Strategies For Boosting Employee Engagement During Change

Let’s face it - current headlines spell a recipe for employee stress. Raging inflation, recession worries, international strife, social justice issues, and overall uncertainty pile onto already full work plates. As business leaders, keeping teams motivated despite swirling fears matters more than ever. Here are 5 strategies I lean into to curb burnout and boost morale during turbulent times: 1. Overcommunicate Context and Vision: Proactively address concerns through radical transparency and big picture framing. Our SOP is to hold quarterly all hands and monthly meetings grouped by level cohort and ramp up fireside chats and written memos when there are big changes happening. 2. Enable Flexibility and Choice: Where Possible Empower work-life balance and self-care priorities based on individuals’ needs. This includes our remote work policy and implementing employee engagement tools like Lattice to track feedback loops. 3. Spotlight Impact Through Community Stories: Connect employees to end customers and purpose beyond daily tasks. We leveled up on this over the past 2 years. We provide paid volunteer days to our employees and our People Operations team actively connects our employees with opportunities in their region or remotely to get involved monthly. Recently we added highlighting the social impact by our employees into our internal communications plan. 4. Incentivize Cross-Collaboration: Reduce silos by rewarding team-wide contributions outside core roles. We’ve increased cross team retreats and trainings to spark fresh connections as our employee base grows. 5. Celebrate the Humanity: Profile your employee’s talents beyond work through content spotlight segments. We can’t control the market we operate in, but as leaders we can make an impact on how we foster better collaboration to tackle the headwinds. Keeping spirits and productivity intact requires acknowledging modern anxieties directly while sustaining focus on goals ahead. Reminding your teams why the work matters and that they are valued beyond output unlocks loyalty despite swirling worries. What tactics succeeded at boosting team morale and preventing burnout spikes within your company amidst current volatility?

Your employees have wishes. Not for ping-pong tables or pizza Fridays, but for a small shift in your leadership. Unfortunately they probably aren't going to tell you what they really need. According to research, 58% avoid giving honest feedback to their boss—because they don’t believe it will make a difference (SHRM, 2023). Their silence isn’t compliance, or lack of engagement. It’s protection. Fear of retaliation, power dynamics, or simply not wanting to "rock the boat" prevents employees from speaking up. How you can grant your employees' wishes without magic wands? Here are five powerful shifts. 🌟 1. Lead from clarity. When priorities shift weekly, employees get lost in the fog. They don’t need the full strategy brief—but they do need to understand the why behind the change. 👉 What to do: Pause before pivoting. Write out your reasoning. If you can’t explain it clearly, the team won’t follow it confidently. Clarity fuels progress. 🌟 2. Keep your promises. Even small promises—“I’ll get back to you next week”—carry weight. When those are forgotten, trust begins to unravel. 👉 What to do: Calendar your commitments. Follow through, or circle back if something shifts. When your word holds weight, so does your leadership. 🌟 3. Invite their perspective. Your employees have insights you can’t see from the top. But if disagreement feels dangerous, those insights stay buried. 👉 What to do: Normalize feedback. Encourage respectful dissent. Create safe ways to speak up. Your best ideas might be stuck behind a culture of silence. 🌟 4. See them and the value they bring. People want to contribute more than what's in their job description. They want to make a difference, but you have to pay attention. 👉 What to do: Ask for their ideas. Celebrate them when they step up. Example: At Diageo, a multinational beverages giant, employees saved $7.8M just by sharing what they already knew. 🌟 5. Build trust with your actions. Trust doesn’t come from slogans or values painted on the wall. It comes from the way you show up—especially in the small moments. 👉 What to do: Be present. Listen more than you speak. Acknowledge gaps. Every interaction is a chance to either build trust—or burn it. ✨ Conclusion According to Gallup, companies that actively seek employee feedback experience 14% higher productivity and 21% higher profitability. No fairy dust required. One small but powerful action is more sustainable than Ping Pong Tables and Pizza. Do you have more to add? Let’s learn from each other 👇 #LIPostingDayApril  #Leadership  

Change doesn’t fail because people resist it. It fails because people feel left out of it. If employees feel like change is happening to them—instead of with them—You will get compliance at best. But if they feel like they’re part of something bigger? That’s when commitment begins. Engagement isn’t about cheerleading from the top. It’s about designing a process where people feel informed, involved, and empowered. Here are 7 ways to build real engagement during transformation: 🔹 1. Involve, Don’t Just Inform → People support what they help build. Invite them early into conversations. 🔹 2. Link Change to Personal Meaning → If it doesn't connect to their purpose, it won't stick. 🔹 3. Create Local Ownership → Make change visible at the team level—not just in strategy decks. 🔹 4. Recognize Early Adopters → Highlight those who lead by example to inspire the rest. 🔹 5. Share the Journey Publicly → Updates = traction. Visibility = trust. 🔹 6. Ask, Don’t Assume → Feedback isn’t a one-time event—it’s your fuel for course correction. 🔹 7. Provide Resources to Succeed → A new mindset needs the support of new tools and capabilities. Engagement is not an initiative. It’s a leadership discipline. And in every successful transformation, it’s the difference between quiet quitting and full commitment. If your team is navigating change and you need help building alignment, ownership, and follow-through… 📩 DM me “TRANSFORM” to explore how I support organizations as a fractional transformation executive—turning strategy into shared momentum.

11 Strategies To Boost Your Team's Morale This isn’t about perks but about trust and purpose. Burnout spreads faster than gossip. Quiet quitting starts with invisible neglect. Your team’s loyalty is earned, not bought. Fix the cracks before they break your culture: 1. Celebrate Small Wins Publicly ➜ Ignored progress fuels burnout. ➜ Start meetings with a “win wall.” 2. Offer Flexibility Without Strings ➜ Rigid schedules scream distrust. ➜ Implement “core hours,” then step back. 3. Invest in Growth (Even If They Leave) ➜ Stagnant roles = silent resignations. ➜ Fund courses, certs, or passion projects. 4. Ditch Micromanagement ➜ Hovering kills creativity. ➜ Swap daily check-ins for weekly goals. 5. Prioritize Mental Health ➜ “Unlimited PTO” means nothing if unused. ➜ Enforce “no-meeting Fridays” and model it. 6. Share the “Why” Behind Work ➜ Tasks without purpose = resentment. ➜ Start projects with a “purpose pitch.” 7. Gamify Mundane Tasks ➜ Tedium drains energy. ➜ Turn KPIs into team challenges. 8. Rotate Leadership Roles ➜ Junior voices = fresh perspectives. ➜ Assign a “meeting captain” weekly. 9. Be Transparent About Challenges ➜ Secrets erode trust. ➜ Host monthly AMAs with leadership. 10. Create Fun Rituals ➜ Forced fun backfires. ➜ Try trivia or “desk decor” contests. 11. Listen (Then Act) ➜ Surveys without action = morale poison. ➜ Share “You spoke, we did” updates. Morale isn’t a pizza party. Tag a leader who needs this. Culture is built daily; or eroded silently. ♻️ Repost this and spread the word. P.S. What team activity do you think is never needed?