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How well does your company engage its employees? Unless you’re running regular employee engagement surveys, you really can’t be sure. 

Employee engagement is the process of ensuring your workforce feels invested in their work and your organization. It’s associated with a lot of business benefits, including better employee retention, performance, and productivity.

Regular employee surveys show you how you’re doing in terms of employee engagement. Surveys reveal employee sentiment and help identify areas for improvement. 

Depending on the questions you ask, they can tell you how employees feel about their work-life balance and wellbeing. They can reveal insights into internal communications and your training programs. They can also shine a light on company culture.

Surveys are particularly important when we consider the issues many organizations have motivating and engaging their staff. According to Gallup research, only 23% of the global workforce is engaged at work.

For frontline teams, engagement can be an even bigger problem. Frontline employees are less trusting and more likely to experience burnout than their desk-based peers. According to Qualtrics research, they’re also less happy with pay and benefits, less satisfied with career development, and less trusting of leadership than non-frontline workers.

Engaging all employees — including those on the frontline — is a challenge. You’re better equipped to take on that challenge when you have the right data at your disposal. That means getting reliable insights with regular employee engagement surveys.

Here, we take a look at how employee experience surveys benefit your business. We share some survey best practices and some employee engagement survey question examples, too.

We’ll be covering:

• Benefits of conducting regular employee engagement surveys
• Key ingredients for effective employee engagement surveys
• The three types of employee engagement survey question
• 46 employee engagement survey question examples
• Using technology to improve the employee survey process

Benefits of conducting regular employee engagement surveys

The annual employee survey is no longer enough.

82% of HR leaders consider it very important or important to increase the frequency of employee listening over the next three years. 57% say they’re running employee experience surveys every quarter at a minimum.

So should you follow suit? Here’s why taking the time to conduct regular employee engagement surveys is well worth your while.

• Track employee sentiment. Regular surveys help you keep your finger on the pulse of your organization. You see how your workforce views employee experience at your company at any given moment. This ensures engagement issues — like low morale and high turnover — don’t take you by surprise.
  
  
• Identify areas for improvement. Employee engagement surveys take guesswork out of the equation. By drilling down into survey data, you identify the departments, teams, and areas of employee experience that are most in need of work. You learn what motivates employees and which changes to company culture they want to see.
  
  
• Give all employees a voice. Frontline workers don’t tend to spend a lot of time working alongside managers. So assessing employee sentiment on an informal basis is difficult, if not impossible. A structured survey strategy ensures you hear voices from across the organization. This means more meaningful and valuable insights.
  
  
• Improve business performance. Higher levels of employee engagement lead to better employee performance, productivity, and loyalty. They also provide a host of other business performance benefits. By incorporating employee surveys into your employee experience strategy, you improve engagement and make your organization more successful, too.
  

Key ingredients for effective employee engagement surveys

Before you start putting together employee survey questions, it’s important to establish a few best practices. By incorporating these key ingredients, you create surveys that yield meaningful data and encourage employee participation, too.

To build surveys into your company culture, you need the following.

1. A selection of appropriate survey questions

Employee survey questions should be aligned with your organization and its goals. They also need to be worded in such a way that they produce reliable and significant data.

Each employee engagement survey question should be:

• Aligned with employee engagement KPIs — so you’re measuring the things that matter to your organization
• Based on something you’re prepared to take action on — employees will lose faith in the survey process if you fail to make changes in response to their constructive feedback
• Neutrally worded — an employee engagement survey question shouldn’t sway respondents in one direction or another
• Centered around one issue — ask about one thing at a time or you won’t be able to draw clear conclusions from employee answers

2. A survey communication strategy

As well as devising surveys with the right employee survey questions, you need to think about how you’re going to communicate with employees throughout the survey process. 

Consider the communication channels you’ll use to reach employees, including those working on the frontline of your organization. Also, clarify which information you’ll be sharing with employees. 

Regular, open communication is best. Tell employees why you’re doing the survey and what they stand to gain by filling it out. Explain how long the survey will take to complete and give assurances of anonymity. Also, tell them how you’ll inform them of survey results and any subsequent employee experience action plan.

You’ll need messages targeted at reluctant survey respondents, too. A schedule of gentle reminders can work. You may also like to get your leaders involved. When leaders promote surveys, employees see that their opinions are being taken seriously at the highest levels of your organization — and they’re more likely to take part. 

3. Anonymity and confidentiality

Without the promise of anonymity and confidentiality, employees tend to get a bit cagey with their survey responses. They may end up telling you what they think you want to hear. Or they may fail to answer survey questions honestly out of concern for their career or workplace relationships.

To encourage employees to answer questions candidly, tell them how you’ll protect their anonymity. Also, use survey tools that make it easy to collect survey responses anonymously.

4. A suitable survey frequency

A lot can happen in a year and annual surveys are far too infrequent. But you don’t want to bombard your employees with survey requests either. It’s all about striking the right balance. 

In our experience, the following schedule works well:

• an in-depth survey to track employee experience changes each quarter
• pulse surveys to gauge real-time employee sentiment each month

This approach doesn’t risk survey fatigue. Nor does it allow for employee experience blind spots to develop. Instead, it successfully makes surveys an integral and valuable part of company culture.

As well as considering how often you expect employees to complete surveys, consider how long you expect them to spend filling them out. 

Busy frontline workers are often stretched for time. So surveys should take a maximum of 10 minutes for employees to complete. To ensure high-quality, constructive feedback you don’t want respondents to rush their answers or give up on a survey part-way through.

5. Analyzing and interpreting survey results

Once you’ve gathered survey responses, you can start analyzing and interpreting them.

You can use your data to identify your best and worst performing areas — and to establish benchmarks. You can also segment data, according to employee team, department, or tenure, to find variances in employee experience across your organization.

With the right survey tools, this process is quicker and easier. You get intelligent analysis and recommendations based on your survey findings, without having to process data manually.

The three types of employee engagement survey question

There are three different types of employee engagement survey questions you can ask. Using all three will help you to gather constructive feedback and useful insights.

Qualitative survey questions

Qualitative questions take the form of yes/no, multiple choice, or a rating scale (1 to 10).

Here are a few examples:

Rate the following statement on a scale from 1 to 10. 1 = strongly disagree. 10 = strongly agree.

I enjoy a good work-life balance.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

How often do you get constructive feedback from managers?

1. Once a week

2. Once a month

3. Once a year or less

4. Never

Quantitative questions are quick and easy for employees to answer. They also provide survey results that are easy to analyze. This type of employee engagement survey question is well-suited to both quarterly surveys and pulse surveys.

Quantitative survey questions

Quantitative questions are open-ended. They give employees the chance to write a response in their own words and can reveal unexpected perspectives.  

Here are some examples:

• What is one thing you’d like leadership to know about your onboarding experience?
• What can we do to improve internal communication at [company]?

Qualitative questions give in-depth insight into what employees are thinking and feeling. While a quantitative question can tell you if someone is proud to work for your company, you need a qualitative question to explain why.

Results for qualitative questions are a little trickier to analyze. They also require more time and thought from employees. As a result, qualitative questions aren’t well-suited to short pulse surveys. Instead, they work best as part of your quarterly employee engagement survey — and even then, should be kept to a minimum. 

Demographic survey questions

Demographic survey questions help you to segment your survey results while maintaining employee anonymity. Here are some examples:

• What team are you on?
• How long have you worked at [company]?

These demographic questions are relevant to all employee engagement surveys. They help you understand employee experience across your organization, drawing more detailed conclusions from your results and facilitating targeted interventions.

46 employee engagement survey question examples

Ready to put your first employee survey together? Then start by taking a look at these employee survey question examples.

Company culture questions

A strong company culture prompts high levels of employee engagement — and high levels of employee engagement help you foster a strong company culture. So finding out what employees think of your workplace culture is an engagement survey essential.

I would recommend [company] as a great place to work.

At [company] we value open and honest communication.

[Company] is a safe place to work.

[Company] cares about my wellbeing.

I am valued by [company].

I can raise problems and concerns with leaders and managers. 

Leaders keep everyone informed about what is happening at [company].

What can we do to improve communication at [company]?

What could we do to improve company culture?

Morale and engagement questions

Employees are more likely to be engaged when they feel aligned with company goals. Here are some survey questions that help you to assess their sense of motivation and purpose.

I feel a sense of accomplishment most days.

I know what is expected of me to be successful.

I know how my role supports the goals of the company.

I’m inspired by the purpose and mission of the company.

I rarely think about looking for a job at another company.

I see myself working at [company] two years from now.

What do we do well at [company]?

What could we do better at [company]?

Questions about management

70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by the manager. So use your engagement surveys to find out what employees think about their team leaders.

My manager leads by example.

My manager cares about my opinion.

I get enough constructive feedback on how well I’m doing my job.

I am given enough freedom to decide how to do my work.

My manager promotes an open and constructive way to deal with problems.

I find my workload manageable.

My manager gives me the support I need to do my job well. 

If you were a manager, how would you motivate your employees?

Teamwork and belonging questions

Employees who feel that they belong within an organization are 5.3 times more likely to do their best work. These questions will help you find out whether employees view your workplace as inclusive and supportive.

I make a difference to my team.

I feel like I belong within [company].

I get enough opportunities to collaborate with my team.

People from all backgrounds have equal opportunity to succeed at [company].

I can ask other team members for help when I need it.

Desk-based and frontline employees are treated equally at [company]. 

How could your team improve communication and collaboration?

Recognition and benefits questions

Recognition along with a fair salary and benefits are crucial for a positive employee experience. Use employee survey questions like these to gauge employee sentiment on these topics.

I receive recognition when I do good work.

I believe my benefits package is good by industry standards.

I understand the benefits available to me.

I enjoy a good work-life balance.

I feel adequately rewarded for my contributions to [company].

Salaries and benefits are awarded fairly at [company].

What benefits would you like to see provided by [company]?

Learning and growth questions

Organizations that don’t provide skills-building opportunities are 72% less likely to have employees saying they want to work there for more than a year. You can find out if your learning and development efforts are up to scratch by asking questions like these.

The information I need to do my job well is available.

I have access to the tools I need to do my job well.

I believe there are strong career opportunities for me at [company].

I have access to the learning and development I need to do my job well.

Training at [company] is effective.

Managers have shown a genuine interest in my career aspirations.

What can we do to better support your development and career goals?

Using technology to improve the survey process

Establishing survey best practices and asking the right questions are essential to a successful employee survey initiative. Having the right technology makes a big difference, too. It makes the survey process quicker, easier, and more effective.

For frontline organizations, a mobile-first employee app, equipped to deliver surveys, works well. You don’t have to rely on inefficient paper surveys or shared devices. Instead, you can send surveys to every employee’s smartphone, increasing adoption and response rates in the process.

With an employee engagement app like Blink, you can launch quarterly and pulse surveys to your entire workforce in minutes. Choose from a selection of pre-prepared employee engagement survey questions or create your own.  

Blink allows employees to respond to surveys anonymously, which builds trust with your workforce and ensures you get honest, useful data. Your HR team can also use Blink Analytics, which streamlines survey data analysis and helps you identify the most pressing employee engagement issues in an instant.

To see how Blink could transform your employee engagement surveys and company culture, schedule your personalized demo today.

Workplace burnout is at a record high. More than half of Americans feel dissatisfied at work, and younger people feel it the most. Now more than ever, employees across the US—from new graduates to those in established careers—are putting work-life balance at a premium. A healthy workplace culture, strong communication, and employee engagement can make all the difference, which is why Blink helps businesses create environments where workers feel more connected, valued, and motivated.

With this in mind, we explored not only the industries with the happiest workers but also airports, specifically to better understand where frontline transit employees report the strongest overall workplace experiences, especially in one of the most chaotic environments. Money isn't always happiness, so we also researched employees' well-being, including job satisfaction, stress levels, workplace meaning, and overall employee sentiment, to identify the industries where workers appear to thrive most. 

The top five happiest industries: 

1. Airline pilots and flight engineers
2. Marketing managers
3. Financial managers
4. Pharmacists
5. Computer hardware engineers

1. Airline pilots and flight engineers 

Securing the top spot, airline pilots and flight engineers rank as the happiest workers throughout any industry, earning the highest total score of 94.84. Pilots and engineers reported feeling pretty satisfied with their jobs, with a score of 72.0. A meaningfulness rating of 65.5 also indicates that workers feel accomplished in both their personal and professional lives. Employee sentiment also remained exceptionally strong at 92.3%, reinforcing the idea that workers are very satisfied with their careers.

Beyond emotional satisfaction, working as an airline pilot or flight engineer offers financial perks, with pilots and flight engineers earning the highest average annual salary on the list at $219,140. Of course, given the demanding nature of the career, it makes sense that these roles come with higher stress and pain scores of 63.6 and 72.5, respectively. Professionals in this field continue to report the highest overall satisfaction levels, underscoring that the benefits definitely outweigh the challenges in this industry.

2. Marketing managers

Marketing managers earn an impressive total score of 86.298, ranking them second-happiest across industries. Workers in professional and business services reported a happiness score of 62.1, with meaningfulness averaging even higher at 69.0, indicating that many professionals in this field truly believe their creativity and strategic thinking have a significant impact on their work. Marketing managers' employee sentiment is one of the highest recorded scores at 99.1%—meaning almost every single person is happy at work.

The role also offers strong financial incentives, with marketing managers earning an average annual salary of $157,620. Like every industry, this profession also has high demands, as reflected in stress and pain scores of 55.8 and 83.8, respectively. Still, many people report high overall satisfaction, indicating that the fast-paced nature of marketing is often balanced by career growth, influence, and compensation.

3. Financial managers

Financial managers achieved an overall score of 84.99, indicating strong job satisfaction. Professionals in financial activities reported a happiness score of 66.3 and a meaningfulness rating of 68.0, indicating that many workers believe they find their greatest purpose by simply overseeing financial strategy, investments, and overall growth. Once again, workers' sentiment in the financial sector was 99.1%, one of the highest among all jobs, signaling positivity across the profession.

The field also offers highly competitive compensation, with average annual salaries reaching $156,100. Despite the expected responsibility and pressure, reflected in stress and pain scores of 58.0 and 90.1, financial managers continue to report high career satisfaction, showing that the rewards of leadership, expertise, and long-term advancement often outweigh the demands of the role.

4. Pharmacists

Pharmacists earned a strong total score of 84.13, ranking them among the most fulfilled professions in healthcare. Workers in educational and health services reported a happiness score of 61.5. At the same time, meaningfulness reached an impressive 73.6, ranking among the highest across all professions, underscoring the vital role pharmacists play in patient care and community well-being. Employee sentiment also remained exceptionally high at 97.0%, reflecting strong morale throughout their work.

In addition, the profession offers a strong financial cushion, with pharmacists' average salary being $136,030. Working in healthcare, this job, of course, comes with demanding responsibilities, shown by their stress and pain scores of 54.6 and 86.7. Despite the reports, pharmacists continue to share high levels of overall fulfillment, showing that helping improve patient outcomes remains one of the profession’s greatest rewards.

5. Computer hardware engineers

Computer hardware engineers earned a strong total score of 83.39, ranking them among the top five most fulfilled professionals in the workforce. Workers in this side of professional and business services reported a happiness score of 62.1 and a meaningfulness score of 69.0, suggesting that these engineers feel a sense of accomplishment when performing tasks such as designing and improving the technology that gets us through everyday life. Employee sentiment also remained high at 92.3%, reflecting positive attitudes toward career opportunities and innovation within the field.

The profession also offers substantial financial rewards, with average annual salaries reaching $138,080. While the role can involve demanding workloads and pressure, reflected in stress and pain scores of 55.8 and 83.8, computer hardware engineers continue to report high overall fulfillment, indicating that the opportunity to innovate and shape the future of technology often outweighs the job's challenges.

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The airports with the happiest workers  

1. Salt Lake City International Airport - Salt Lake City, UT

Salt Lake City International Airport has made a name for itself as the airport with the happiest workers, with an impressive overall score of 88.7, backed by a standout job satisfaction score of 115. Employees say they feel valued both professionally and financially, with a salary satisfaction score of 91% showing compensation closely matches expectations. Workplace morale also remains high, with staff giving the airport an average rating of 3.9 out of 5, a sign of a positive culture in an area best known for stress and long hours.

That positive energy extends far beyond airport staff and into the passenger experience. Salt Lake City International earned a passenger satisfaction score of 665 out of 1,000 while maintaining strong operational performance, with only 15.17% of flights delayed and just 0.51% canceled. The airport’s ability to balance employee well-being, efficient operations, and traveler satisfaction sets it apart from other major hubs, creating an environment where both workers and passengers can enjoy a smoother, more positive journey.

2. William P. Hobby - Houston, TX

Heading south, we have Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport earning a score of 86.7 for airports with the happiest workers, possibly because of its impressive overall job satisfaction score of 115. Employees reported feeling especially valued on the finance side, with a near-perfect salary satisfaction score of 99%, suggesting that compensation closely aligns with the role's demands. Workplace morale was even more remarkable, with staff awarding the airport a near-perfect score of 4.8 out of 5 rating, one of the highest employee satisfaction scores among major U.S. airports.

That strong internal culture appears to influence the traveler experience positively as well. William P. Hobby Airport earned a passenger satisfaction score of 643 out of 1,000, showing travelers continue to enjoy the airport despite the pressures of a busy flight schedule. While operational challenges remain — with 20.12% of flights delayed and 1.14% canceled — the airport has maintained high employee morale and a supportive workplace environment. The results highlight how competitive compensation and a positive culture can help workers thrive, even in one of the country's fastest-paced industries.

3. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International - Atlanta, GA

At the world’s busiest airport, keeping employees happy may sound impossible, yet Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport continues to soar. Earning a high overall score of 86.0, Atlanta International also shared an impressive job satisfaction score of 115. Employees reported strong workplace satisfaction, as evidenced by a salary satisfaction score of 90%, suggesting that compensation generally meets expectations in a demanding, high-pressure environment. Staff morale also remained positive, with workers giving the airport a rating of 3.9 out of 5, highlighting a steady workplace culture despite the activity.

That balance between pressure and performance extends to the traveler experience as well. Hartsfield-Jackson earned a passenger satisfaction score of 590 out of 1,000; only 10.98% of flights were delayed, although cancellations reached 1.45%. All of these numbers paint a picture of an airport that has learned to manage passenger traffic while still supporting employee well-being, creating a more stable and reliable experience for both workers and travelers.

4. Honolulu International - Honolulu, HI

Honolulu International Airport proves that paradise isn’t just for travelers; employees are enjoying the experience too. Ranking among the airports with the happiest workers, the airport earned a strong overall score of 85.8, along with an impressive job satisfaction score of 115. Employees reported positive workplace experiences and steady satisfaction with compensation, with a salary satisfaction score of 79%, indicating that pay generally aligns with expectations. Workplace morale was especially high, with staff giving the airport an impressive 4.4 out of 5 rating, reflecting a supportive culture and upbeat atmosphere in one of the country’s most scenic travel hubs.

That positive environment carries over to passengers as well. Honolulu International earned a passenger satisfaction score of 617 out of 1,000 while maintaining relatively stable operations, with 16.13% of flights delayed and only 0.77% canceled. Together, these figures highlight the airport’s ability to balance employee happiness, traveler satisfaction, and operational reliability — creating a smoother, more enjoyable experience for everyone passing through Hawaii’s gateway to the world.

5. Portland International - Portland, OR

Portland International Airport is proving that a positive workplace culture can go a long way, even in the fast-moving world of air travel. Ranking among airports with the happiest workers, PDX earned a strong overall score of 85.7, along with an impressive job satisfaction score of 115. Employees reported positive workplace experiences, as evidenced by a salary satisfaction score of 80%, suggesting that compensation generally meets expectations. Morale was especially high among staff, who awarded the airport an outstanding 4.5 out of 5 rating, highlighting a workplace culture employees genuinely enjoy being part of.

Employee satisfaction appears to translate directly into the traveler experience as well. Portland International earned one of the highest passenger satisfaction scores among major U.S. airports, with a score of 683 out of 1,000, reinforcing its reputation as a traveler-friendly hub. While operational challenges persist, with 18.05% of flights delayed and 0.78% canceled, the airport continues to strike a strong balance between employee well-being, operational performance, and passenger convenience, creating a smoother, more enjoyable environment for everyone passing through its terminals.

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Happy workers, better workplaces

No matter what industry you work in, there are bound to be both positives and negatives. What everyone strives for, no matter their position, is to work in an environment that makes work enjoyable. Many of the industries displayed are where people feel happiest. Whether you work in healthcare, marketing, or even in airports from Utah to Hawaii, the right work environment can lead to happier, more satisfied employees.

Every industry offers its own advantages, whether it’s strong employee sentiment, competitive salaries, operational efficiency, or even positive, supportive experiences. 

Together, these factors help to create workplaces where engaged employees thrive despite the fast-paced demands of each industry.

Methodology

To find out the professions with the happiest workers in the U.S., we analyzed 100 of the most in-demand jobs using the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey, where Americans rate how they actually feel at work from being happy, fulfilled, stressed, or in pain — on a 0–6 scale. Responses were adjusted to a 0–100 scale (with stress and pain flipped so the lower values indicate better outcomes), and combined into a single Happiness Score weighted toward happiness, followed by meaning, stress, and pain. Industries with insufficient responses (fewer than 50) were excluded. We then included employee sentiment metrics — Happiness (40%), Compensation (25%), and Leadership (20%) — from the top three companies for each profession on Comparably. The letter grades for each metric were converted to percentage scores (A+ = 97, A= 93, A-=90, B+=87, B=83, B-=80, C+=77, C=73, C-=70, D+=67, D=63, D-=60, F=50) and averaged together to produce a final sentiment score.

For the airport workers ranking, we identified the 50 busiest U.S. airports using Bureau of Transportation Statistics data, then built a job satisfaction score for common airport roles (retail, food service, flight attendants, TSA agents, customer service, baggage handlers) using O*NET metrics including stress tolerance, time pressure, dealing with difficult people, time spent standing or walking, accuracy demands, achievement, relationships, and caring for others. These were grouped into proxy categories — happiness, meaningfulness, stress, and tiredness — to create a final job satisfaction score.

We also built a salary satisfaction score by combining median wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics with cost-of-living data from MIT's Living Wage Calculator, averaging a living wage coverage score (airport worker wages vs. single-person living wage) and a living wage competitiveness score (airport worker wages vs. metro-area median).

Finally, we measured employee sentiment via Indeed star ratings, passenger satisfaction via J.D. Power scores, and operational stress via BTS data on delayed and canceled flights — using passenger satisfaction and operational stress as proxies, since happier travelers mean less strain on airport staff. Data accurate as of May 15th, 2026.

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Study after study has shown the importance of collaboration at work. Companies that get collaboration right are more likely to beat competitors and have a highly motivated, engaged workforce.

But fostering collaboration can be a challenge when most of your employees don’t work from the office. If your employees work on the front lines or from their homes, they won’t have the same bonding opportunities as desk-based workers.

What can you do about this? Invest in creative ways to build effective virtual collaboration into your culture and promote teamwork.

One such way is to conduct online collaboration activities. These exercises provide remote employees the chance to socialize with peers whom they rarely get to meet in person.

So in this post, we’ll walk you through some of the best online collaboration activities we have hosted or seen working recently. But before we get to that, let’s see why virtual collaboration is so important.

Why is online collaboration important?

2500% more companies globally are investing in remote collaboration initiatives in response to Covid-19.

The media has bombarded us for years with stories of isolated, self-made geniuses. But whether you’re an individual or a business, you need to work with other people and teams successfully to get positive results.

You and your workers need opportunities to develop rapport, understand each other’s abilities, and communicate effectively as needed.

It’s teamwork that lets employees put out a collective effort and get things done — things that cannot be carried out alone.

But as we said before, remote work deprives people of the chance to interact with their coworkers beyond the scope of work. If you’re part of a dispersed team, there’s little chance that you’ll ever bump into another colleague near the water cooler, or talk about a hobby.

Because of this, virtual teams often lack the human connection that is critical to job satisfaction and employee retention. And without emotional bonds, team members are less likely to be engaged at work.

That’s where online collaboration activities fill the gap. You can use them to enhance relations between employees and boost motivation. The remote collaboration exercises below will help your workers feel closer than ever, improving their overall well-being and happiness.

Online collaboration activities for remote teams

When picking the following online collaboration activities, we have ensured they are easy to implement and effective. And that they can be adapted to remote work environments using any well-known video conferencing tools.

Plus, if an activity requires a whiteboard, you can share your screen and use any online whiteboard or note-sharing software for each person to see a live, editable page. Let’s begin.

What’s on your bucket list?

Sharing our dreams with another person is a great bonding experience. In this online collaboration example, you’ll give each employee a few minutes to think and make a list of their goals.

Specifically, these would be the things they want to do in the next 12 months, or at least once in their lifetime.

Then, every worker will share the list they created in a video conference. If some employees have the same things on their lists, they can continue the conversation offline to discuss and plan together.

Online coffee meeting

Call for a short, stand-up meeting at the start of the day. Each team member finds a coffee shop nearby, or brews a fresh cup on their own if they are home.

During the meeting, they can talk about the work they have planned for the day while enjoying their morning coffee. If mornings are not possible, you can apply the same concept to evening coffee breaks.

Be careful with this activity though. It’s very easy for it to become a strictly formal, work-related conversation. Make sure to keep the chatter light and fun.

Wall of fame

This online collaboration exercise helps employees facilitate clear communication and recognize each others’ strengths.

Divide workers into teams of two. Now ask each employee to take two minutes and share a work-related accomplishment they have had recently. You can set a particular time frame, such as last year, quarter, or week.

These could include successes such as handling a client, reducing the time it takes for a task, or gaining new insights.

After a worker is done speaking, the other person on their team will summarize to make sure they have understood the value of this achievement. Then repeat the same process for everyone in the meeting.

Photo of your life

Ask your distributed employees to take or share a snap of something meaningful from their personal life.

For example, it can be:

• A family portrait
• A picture from their recent vacation
• A shot from their daily routine
• Something they recently purchased

Whatever it is, it should shine some light on their personality and interests. Then schedule a video meeting where workers can show and talk about their pictures. They can say why they chose the image and what it means to them. 

Memory board

The memory board is an amazing way to bond over past events, and it helps immensely with virtual team building.

Create a list of some work-related subjects and post them as notes on a whiteboard. For example:

• My favorite team member
• First day at work
• Client presentation

You can then have each worker pick a topic and share a memory related to it.

Two truths and a lie

This is a great collaboration example for newly formed remote teams. Typical introductions based on “say something about yourself” can feel awkward, boring, and uncomfortable.

But with this remote team-building activity, you can give workers a fun, alternative way to introduce themselves and improve future communication.

Before calling an introduction meeting, ask employees to prepare three statements — two truths and one lie — about themselves. The lie should be conveyed as realistically as possible. It shouldn’t be easy to spot.

Each worker will then disclose their three statements in the meeting when delivering their introduction. And other team members will guess what’s the lie and what the truths are. Once they are done, the worker will tell the team members if they were right or wrong.

You can also make it more fun by awarding points to people who hid the lie successfully or who guessed it correctly. 

Guess the phrase

This team-building activity has gained so much momentum over the years that companies like Hasbro have turned it into an electronic game.

Create a list of words or phrases. These could include celebrities, expressions, objects in the office, or movie names.

Then assign one to each employee. No one should know the word apart from the worker whom it’s assigned to.

Next, ask each employee to describe the word given to them without actually mentioning the word. And other team members will guess what the word is.

Online lunch and learn

Breaking bread together is an obvious connector. And lunch and learns have been one of the classic online training activities to promote collaboration in physical workplaces. So there’s no reason they can’t be adapted to the virtual world.

Get your team members on a video call and invite a subject matter expert to teach something that everyone can use. The topics may include productivity, problem-solving, and of course, working remotely.

You can schedule the event during lunchtime, allowing workers to enjoy their meals while absorbing new knowledge. If budget is not an issue, you can also offer to pay for the food.

Survival on an island

In this virtual team-building activity, give your team a hard situation. For example, let’s say they were going somewhere in a plane and it crashed on a deserted island, or a zombie apocalypse has made its way into their region.

Then share with them a list of objects that might help with their survival and eventual rescue. Next, ask them to rank each item based on its importance, first individually and then as a whole group.

It’s a great way for everyone to reflect and compare their personal decisions with collective choices. And it may give them new perspectives on collaboration.

Online recipe showcase

It’s not just eating. Cooking too can lead to an effective online collaboration exercise. With the popularity of remote work, more and more people are cooking at home.

You can start an online event where workers share their culinary favorites or experiments with food. And you can also run a challenge where employees will try each others’ recipes and take pictures of what they made.

Over to you: 10 online collaboration activities

Online team building doesn’t have to be difficult. It can be just as fun for workers to get to know each other virtually as physically.

As you can see, there are many online collaboration activities that are quick and easy to arrange. And they are essential to creating a digital employee experience fueled by teamwork and positive working relationships.

Not just that.

Online team-building exercises help you leverage the unique strengths and perspectives of each and every employee, resulting in a better output at work. So incorporate them regularly in the virtual workplace, and the harmony you’ll create is bound to help your business excel. Consider it one of the best practices for employee engagement you need to follow.

Plus, having the right technology, like one of the best employee engagement tools or an all-in-one team collaboration platform can foster collaboration to an even greater level. Request a free Blink demo today.

We’ve rounded up the seven top training programs that will help boost morale, foster collaboration, and increase productivity for your staff. From interactive workshops to online employee engagement courses, these programs offer something for everyone.

Whether your team is new or experienced, office-based or deskless, there are plenty of options available to help create an engaged workforce.

So let's dive into what the best employee engagement training programs are, what they offer, and how they can benefit your organization.

Choosing the best employee engagement training courses

A great employee engagement course should provide teams with a comprehensive understanding of how to create an engaged workplace environment. 

It may include a range of topics covering effective communication practices, problem-solving strategies, team-building exercises (that don’t make employees squirm), and more strategies that create highly engaged employees.

They may also offer special features such as a dedicated tutor support service, unlimited online email support, certification upon completion, real-time feedback on learning, resources to help employees create tangible goals and objectives, and interactive tools that can be used in the workplace.

To choose the right employee engagement program for your organization, you should assess and compare who the course is made for and what the content of the course is, alongside the:

• Cost
• Length
• Location
• Credit awarded

By assessing these four elements, you can make a more informed decision about which program is best suited to your team’s needs.

What to look for in employee engagement training for managers

Before you can select a training program for managers, it’s important to know what factors to consider for your leadership team. Employee engagement training is essential for even the most high-performing managers, especially frontline managers, as their impact has the unique advantage of cascading effects throughout their entire team. 

Cost varies greatly, especially given the number of remote learning and development options available. While eLearning courses are typically more affordable and easily worked into a manager’s schedule, in-person courses offer the benefit of interaction, personalized feedback, and, often, more in-depth practice.

It’s also important to consider whether you, your C-suite, management teams, and HR professionals value certification or credit hours for the time undertaken. The accreditation may add value and incentive for course engagement, as well as the name of the institution offering the training. 

Two common HR management organizations that accept credit hours for professional certification are SHRM and HRCI. 

You should also consider whether your managers will feel more compelled to complete the learning experience offered by a big name like Harvard to make up for the additional expense.

Additional considerations for choosing an employee engagement program

If you have a frontline workforce, be sure to look for a program that can be easily accessed on mobile devices or through an app with audio lessons available. This will ensure employees can access the course anytime, anywhere, helping you bridge the frontline connection gap.

Additionally, consider the size of your organization and budget. If you have a large team, you may want to look into programs with bulk discounts or offering free training resources. On the other hand, if you’re a smaller business without many resources, eLearning courses may be more cost-effective due to their convenience and lower investment needs.

With digital inclusion now crucial to the modern workplace, it's important to assess the ease of use and accessibility of any courses you choose. Are they easy for team members to access and navigate, or do they require any specific software?

Now that you know what to consider before selecting a program for management let’s go over some of the best employee engagement training programs available today.

The 7 best employee engagement training programs

1. Gallup engagement champions

Workplace advisory and polling group Gallup offers a Creating an Engaging Workplace for Engagement Champions course to help anyone in a leadership position foster a more engaging workplace and support higher productivity. 

The course's primary focus is educating higher-level leadership on how to best help their mid-management increase team engagement. There are also practical takeaways for HR professionals or managers themselves.

Cost: $3,000. 

Length: Two days.

Location: In-person and virtual.

Credit: The in-person course earns professional credit hours from HRCI (14.5) and SHRM (14.5).

2. Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie is a well-known continuing education provider that offers several management courses, including a virtual course called A Manager’s Guide to Sustainable Employee Engagement. 

The six-hour course focuses on actions managers can undertake that inspire workers to put forth their greater discretionary effort. The emphasis is on practicing emotional empathy that delivers a long-lasting culture of engagement.

Cost: $699.

Length: Three two-hour sessions.

Location: Virtual.

Credit: It offers professional credit hours — 5.5 HRCI (5.5) and SHRM (5.5).

3. LSA Global

LSA Global’s employee engagement training personalized course focuses on accountability, change-readiness, and engaging purpose (ACE) as the foundation for a greater level of engagement and business clarity. 

Cost: Available upon request.

Length: Two-day workshop.

Location: In-person.

Credit: None.

4. DecisionWise

Engagement technology provider Decision Wise offers an online engagement training program called Engagement Magic. 

The training covers the importance of employee meaning, autonomy, growth, impact, and connection for engagement and educates learners on fostering these attributes through various employee engagement strategies. 

Cost: $150.

Length: One day.

Location: In-person and virtual.

Credit: None.

5. Harvard Professional Development 

Harvard’s The Positive Workplace: Building Employee Engagement and Satisfaction course focuses on giving managers the tools to help workers through times of stress. 

There is a large emphasis on building positive company culture through effective communication and conflict resolution. 

Cost: $2,895.

Length: Two consecutive days.

Location: In-person.

Credit: Credit towards Harvard’s Certificate of Leadership Excellence in Leading Teams.

6. eCornell

Cornell’s online educational division strategic engagement course is ideal for managers looking for more training in the quantifiable aspects of employee engagement. 

The course teaches methods of measuring employee engagement, like employee engagement surveys, and guides managers through building engagement initiatives to combat disengagement based on organizational data.

Cost: Available upon request.

Length: Two weeks, two-to-five hours per week.

Location: Virtual.

Credit: Credit towards Cornell’s Strategic Human Resources Leadership Certificate.

7. LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning offers various employee engagement training courses for managers through its catalog of user-generated lessons. 

Self-paced pre-recorded lessons like this one on Employee Engagement are a highly accessible training resource for organizations of all sizes. 

Cost: $34.99 for a single course or $19.99/month.

Length: Varies.

Location: Virtual.

Credit: Online certification and continuing education credit to SHRM (1.25) and HRCI (1.25).

The value of employee engagement training for managers

According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2023 Report, just 31% of employees in the US and Canada are engaged – and that's the second-highest in the world! As such, it makes sense for implementing engagement strategies to be one of your organization’s largest retention priorities. 

Typically, most think of across-the-board engagement tactics like benefits, salary, and advancement opportunities. But when it actually comes down to increasing everyday engagement and profitability, as Gallup explains, the best bet is focusing on some of the most critical players in your team: your managers. 

They understand each employee’s career goals, strengths, and opportunities for improvement. Managers help shape the culture that can make or break an employee’s experience. 

Despite their essential role in increasing the number of engaged employees, few managers are naturally good at navigating the nuances of managing people. 

Why? Well, we know that many managers make their way to a management role because of experience in their industry (as practitioners) rather than their experience leading people. 

They might be a very experienced warehouse manager, but if they haven't got years of experience managing other warehouse managers, then this kind of training can add a huge amount of value in increasing team-wide employee engagement.

With nearly 70% of frontline leaders expressing interest in developing their leadership skills, a lack of this training can cause growing leadership development gaps in your organization. 

On top of this, without training to improve the specific leadership skills required to be a strong manager, there can be potentially disastrous consequences when it comes to engagement and overall employee retention. 

In fact, after surveying 3,000 American workers, GoodHire found that 82% of them said they would potentially quit their job because of a bad manager. For that reason alone you may want to consider management employee engagement training as part of your wider L&D efforts.

After all, if you can train managers to increase employee engagement, then you can unlock all the key business benefits that come from having a more engaged workforce, making employee engagement training for managers well worth the investment.

What’s next for frontline managers? 

Choosing the right employee training method and investing in the right technology are crucial actions for business leaders wanting to boost engagement.

Hopefully, this guide gave you a better understanding of the considerations to keep in mind when selecting an employee engagement training program and highlighted some of the best ones available today.

After equipping your employees with the right training programs, the next step is to seek the best tools in the industry. Blink’s mobile-first frontline engagement super-app is the perfect all-through tool for any organization wanting to boost employee engagement.

With a suite of features designed to connect your entire workforce, Blink can help your business drive optimal performance and engagement from every member of your team.

With Blink’s Content Hub, employees and managers can access any training documents and company procedures from the palm of their hands, making any employee engagement training initiatives more effective and accessible for you in the long-run. 

Get started today with a free demo.

Employee experience (EX) is still top of the agenda in 2025.

84% of businesses see EX as a competitive differentiator — a way to attract top talent and keep them working for your organization long into the future.

But that doesn’t mean all these organizations are getting it right. Crafting an employee experience that engages workers — and has them singing your company’s praises on workplace comparison sites — is no mean feat.

It requires a consistent approach that carries through all departments and across every employee touchpoint. And it requires a deep understanding of worker needs and expectations.

To achieve all this, a solid employee experience strategy is invaluable. This plan will guide your EX initiatives, the workplace tech you use, the company culture you strive to create, and the metrics you use to assess employee experience success.

Here, we take a look at all the ways an employee experience plan benefits your business and outline the steps you need to take to create one.

What is employee experience?

Employee experience is how employees think and feel about their workplace. 

It encompasses every touchpoint and interaction throughout the employee lifecycle, including recruitment, onboarding, workplace relationships, development opportunities, and the technology you expect workers to use.

Employee experience managers are responsible for shaping EX, creating the kind of company culture and workplace environment that employees enjoy spending time in.

Why every org needs an employee experience strategy

Happy employees are good for business. High levels of employee satisfaction lead to improved talent acquisition, productivity, employee engagement, and staff retention.

The benefits of EX are clear. But many businesses are failing to deliver the kind of employee experience that inspires worker motivation and loyalty.

55% of all workers feel dissatisfied with their overall employee experience and this figure rises to 61% for Gen Z employees.

Why are these figures so high? You may have noticed that the modern workforce has pretty high expectations. Employees expect way more from their place of work than they did a few generations ago.

There are a couple of factors at play. First, we’re accustomed to personalized digital experiences at home — algorithms that know what we want before we do. And we expect the same quality and usability from the tech we use at work. 

Second, the baseline for what makes a good workplace has risen. Mental health support, flexibility, and a sense of belonging aren’t perks anymore — they’re must-haves. 

And finally, people are thinking bigger. A job isn’t just a paycheck. Employees are seeking growth, transparency, fairness, and purpose — and are willing to switch jobs to find a workplace that provides them.

Meeting these expectations is tough for any company. And — without a clear employee experience strategy — it gets even tougher.

With a solid employee experience strategy, however, you connect the dots between what your people need and what your business wants to achieve. You create the kind of workplace where people bring their A-game — where employees are engaged, productive, and with you for the long haul.

12 steps for building your employee experience strategy

Stellar employee experience management relies on a clearly defined strategy. Here’s how to get there.

1. Establish your why

Before jumping into tactics, pause and consider what you’re trying to achieve with your employee experience strategy. You need to understand the business case for improving EX. This will help guide your EX efforts — and get stakeholder buy-in.

Here are a couple of questions you can ask yourself to get the ball rolling:

• What pain points do our employees currently experience?
• How does this link to business outcomes, like retention, productivity, customer service, and engagement?
• What kind of company culture do we want to build — and how does this align with our values?

2. Map the employee journey

From day one to exit, every touchpoint matters. Working out each point in the employee lifecycle can help you uncover areas for EX improvement.

You should look at:

• Recruitment
• Pre-boarding and onboarding
• Career development and growth opportunities
• Engagement
• Retention
• Offboarding

Then, across these employee journey stages, figure out what the employee experience looks like. 

Consider employee priorities like recognition and feedback, work-life balance, and any bottlenecks in their daily workflows.

Examine the cultural environment. Things like leadership style, the quality of co-worker connections, and the effectiveness of your internal communication channels.

Also, audit the physical environment, assessing how safe and comfortable employees are when they’re at work. Ergonomic desks and chairs are a given for your office-based staff. But consider the needs of frontline employees and those who work at home, too.

With a clear understanding of the employee journey and the factors that impact EX, you can (at step 4) craft staff survey questions that cover all elements of the employee experience. But first, there’s another key area of EX to get a handle on.

3. Assess your tech-sperience

Tech tools are now a fundamental part of every work day. So the digital employee experience forms an increasingly integral part of EX.

Remember that employees get streamlined, personalized experiences on the software they use at home. So — whether you like it or not — your workplace tech is going to be compared to the very best consumer-grade tools. 

Clunky or outdated tech tools create frustration. They harm productivity and employee motivation.

Even the most cutting-edge tools can cause problems if they aren’t implemented with the proper focus on EX. Use too many different tech tools and employees can easily feel overwhelmed. They constantly have to recall login details and toggle between tabs.

So when crafting your employee experience strategy, assess your tech stack — and its impact on employees. Find out where technology is supporting a positive employee experience and where it’s creating friction.

Also, consider tech needs on a team-by-team basis, paying special attention to frontline employees. Without easy access to a desktop computer or a company email address, frontline workers often find workplace tools difficult or impossible to use, which harms the frontline experience.

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4. Ask employees what they want

Every workplace is different. And while you’ll find plenty of articles listing the workplace attributes that employees value most, these can only ever act as a rough guide.

To make a success of your employee experience strategy, you need to understand your workforce and what motivates them. Then, treat them as co-creators of your EX strategy.

That starts by gathering employee feedback. Send out surveys and polls. Launch a listening tour. Find out what employees think of EX at your organization and what would improve it. Work to discover pain points, needs, and expectations.

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This shouldn’t be a one-off event. You should aim to build employee listening and employee voice into company culture. Create two-way communication channels and foster open communication across all levels of your organization. Acknowledge feedback and tell employees what action you plan to take.

By doing so, you encourage engagement with the feedback process and prompt honest responses from employees. You also keep your finger on the pulse, which — faced with ever-evolving employee experience trends — helps you stay ahead of EX issues.

5. Dive into the data

You’ve got feedback. Now what? It’s time to analyze the data you’ve gathered from employees, looking for EX patterns, pain points, and opportunities.

Celebrate the areas where you’re doing a good job. And hone in on areas where EX could be improved.

Use the analytics tools you have access to and combine qualitative feedback with quantitative data on retention, absenteeism, and employee engagement to get a big picture perspective. 

6. Get to know EX across the organization

Segment your data and you can also find out what employee experience looks like for different sectors of your workforce.

Perhaps your office-based team is satisfied with the quality of internal communications they receive. But your frontline team has to make do with a patchwork of paper memos and word-of-mouth messages. 

It could be that Millennials are loving the option to work from their comfortable home offices. But Gen Z employees, still living in shared housing, are struggling to find a quiet and productive place to work.

Maybe one department experiences higher than average levels of turnover and lower than average instances of employee recognition. 

Only by digging deep into the data can you understand how EX at your organization looks for every member of your workforce — and start to see the patterns that will inform your plan of action. 

7. Set goals

You’re at the point where you’ve done all your EX research. Time to put down on paper what you hope to achieve with your employee experience strategy. 

Create targets that are measurable, time-bound, and based on the EX issues you uncovered during the research phase. 

Some examples include:

• Increase career development opportunities for employees
• Establish better two-way communication channels between employees and managers
• Boost news feed comments and reactions by X%
• Increase survey response rates

8. Build your plan

Keeping your goals in mind, lay out the actions that will help you achieve them.

For example, if you want to improve career development opportunities, you could launch a new mentoring program.

Or if you wanted to increase your survey response rate, you could look at ways to close the feedback loop, ensuring that employees feel their feedback is listened to and acted on.

You may like to overhaul employee pay and benefits, well-being support, or workplace recognition. You may want to focus on improving the frontline employee experience with better comms and flexible working opportunities.

9. Find the right EX tech

This is a great time to consider the employee experience tech tools that will support your employee experience strategy. The best employee experience platforms can improve EX with the help of:

• Internal communication tools — channels that support top-down, bottom-up, and peer-to-peer conversations and an engaging company news feed
• Recognition tools — that help you create a culture of appreciation

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• Integrated software — integrations with the other workplace software you use to create a streamlined digital experience
• Automated employee journey tools — features that make it easy for you to deliver the right content to employees at exactly the right time in their employee journey
• HR self-service tools — tools that allow employees to swap shifts, request leave, or view their pay stubs right from their user-friendly dashboard
• Surveys and analytics — employee survey and analytics tools that help your team keep up-to-date with employee satisfaction and EX
• Personalized employee experiences — tools that go beyond a one-size-fits-all approach to provide tailored comms, dashboards, and journeys relevant to each individual employee

10. Communicate and roll out

To make a success of your employee experience strategy, you need all hands on deck. Employees should get a consistent experience across the whole lifecycle and that relies on lots of different departments working together.  

Get everyone on the same page — including employees — by communicating your EX vision clearly and transparently. Lay out your objectives and the positive outcome you expect. Tell them what will change and why.

If you’re rolling out new employee experience software, think carefully about how you’ll get your workforce to embrace it. Start by picking user-friendly, mobile-first tools that every employee can use. Then, use a marketing campaign, incentives, gamification, and platform ambassadors to encourage employees to log in.  

11. Measure and evaluate

Is your employee experience strategy having the desired effect? As well as looking at the specific EX goals you set earlier in the process, measure your success in terms of overarching business goals too.

These include employee satisfaction metrics like:

• Employee net promoter score
• Absenteeism rate
• Turnover rate

You can also look at KPIs relating to talent acquisition, customer satisfaction, and employee productivity.

Measure employee experience and you stay ahead of any EX problems that might arise. You see where your EX strategy is bearing fruit — and where you still need to make improvements.

12. Iterate and improve

Improving employee experience isn’t a one-and-done situation. Creating and honing the perfect employee experience strategy is an ongoing task.

Use insights gained from employee surveys and analytics to keep pace with evolving employee expectations. Review your goals. Find new ways to enhance employee experience and keep staff loyal to your organization.

By treating EX as a continuous process, you’re more likely to create a strong culture, happy employees, and the business results you’re looking for.

Using your employee experience strategy to build a better workplace

A strong employee experience strategy can transform your workplace. It impacts company culture and internal communications. It boosts productivity and staff loyalty. And it can put a spring in the step of employees as they turn up to work each day.

And with 52% of employees saying they’re watching for or actively seeking a new job, employee experience strategy isn’t something you can afford to neglect. 

The occasional free lunch or mental health day won’t cut it at a time when employees demand more than ever from their places of work — and are prepared to vote with their feet if their expectations aren’t met. 

To ensure EX success, you need to consider the experience of every employee. The priorities of your retail staff, for example, are probably very different from those of your office-based team. Then, you need to create personalized experiences that make employees feel seen and valued.

An employee experience platform like Blink can make a huge difference to your employee experience strategy and its success.

With tools that automate elements of the employee journey, improve communication, streamline workflows, and include every employee in the workplace community, it becomes much easier to deliver the kind of employee experience your workforce expects.

Blink. And make employee experience your competitive advantage.

Collaboration starts at the top

Picture an orchestra. The musicians are world-class. The music is tried and tested. The venue is sold out. But the conductor?

If the conductor doesn’t show up and lead the way, each musician does their own thing. The strings speed up. The brass drags. Percussion is having its own little party in the back.

The same thing happens in the workplace.

You can hire the best people, invest in the smartest collaboration tools, and launch a jam-packed schedule of team-building activities. But without a leader actively bringing people together — and modelling the kind of team collaboration you want to see — you fail to see the desired results.

Collaboration is a by-product of consistent leadership behaviors — along with the right systems and practices. Find out what you can do to encourage your people to work together and stop going it alone.

Leaders are a catalyst for collaboration

There’s a strong link between internal communication and collaboration. When workplace communication is open and effective, collaboration comes much easier.

The right comms tools take you part of the way. But it’s leaders who decide the style and tone of communication. They set the stage for how information is shared, decisions made, and conflicts resolved.

Most importantly, they shape psychological safety within your organization. This is the belief that it’s safe to speak up, challenge ideas, and share new perspectives — all of which are vital to effective collaboration.

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Common collaboration blockers: Where leaders are going wrong

Collaboration brings many benefits — including increased efficiency, productivity, and employee engagement. But you may be missing out on all the above if leadership is displaying the following collaboration-blocking behaviors.

Playing favorites

When leaders give certain people or teams special treatment, everyone sees it. Opportunities, information, and recognition flow toward the chosen few. Other employees stop bothering to contribute. Over time, trust erodes and people assume collaboration is shorthand for helping someone else to shine. 

A closed leadership style

When leaders are reluctant to share information or delegate tasks, when they struggle to admit mistakes or ask for help, they model a non-collaborative style of leadership and communication. Employees are likely to follow suit, gatekeeping workplace knowledge and keeping their guard up.

Siloing teams

Failing to encourage cross-department collaboration creates silos. Projects are contained within one team. This limits the sharing of ideas, causes duplicate work, and prevents teams from seeing the bigger picture. Collaboration becomes the exception, not the rule.

Leading only through email or announcements

Relying solely on email or one-way announcements leads to poor comms engagement. It’s then hard for leaders to convey information — on corporate strategy, common goals, and company culture — and to encourage the two-way communication you need for effective collaboration.  

Not inviting feedback from all levels

Leaders who only hear from their inner circle miss out on well-rounded insights. If you don’t proactively seek perspectives from every level, you risk building strategies in an echo chamber — and making it clear to certain groups of workers that their contribution isn’t valued.

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Leadership behaviors that encourage collaboration

We’ve looked at what could be going wrong. Now, let’s look at what leaders can do to get it right. To improve teamwork in the workplace, good leaders consistently demonstrate these collaborative behaviors.

Modelling open communication

Collaboration thrives when leaders share information openly and honestly — and when they create opportunities for employees to respond, ask questions, and contribute ideas. Acting on feedback is also important. It shows that employee input is valued. And that leadership isn’t afraid to adapt and admit mistakes.

Consistently demonstrate this style of communication and employees will adopt these behaviors as their own, helping you pave the way for effective collaboration across the organization.

Recognizing and celebrating cross-team wins

If a joint project succeeds, shout about it. Not just in the quarterly meeting, but in the moment. Share teamwork achievements in real time, and allow employees to add their congratulations, too.

When praise comes from the highest levels of your organization and is amplified across the organization, employees see that working together is valued and celebrated.

Showing up regularly and authentically

Only picking up the microphone when there’s big news to share? Then you’re missing out on opportunities to engage and align your workforce.

Show up regularly on the communication channels your employees like to use and — once you’re there — be yourself. Share an unpolished video message. Tell stories about real people.

By going beyond formal emails and announcements, you make yourself visible, approachable, and aligned with the day-to-day work of employees. Again, this is great for building psychological safety and setting norms around workplace communication.

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Embedding collaboration into company culture: 6 practical tips

Beyond individual leader behavior, the right systems, policies, and practices can bake collaboration into company culture. Here’s what leaders can do to make teamworking an expected and celebrated part of the workplace.

#1. Make cross-functional projects the norm

Cross-functional collaboration helps you solve problems faster and more effectively. When launching a new project, consider which teams should get a seat at the table. Then, give these teams the time, support, and tools they need to work together.  

#2. Providing tools and spaces (digital + physical) for collaboration

The right supportive environment makes all the difference. Breakout spaces encourage collaboration within your physical workplace. But you need digital collaboration tools too. That might mean creating a central hub of resources and information — where everyone, from remote teams to frontline crews, is kept in the loop.

#3. Set collaboration as a performance metric for managers

What gets measured gets managed. You can encourage managers to develop teamwork skills by evaluating them on collaboration outcomes. Recognize the joint projects and information sharing that goes on under their watch, and they’re more likely to encourage collaborative behaviors.

#4. Provide training

Collaboration relies on soft skills, like open communication, active listening, empathy, and negotiation. These skills don’t always come naturally, so it pays to provide training. With the right support, employees have a better understanding of collaborative behaviors, and managers know how to encourage them.

#5. Ask for employee feedback

Regularly seek feedback from employees and you show them that their opinions and ideas matter. To build trust and psychological safety even further, close the feedback loop. Whether you’re surveying employees on the state of internal communication, their engagement levels, or the latest shift swap policy, share survey results and the action you plan to take.

#6. Regularly revisit and refine collaboration rituals

The needs of your teams are liable to change. The collaboration tools that worked two years ago might feel clunky now. The teamwork strategies you put into play may no longer feel relevant to the makeup of your teams. Leaders should make it a habit to review and refresh the collaboration rituals they’ve established to ensure that teamwork remains effective.

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How the right collaboration tools can help

Leaders have a huge impact on workplace collaboration. They set the tone. But with all the will in the world, dispersed teams will find it hard to collaborate without the right digital communication tools. You need collaboration software for remote teams, frontline workers, and office-based staff to facilitate knowledge sharing and project management. Here’s what to look for.   

Centralized communication platforms

Updates, files, and conversations scattered across multiple apps? Then you’re creating friction and encouraging siloed working. A tool like Blink puts all internal communications and essential files in one centralized hub. As a mobile-first tool, these resources are available to any employee with a smartphone. So everyone is kept in the loop.

Real-time feeds, stories, and live updates

Leaders can use digital channels to reinforce collaborative behaviors daily, not just at once-in-a-blue-moon meetings. You can use a Story, a live update, or a recognition post to highlight teamwork lessons and wins. In doing so, you show that collaboration is happening — and that it’s valued.

Integration with existing systems

The best collaboration tools don’t expect people to drop what’s working. Instead, they connect the dots. Blink integrates with your other workplace software — so employee communications, collaboration, and project management can all live in one place. Teams don’t have to hop between apps — instead, they can focus on tackling the task at hand together.

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Lead the way: Make collaboration part of your day-to-day

If you’re committed to improving collaboration in the workplace, you can’t be the conductor who hides in the wings.

Leaders have to be visible and present. They need to use every update, recognition post, and meeting as a chance to model the teamwork strategies they want their workforce to follow.

Because collaboration is built by leaders who demonstrate collaborative behaviors themselves. By leaders who listen as much as they speak, who establish a culture of psychological safety, and who welcome the input of employees from all levels of the organization.

Combine a collaborative leadership style and the right teamworking tools and you give employees everything they need to achieve more, together.  

‍Blink. And use leadership comms to supercharge collaboration.