can Highberg Help You with Higher Employee Engagement?

Contact Our Expert Gido van Puijenbroek Without Obligation
Gido is Managing Partner at Highberg and holds an MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management Gido specializes in AI Driven HR. With more than a decade of experience in the field of HR Analytics & AI, he has successfully collaborated with organizations such as ASML, NN Group, Jumbo Supermarkets, FrieslandCampina, and AS Watson —helping them leverage AI to improve both the Employee Experience and overall business performance. He regularly speaks at industry conferences and leading business universities such as Nyenrode, showcasing his results‑oriented approach to AI Driven HR. His strength lies in defining a People Analytics & AI north star, turning the north star into a practical roadmap and organizing execution momentum. Want to know more? Connect with Gido on LinkedIn.
  • gido.vanpuijenbroek@highberg.com
Get to know Gido
Gido van Puijenbroek
Partner

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