As yet another season of change is upon us, the spectrum of organizational challenges ahead can feel daunting. HR professionals must lead with a calm, human-centered, and data-driven perspective—blocking out the noise and focusing on what truly matters. It’s more important than ever for organizational leaders to invest in employee success.

As organizations continue to face challenges and shifts in volatile business environments, this report serves as a pivotal resource for leaders looking to foster a culture that engages employees, inspires performance, and retains top talent.

Our 2024 Employee Engagement Trends Report outlines some of the biggest employee engagement trends and critical issues we’re seeing , including:

• What trends are affecting employee engagement levels, performance management, and culture in 2024?
• What can organizations do to be proactive in volatile times?
• What does the future of engagement look like?

We firmly believe that insights without action is just trivia. So the trends we're sharing aren't meaningless employee engagement statistics and shallow takeaways. They will actually help you improve employee success in your organization. They'll help you understand the most important components of attracting, engaging, and retaining employees—and inspiring success. 

8 employee engagement trends impacting engagement, performance, and culture 

1. The "Big Stay" is here.

While quit rates are down, employee engagement rates are also down—making retention a top issue for this year. Retention strategies shouldn't be only about reducing turnover in the now. They should also help you prevent unwanted turnover in the future. Your employee retention strategy should be a top priority in any job market, helping keep talented employees for the long-term.

Our research shows: 

• Employees say now’s not a good time to find a new job. 
• Engagement rates are declining along with quit rates. 
• Employees would still leave for higher pay or a promotion. 
• Employees signal that they’re looking for a new job. 

From the Trends!

Employee engagement dropped for the first time in a decade in 2023. The data shows engagement levels are back to pre-pandemic numbers. 

2. You can't get by with a mediocre culture.

A good company culture is now the bare minimum employers need to attract the best and keep the best talent.

Culture exists whether you’re being intentional with it or not. As organizations look to drive employee experience and performance, they need to contend with this fact. Employees want a culture where they feel connected to their organization and team, are recognized for their work, and get feedback that helps them grow.

Our research shows: 

• Culture is the attitudes, actions, and behaviors of how work gets done.
• Culture impacts every employee's experience. 
• Culture is not about the physical office; it's about mission and values. 
• Engaged employees are more likely to say they have a positive culture. 
• Employees describe their ideal culture as inclusive, collaborative, and flexible. 
• Every role plays an important part in shaping organizational culture. 

From the Trends!

Two-thirds of employees say their workplace culture positively impacts them.

3. Employees expect you to act on survey results.

Organizations are stuck in a cycle of asking employees for their perspectives, analyzing the data, and asking employees again for their thoughts. But they’re missing an important component in their employee engagement strategies: action.

Insights without action will not move the needle on engagement, performance, or culture. Our research shows: 

• Organizations can improve on acting on employee feedback. 
• Post-survey action is inconsistent. 
• Lack of time and resources are a top reason for the lack of action. 
• Frequent surveying is associated with more engaged employees. 
• Leadership communication is connected to positive ROI on engagement efforts. 
• Everyone plays a role in acting on survey results. 
• Employees are more engaged when they play an active part in action planning. 

From the Trends!

Less than half of employees say their organization consistently acts on survey results. 

4. Engagement is the key to strong retention and performance. 

We’ve said before that engagement isn’t a pizza party or ping pong table. Engagement is the connection employees feel to their work, team, and organization. These activities don’t drive engagement because they don’t fix disengagement. 

Our research shows: 

• Turnover decreases when engagement increases. 
• Engaged employees aren’t job hunting. 
• Engaged employees stay at their organizations and have increased tenure. 
• Engaged employees have higher performance.

From the Trends!

Executives and business leaders feel the impact of engagement efforts. They say engagement directly impacts individual, team, and business performance. 

5. Employees want to drive organizational success. 

Employees are more likely to perform when they understand the impact of their work. That means they need to understand how their work is connected to organizational goals, be recognized for their work, and get feedback on how to improve.  

Our research shows: 

• Employees are more engaged when they have individual goals. 
• Setting and updating goals leads to increased engagement. 
• Goals focused on development/aligned with organizational goals increase engagement. 
• Employees want to be recognized for their work. 

From the Trends!

51% of all employees want more recognition for their work, but especially managers. 

6. Managers matter, but don't feel supported.

Every person isn’t born with management skills. But managers play a key part in driving engagement and performance through coaching employees and providing actionable feedback. The best thing organizations can do is support managers so they can pull that lever to overall organizational success. 

Our research shows: 

• Employees want frequent coaching, especially those who work in a remote work environment or hybrid work model. 
• Frequent feedback drives engagement and retention. 
• All employees, especially managers and directors, want more feedback. 
  
  

From the Trends!

Almost 70% of employees who receive feedback twice a year or less say they would like more. 

7. Organizations still aren't ready for AI.

Artificial intelligence has the potential to significantly impact the workplace. That’s why your organization needs an AI strategy to think about who your organization is in the world of AI. More organizations need to embrace the opportunities AI brings instead of waiting for it to impact their business. 

Our research shows: 

• Most employees aren’t using AI at work. 
• Most employees aren’t concerned that AI will impact their jobs in the next five years. 
• Leadership is using AI more than individual contributors. 
• Most employees don’t know their organization’s strategy for AI. 
• Employees want more training on AI. 

From the Trends!

Only 21% of employees have used AI at work in the past week. 

8. Change isn't the problem—how you manage it is.

One thing is certain. There will always be change. And it will always impact the workplace. Many think it is change that impacts employees the most, but that’s not the case. Your change management strategy determines the positive or negative impact of change. Our research shows: 

• Change impacts flight risk. 
• Change is more likely to impact tenured employees. 
• The top challenges with change is communication, staffing, and job uncertainty. 
• Employees want to know about change before it happens. 
• Employees who learn about change before it happens are more likely to be engaged. 
• Good change management can increase engagement. 
• The amount of change doesn’t have impact on engagement. 

Employees are 79% highly engaged when organizations frequently communicate change. 

Conclusion

We’ve only just scratched the surface of what this year looks like from an employee engagement and success perspective. 

As you strategize and outline action items to reach your organizational goals this year, using these trends can help you zero-in on your focus. Plan to make meaningful changes and constantly improve. Lean into adaptability. 

But most importantly, let data be your guide. Data is what empowers your organization to make the right decisions at the right time. 

Learn more about these trends and what you can do to build a culture of success within your organization by reading the full scoop in our 2024 Not Another Employee Engagement Trends Report.