Employee engagement occurs when individuals are truly connected to their jobs and share the company's vision. They feel like they're part of the journey and are genuinely happy to work, rather than feeling like a cog in a machine.
'Quiet quitting', according to Gallup1, affects 59% of employees, while another 18% are actively disengaged. The stakes couldn't be higher; disengaged employees cost US companies $550 billion annually in productivity losses.
Fortunately, acknowledging gaps and making small steps can make a big difference.
Zoho Cliq's powerful developer platform allows you to create custom-made tools specific to your team and organization with zero expenses, meaning there's no need to buy new software or other add-on functions. Below are 10 must-have employee engagement tools and workflows to have in place →
1. For seamless onboarding
A new hire's first day typically involves navigating a maze of paperwork and orientation sessions. Without sufficient onboarding, employees can stumble through unclear expectations, miss necessary steps, have trouble understanding what is expected of them, and fail to grasp what success looks like in their role. This can affect their performance early on.
Build a simple onboarding bot in Zoho Cliq to ensure new hires receive job briefs, complete essential tasks, receive training with automated reminders and progress tracking, and connect with other colleagues. This helps them feel welcomed, informed, and part of the team from day one.
2. Building meaningful connections
Building connections can sometimes take time and effort, especially in remote or hybrid work environments. While small talk can get you a little far, it often doesn't help employees foster genuine relationships among team members.
A study by Gallup2 shows that employees with a best friend at work are 7 times more likely to be engaged in their jobs. This kind of workplace connection also helps keep them informed, and it makes them more comfortable asking work-related questions.
An icebreaker bot can help by matching new hires with experienced team or organization members based on skills and interests. It can even create unexpected connections that lead employees to explore new grounds. (ⓘ Learn how to build an icebreaker bot in our developer webinar)
Inject some fun into your workday with the Games extension. Whether you're looking to break the ice with a new colleague or liven up a channel, these quick games offer a perfect mental refresh.
3. Navigating hybrid work
Now that we can see the trend of 81% of hybrid and 78% of remote employees who report higher engagement than their in-office counterparts3, managing hybrid work schedules and office spaces doesn't have to be a logistical nightmare.
A simple yet effective hybrid schedule bot can be built to communicate your weekly availability remotely and in the office so your colleagues are in the know. This way, employees can easily reserve desks, meeting rooms, and private spaces.
Fun fact: At Zoho, we provide a shuttle service and a night cab booking widget so employees can track their next ride and book cabs back home when it's late.
"Before the cab booking app, I had to get cab status updates from cab supervisors, which was pretty chaotic with crowds. Drivers would call out locations loudly, adding to the confusion.
Now, with the booking app, I can simply track the cab, head to the entrance at the designated time, and easily spot the car by its license plate — this has made my travel much smoother and stress-free."
Ajay Shrinivas N, Product Management Associate, Zoho Corporation
4. Transparent feedback
Open communication is the backbone of a healthy, honest workplace. If you really want the scoop on how your employees feel, try anonymous surveys.
The main advantage of anonymous employee polls and feedback forums is the significantly higher response rates, which often exceed 90%4. Anonymity encourages honest responses, as employees are less likely to tailor their feedback to what they think management wants to hear. This is crucial because it makes them more inclined to participate.
This leads to more accurate and actionable data, allowing organizations to address genuine issues rather than superficial concerns.
Install the Anonymous Ally extension → This extension fosters transparency by regularly gauging employee sentiment through quick surveys and polls with automated analysis and reporting. Employees feel heard when voicing their opinions, and management gains invaluable insights for continuous improvement.
5. Team knowledge at your fingertips
Searching for information in a sea of company policies, benefits, compliance documents, and more could be overwhelming.
You could build a slash command to pull up the travel policy quickly or a chatbot that instantly answers common IT or HR questions, leveraging a searchable knowledge base. Employees can instantly find information on policies, benefits, and procedures, saving time and reducing frustration.
6. Keep everyone aware of essential announcements and activities
Gallup5 also found that almost three-quarters of employees feel that missing out on company announcements, holidays, and updates makes employees feel detached from their work and organization. Keeping everyone in the loop about company advancements, updates, and fun activities is crucial.
7. Boost productivity and reduce meeting fatigue
Adding a daily or weekly stand-up bot to your team or organization channels can help engage the 70% of the workforce6 with difficulty actively participating in video calls. By providing an asynchronous option, the bot allows team members to share updates on their own time, increasing overall participation and reducing meeting fatigue.
For example, a 500-person company replacing three weekly meetings with a stand-up bot would reclaim over 7,500 hours of productivity per year. This reduces stress and interruptions, while improving focus.
8. Wellness and self-care
Employee well-being has taken a hit, especially post-pandemic (Only 34% of employees reported thriving in their overall well-being7, which reflects a slight decline from previous years). Wellness reminder bots can encourage healthy habits by nudging employees to hydrate, move, and recharge.
The health benefits are tangible. Employees who complete challenges see 5% to 10% drops in BMI and blood pressure8. The impact is equally striking for companies, yielding a 15% decrease in healthcare costs for employers9, increased job satisfaction, and 37% lower absenteeism10. By fostering a strong wellness culture, these innovative bots are transforming both employee health and workplace productivity.
9. Leave and availability alerts
Coordination becomes seamless with leave management tools that automate time-off requests and keep the team informed about who's out of the office. This results in managers' ability to plan ahead, coordinate work easily, and tell other colleagues not to disturb them during leave days. It's a straightforward way to enhance visibility and planning within the team.
10. Celebrate them
Employee recognition isn't just a nice-to-have—it's a powerful retention tool. Research by Reward Gateway reveals that employees who feel valued are 69% likelier to stay with their company11. This translates to significant savings for large enterprises; companies with 10,000+ employees can save over $16 million annually12 in turnover costs by implementing a recognition program.
An easy celebration extension in Zoho Cliq tracks employee birthdays and life milestones, reminds colleagues of upcoming events, and simplifies shout-outs. This handy assistant ensures that birthdays, work anniversaries, and achievements are consistently recognized, fostering a culture of appreciation with minimal effort.
A moment of appreciation can brighten someone's day or even their entire week. It takes just seconds to recognize a colleague, but the impact can be lasting.
Install the Cele-bee extension today and start celebrating your team's life milestones and work achievements →
Over to you
Ready to boost your organization's and team's engagement? Here's how to get started:
Assess your team's specific engagement challenges and decide what kind of tools will provide the most value in your organization.
In Zoho Cliq Developer Platform, there are a bunch of features and types of tools you can create depending on what you'd like to solve, all integrated right inside where you communicate.
Widgets allow you to build interactive modular interfaces directly within the Cliq app. They can display lists of data and images, enabling users to act on that data.
Bots offer a conversational interface to address inquiries from your employees, clients, and field workers. They can also serve as an interface for receiving alerts and notifications from your tool.
Quickly pull up information or open a form using slash commands, and make messages in any chat actionable using message actions that are powered by functions and connections that help your tool integrate with third-party applications.
Schedulers automate various daily tasks, including retrieving your to-do list from your note-taking app and sharing it in your bot, or fetching recent marketing campaign reports and posting them in the #marketing channel.
And, to top it all off, your tools are powered by databases that securely store, update, and sync your data.
Leveraging Zoho Cliq's developer platform can create a more connected, informed, and motivated workforce. Start building these essential employee engagement tools today, and watch your team thrive!
Inspired? We're always ready to help and build the features you want, so email us at support@zohocliq.com with your requirements, or keep an eye on the community to join our developer circle and get any questions answered.
Explore Zoho Cliq's developer platform →
References:
1 Gallup. (2023). Globally, Employees Are More Engaged — and More Stressed.
2 Gallup. (2023). The Increasing Importance of a Best Friend at Work.
3 Quantum Workplace. (2021). Remote Work Statistics: The State of Remote Work.
4. Best Places to Work for. (n.d.). 5 reasons employee surveys should be anonymous.
5 Gallup. (2014). Companies Are Missing Opportunities for Growth and Revenue.
6 Owl Labs. (2023). State of Remote Work.
7 Gallup. (2024). State of the Global Workplace: 2024.
8 The Lancet. (2021). Work and worker health in the post-pandemic world: a public health perspective.
9 CIPD. (2023). Ensuring Health and Wellbeing Remains a Business Imperative Post-Pandemic.
10 Time Doctor. (2023).Employee Wellbeing Decline.
11 Reward Gateway. (2023). New Research Shows Reward and Recognition Help Reduce Employee Burnout.
12 PerformYard. (2023).Real World Guide to Employee Recognition.
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