Employee engagement initiatives help create a workforce that feels motivated and inspired to contribute to organizational goals and business success.  Learn techniques employers can use to enhance engagement in recognition, professional development, wellness, leadership, and other strategic human resource and total rewards programs.

Declining Engagement

In early 2025, Gallup released two U.S.-focused reports showing declining rates of both employee engagement and employee respect. Their annual statistics on employee engagement trends showed that overall engagement “fell to its lowest level in a decade in 2024, with only 31% of employees engaged.” In addition, Gallup recently released their 2025 State of the Global Workplace report, which describes a decline in employee engagement for global workplaces.

Feeling Valued Boosts Retention

In a recent International Foundation webcast, Beyond Borders: Building Meaningful Benefits for a Global and Diverse Workforce, moderator Marta Turba, vice president of content strategy at WorldatWork, mentioned the Gallup surveys when discussing the declining levels of employee engagement. She identified how employers can respond to these types of statistics by better managing their support as they invest in employee benefits that deliver meaning and elevate the experience of their workforce.

Turba kicked off the webcast saying, “Employees who experience respect and caring in the workplace perform better, stay longer, contribute more, have less stress and have higher amounts of innovation.” When employees feel valued at work, they choose to stay and grow at a company. But there can be missed opportunities when there is a “disconnect between what employees expect and the way organizations design their employee experience.”

Panelists Liz Yovich, director of global engagement and employee benefits at Worldwide Broker Network, and Alia O’Neill, senior manager, global compensation, benefits & equity at Duck Creek Technologies, addressed how they manage employee benefits within their global workforces. They provided actionable strategies that other employers could consider in their own benefits programs. Each mentioned creating employee benefits programs that promote respect and caring across multiple generations and cultures within workforces.

Respect and Caring

Central to this broader discussion were three topics:

• Employee benefits can be a lever to advance meaning and respect within a multinational workforce
• Considerations for identifying employee benefits offerings reflecting the different cultures and generations in a workforce
• Actionable items used by multinational employers.

Digital Tools

Yovich discussed simplifying the employee experience across countries. Cost containment is a major concern for employers across the world, and they’re leaning on technology to help. However, some employers are paying for expensive digital tools that many employees don’t use or don’t know how to access when the need arises. Employers can create a unified experience in their total rewards by using global resources for employee assistance programs as well as mental health and financial well-being support for both employees and their family members.

O’Neill said that technology helps her company personalize benefits by providing proactive education rather than reactive support to make benefits accessible and build trust within the organization. She mentioned that her company has employee resource groups in multiple locations and uses the feedback provided to consider when benefits programs can be more responsive to the needs of the different locations.

Six Strategies Employers Should Focus On

In addition to those major topics, employers can address the following themes and examples within their employee benefits.

• Create accessible benefits.
  • Identify a global benefits strategy.
  • Consider benefits that address and affect family members as well as employees.

• Personalize benefits based on location, generation and culture.
  • Flexible benefit plans address attraction and retention issues.
  • Know when to use the right benefit at the right time for the right situation

• Create equitable solutions and rewards.
  • Focus on consistency and equity versus fairness. Prioritize relevance and cultural needs over standardization.
  • Address employee responsibilities outside of their work life.

• Approach life moments that matter to the workforce.
  • Identify the spectrum of well-being to support the whole employee and encompass total workforce health.
  • Bereavement, miscarriage, and elder care or other caregiving needs are all examples of life moments.

• Promote trust with transparency and communication.
  • Trust in the employer helps attract and retain employees and promotes other business objectives.
  • Provide total rewards statements to help with the visibility of all benefits.

• Listen to employee benefit needs and then change or evolve your programs to address those needs.
  • Shifting expectations requires employers to listen and adapt to employee concerns.
  • Address employee feedback or suggestions in a timely manner.

Employee benefits programs that are scaled to a global workforce and available when employees really need them can be challenging to manage. Employers can emphasize their caring and respect by recognizing that experiences happen every day at a different pace. Organizations should remain responsive to the needs of their employees and adjust their employee benefit program as it needs to evolve.

To learn more about benefits and employee engagement within your workforce, watch the full International Foundation’s webcast, Beyond Borders: Building Meaningful Benefits for a Global and Diverse Workforce.

Developed by International Foundation Information Center staff. This does not constitute legal advice. Please consult your plan professionals for legal advice.