How to Create an Employee Engagement Strategy That Works
By Kraig Kleeman
Founder & CEO, The New Workforce
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from building companies that scale fast and lead loud, it’s this: a disengaged team will quietly derail even the most brilliant business strategy. You can have the sharpest tech, the smartest financial models, the flashiest brand—but if your people are disconnected, your momentum stalls.
At The New Workforce, where we’re experiencing triple-digit growth quarter over quarter, employee engagement isn’t a department initiative or an HR buzzword. It’s baked into our DNA. It’s the foundation beneath performance, innovation, and retention.
But here’s the kicker: engagement doesn’t just happen. It has to be engineered. Carefully. Intentionally. Strategically.
So how do you create an employee engagement strategy that actually works? One that energizes your team, boosts productivity, and helps your business punch above its weight class? Let’s break it down.
1. Anchor It to a Bold, Clear Purpose
Engagement starts with why. If your people don’t know what the company stands for—or worse, don’t care—then all the wellness programs and Slack emojis in the world won’t move the needle.
Your first step is defining a mission that’s bigger than numbers. What are you building? Why does it matter? How does every individual on the team play a part?
At The New Workforce, we’re not just staffing roles—we’re building a future where global talent finds meaningful opportunity and where businesses can scale without borders. That clarity fuels our team’s drive.
Your purpose is the rocket fuel. Don’t launch without it.
2. Make Leadership Personal and Present
People don’t engage with strategy decks. They engage with leaders. And not the kind who only show up in Q4 all-hands meetings with polished talking points.
I’m talking about real leaders—present, authentic, transparent. Leaders who know their team’s names, ask real questions, and show up with genuine care and conviction. Leadership isn’t a title; it’s an experience you deliver every day.
If you want engagement to spread, start at the top. Model the behavior. Communicate the mission with passion. Show your people that they matter.
Because when leaders lead with heart and vision, teams rise to meet the moment.
3. Co-Create Goals and Give Ownership
Engagement thrives when people have skin in the game. Set clear, ambitious goals—but don’t hand them down from the mountaintop. Build them with your team.
Co-creation fosters ownership. It says, “Your ideas matter. Your insights matter. You’re not just executing—you’re shaping the outcome.”
Once the vision is set, step back. Let people own their work. Give them the space to experiment, solve problems, and take initiative.
Micromanagement smothers momentum. Trust ignites it.
4. Design Feedback Loops That Actually Loop
The best engagement strategies are conversational, not top-down. You need real-time, two-way feedback that informs action—not just an annual survey that ends up in a PDF somewhere.
Hold consistent check-ins. Run quarterly engagement pulses. Host open Q&A sessions. And most importantly: respond. Show your team that feedback isn’t just heard—it drives decisions.
If someone flags a process bottleneck and you fix it? Acknowledge it. If there’s a morale dip, talk about it. Transparency builds trust, and trust is the bedrock of engagement.
5. Celebrate Progress, Not Just Perfection
You don’t need a parade every week—but if your recognition strategy starts and ends at bonus season, you’re missing the point.
Recognition is powerful because it says: I see you. You matter. Keep going.
Shout out great work publicly. Thank people privately. Tie wins back to core values. And don’t just spotlight outcomes—celebrate effort, growth, and teamwork.
In high-growth environments like ours, we move fast. But no matter how fast we scale, we never forget to honor the humans driving the results.
6. Invest in Growth at Every Level
If your engagement strategy doesn’t include career development, it’s incomplete.
People don’t want to feel stuck. They want to evolve. To sharpen their skills. To chase new challenges.
Give them that. Whether it’s through formal training, mentorship, stretch assignments, or learning stipends—show that you’re invested in who they’re becoming, not just what they’re doing now.
When people believe they can grow with you, they won’t look elsewhere.
7. Prioritize Belonging, Not Just Inclusion
Diversity and inclusion are critical. But belonging is what turns policy into culture.
Do your people feel safe speaking up? Do they feel valued for who they are, not just what they do? Are they comfortable bringing their full selves to work?
If the answer is “sometimes” or “I’m not sure,” dig deeper. Build environments that foster psychological safety. Create space for different voices. Normalize vulnerability from leadership down.
Engagement doesn’t happen when people feel like outsiders. It happens when they feel like owners.
8. Design Work to Work for People
The modern workforce is redefining what it means to “show up.” Rigid schedules and top-down mandates? That’s the old playbook.
Flexibility, autonomy, and trust are the new baseline.
Whether it’s hybrid schedules, results-based evaluations, or asynchronous workflows—build systems that respect how people actually work best.
Because when people feel trusted to manage their time, energy, and focus, they don’t disengage—they deliver.
9. Measure What Matters
What gets measured gets improved—but don’t fall into the trap of tracking vanity metrics.
Focus on the indicators that really signal engagement:
- Retention rates
- Internal mobility
- eNPS (employee net promoter score)
- Productivity benchmarks
- Sentiment trends in feedback
Look for patterns. Track progress. Then act. Measurement should lead to momentum, not just management.
10. Make It a Living, Breathing Strategy
Here’s the truth: your engagement strategy will never be “done.”
It’s not a one-and-done initiative or a slide in your investor deck. It’s a living framework that should evolve as your company grows, your team shifts, and the world changes.
Check in regularly. Ask what’s working. Stay open to iteration.
Because the moment you treat engagement like a checkbox is the moment you start losing it.
Final Thoughts
The companies that will win in this next era aren’t just the ones with the best tech or the most capital. They’re the ones who understand this one powerful principle:
Business performance is human performance.
You want better results? Start with your people. Create a strategy that puts them at the center—not as resources, but as drivers. Invest in clarity. Build with empathy. Lead with vision. And engage with intention.
At The New Workforce, this isn’t theory—it’s how we operate. And it’s why we’re not just scaling. We’re soaring.
So here’s the challenge: Don’t settle for a team that shows up. Build a team that lights up. That’s where the real magic begins.
Let’s create companies where engagement isn’t an initiative—it’s a way of life.
About Kraig Kleeman
Kraig Kleeman is a highly successful entrepreneur, author, and showrunner. If his accomplishments and aspirations were to draw inspiration from natural icons, he could be described as a fusion of Elon Musk’s visionary approach to business and Mick Jagger’s electrifying stage presence. He possesses keen business acumen and a flair for captivating performances that awe audiences.
Kraig’s entrepreneurial spirit is boundless, as evidenced by his track record of founding a tech company and taking it from nothing to $30 million in sales, in less than four years. His newest venture, CEO Branding Worldwide, is growing by triple digits, quarter over quarter. While some may liken his abilities to a Midas touch, others prefer to think of it as transforming companies into profitable ventures instead of turning things into gold!
