Employee engagement isn’t just a feel-good HR metric; it’s a competitive advantage. And with hybrid work, burnout and job-hopping on the rise, ensuring employees feel connected to your company’s mission and purpose is no longer optional.
When you engage your people, they show up with more energy, contribute better ideas, stick around longer and deliver better results.
But here’s the catch: engagement isn’t something you can fix with casual Fridays or free coffee and donuts. True engagement is rooted in purpose, trust, recognition and clear communication. It means employees feel heard, supported and motivated to contribute to something bigger than themselves.
In this article, we discuss the concept of corporate employee engagement, explain why it directly impacts your bottom line and share employee engagement and CSR efforts that actually work.
What is corporate employee engagement?
Employee engagement is the emotional and psychological connection employees feel toward their organization’s mission, values and long-term goals.
Unlike job satisfaction, which reflects an employee’s enjoyment in their role, engagement speaks to how they show up at work and their enthusiasm towards their professional life. This ultimately drives how motivated they are to contribute to their company’s goals and overall growth.
It’s something that can — and should — be cultivated and measured through impactful and meaningful employee initiatives that create a sense of purpose and connection at work. Especially programs that align with company EVP (employee value proposition) and mission and values.
What does this look like in practice? Consider an organizational “plant a tree drive” that’s linked to employee training hours. For each training program completed, the organization plants an additional tree per employee. Or a company leaderboard where employees can log volunteer hours and track their progress against colleagues.
These are examples of purpose-driven employee initiatives that can spark engagement and help your people feel more connected to your organization's values and mission.
Why employee engagement matters
Employee engagement builds more than goodwill. It leads to stronger business outcomes, including higher productivity, better retention and improved customer satisfaction. Companies that focus on engagement also have seen measurable gains in profitability and team performance.
Why? It’s simple. Engaged employees are typically high-impact workers who are more aligned with business goals and more likely to contribute meaningfully: Gallup reports that highly engaged teams experience 23% higher profitability and 18% higher productivity.
But while these figures are impressive, employee engagement is declining across the board.
In 2024, only 21% of employees said they were engaged at work, down from 23% in 2023 and 39% in 2021.
This shows how important it is for companies to build an authentic workplace culture that continuously fosters purpose, belonging and recognition.
One powerful way companies can do this (and reap the benefits of employee engagement) is by investing in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.
How CSR programs can improve employee engagement
CSR initiatives help bring purpose at work by mobilizing employees to helpdrive change in causes that matter to them. That can include volunteering, donating or taking other positive actions like participating in ERGs or adopting sustainability efforts.
Getting involved in these kind of activities help teams feel connected to something beyond their regular responsibilities. And this fosters pride, strengthens loyalty and builds emotional connection in the workplace.
This sense of purpose leads to higher engagement, better collaboration and a more positive workplace culture.
CSR and employee engagement in the real world
Appfire, a global software company, partnered with Benevity to launch “Appfire Town.” The idea behind the program was to make giving back easy and a part of everyday work.
New hires receive $25 to donate or any nonprofit of their choice. The company also ran monthly campaigns to keep people engaged.
In the first year, the initiative achieved a 76% program engagement rate, facilitated over $566,000 in donations, logged 4,633 volunteer hours and scaled impact with 968 organizations worldwide.
That’s how purpose turns into action and action builds engagement.
Top strategies for employee engagement
It takes a lot to build the kind of employee engagement strategy that can support both profitability and productivity. You may need to trial multiple approaches to find the programs and initiatives that align best with your mission, vision and employees to achieve long-term engagement and satisfaction.
If you're looking for employee engagement ideas that go beyond the usual perks, focus on initiatives that create a meaningful connection between employees and their work.
- Employee recognition programs: Employees want to feel seen. Regular, meaningful recognition, both peer-to-peer and manager-led, reinforces positive behavior and boosts morale.
- Open communication: Transparent communication builds trust. Create regular touchpoints where employees can share feedback, ask questions and stay informed.
- Career growth opportunities: Employees are more engaged when they can envision a future with your company. Offer upskilling programs, internal mobility and clear development paths to help support their professional growth.
- CSR initiatives: CSR programs can strengthen internal culture by giving employees shared causes to rally around. When CSR is embedded into company values, not treated as an add-on, it builds deeper alignment and pride across teams.
These employee engagement efforts can help create a work environment where people feel energized, connected and driven to succeed.
Check out our guide for a deeper dive into 17 employee engagement strategies that actually work.
Measuring employee engagement success
To gauge the success of any program you need to measure it.Here are some of the crucial metrics to track.
Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS)
Just like customer NPS score, eNPS measures how likely your employees are to recommend your company as a great place to work. Tracking eNPS regularly can reveal how engagement shifts over time and help to benchmark internal progress.
Employee retention and turnover rates
High turnover may signal low engagement, dissatisfaction or a lack of growth opportunities. When you monitor these rates, you can identify whether employees feel valued and supported in their roles.
Employee engagement survey responses and feedback
Who better than your employees to tell you how they feel? Conducting regular employee feedback surveys helps capture employee sentiment, concerns and ideas. Offer an anonymous feedback option to create a safe space for honest input and help leaders make informed decisions. But be sure to act on the results, ignoring survey results can erode trust with the very people you want to keep engaged at work.
Participation in CSR programs
When employees take part in company volunteering, giving or sustainability campaigns, it signals more than just involvement; it shows they feel a sense of shared purpose with the organization.
Plus, employees are more likely to join CSR efforts when the initiatives reflect causes they truly care about. That’s why it’s important to choose programs that align with both company values and employee interest, or allow employees to make their own choices about where to give and how to participate.
Tracking participation helps you understand how well your CSR efforts connect with company culture. High engagement may mean that your team considers the programs to be relevant and meaningful and reinforce a sense of belonging.
Case study: How Cisco engaged employees and globalized their CSR program
What does a successful employee engagement initiative look like in practice? Take a look at how Cisco’s CSR program helped drive engagement and amplify purpose.
The challenge
With an existing 80% employee participation rate in their social impact initiatives, Cisco sought to maintain and improve this engagement as they expanded their program’s reach globally.
The solution
Cisco partnered with Benevity to launch a centralized platform for global giving and volunteering.
This integration provided employees with access to over 100,000 Cisco-approved nonprofits (from Benevity’s extensive database of over 2 million organizations). This was a significant increase from the 7,000 available through their previous CSR partner.
Plus, Benevity enabled Cisco to engage in 22 languages and offer tax receipts in nine countries (up from two).
Innovative features
To improve participation further, Cisco used Benevity’s mobile app so employees could engage with the program on the go. Additional features like Peer Matching enabled employees to match donations made by their colleagues. Challenges encouraged small, impactful actions that made participation easier and more appealing.
Key results
- 86% employee participation rate in 2024, the company’s highest to date
- Nearly 60% increase in volunteer time tracked*
- 15% more global nonprofits supported*
- $27 million USD donated through its program in their fiscal 2023 year
*when compared to an equivalent time window with previous vendor
Impact on employee engagement
This success story goes beyond social impact; Cisco’s approach also proved that purpose-driven programs improved their employee satisfaction and retention.
A three-year longitudinal study conducted by Cisco revealed that employees who participated in the social impact program were more likely to: stay with the company longer, receive higher bonuses, have increased promotion chances and garner more recognition, when compared to those who did not participate.
“It was amazing to achieve our goal. This gave us an opportunity to not only understand our social impact, but also explore how employee giving impacts our business.” — Brian Tippens, Senior Vice President and Chief Social Impact Officer at Cisco
Improve employee engagement with a CSR program that reflects your purpose
"When people are financially invested, they want a return. When people are emotionally invested, they want to contribute." — Simon Sinek
When companies hire employees, they invest in training, onboarding and development. But that investment is in vain when employees feel disconnected or undervalued and end up churning.
Employee engagement can help bridge that gap. When people feel emotionally connected to their work and aligned with the company’s purpose, especially through initiatives like CSR, they are more likely to stick around and contribute meaningfully to their organization and their community.
Ready to pair impact and employee engagement? Launch your CSR program with Benevity.
FAQs about corporate employee engagement
What is employee engagement?
Employee engagement refers to the emotional commitment and level of involvement employees feel towards their organization. Engaged employees care about their jobs and responsibilities, and they don’t work just for a paycheck.
They take initiative, go the extra mile and contribute actively to the company’s goals and values. This sense of ownership leads to better performance, higher retention and a more motivated workforce.
Why is employee engagement important for business success?
Employee engagement directly influences a company’s performance and profitability. Engaged employees are more productive, innovative and committed to their organization’s goals.
Investing in engagement can help reduce turnover, improve morale and create a culture where employees and business thrive together.
How can CSR programs enhance employee engagement?
CSR programs give employees a chance to support causes they care about through meaningful action.This sense of purpose, when provided or championed by their employer, helps employees feel valued and emotionally connected to their workplace.
Company-sponsored volunteering, workplace donation and matching opportunities and sustainability efforts strengthen alignment with company values and missions. And when employees see their impact beyond work, they’re more likely to stay engaged and motivated.
