Companies are deploying new employee engagement and workplace culture strategies, including augmented reality and data-driven personalization, as recent research indicates one in three employees never clicks on internal company emails.
A critical breakdown in traditional corporate communication is evident as 72% of HR leaders report workers have higher expectations of their organizations than in the past, according to Benefit News. This forces organizations to adopt interactive technologies and personalized development programs, designed to capture attention, foster belonging, and combat persistent disengagement among their workforce.
What We Know So Far
- Latest global research reports that one in three employees never clicks on company emails, according to techrseries.com.
- Of the employees who do open internal emails, only 34% read more than half of the content, the same research indicates.
- In response, companies like Salesforce are using augmented reality (AR) in their offices to enhance onboarding and company culture.
- Southern Glazer's is using data from employee surveys and feedback to inform its talent strategy and personalize benefits for its approximately 24,000 employees.
- Jollibee Group recently earned Gallup’s highest workplace honor, winning the Gallup Engagement Award for the fifth consecutive year, as reported by Asian News Network.
Successful Strategies for Boosting Employee Engagement
Low engagement with internal emails signals that conventional methods are less effective, prompting organizations to seek new channels to connect with staff. This challenge has spurred innovation, with some companies turning to immersive technologies to deliver key messages and reinforce corporate culture through more dynamic and targeted communication.
Augmented reality is one such strategy gaining traction. According to techrseries.com, Salesforce introduced an AR experience in its Dublin Tower, featuring ten interactive points accessible via QR codes to enrich its onboarding process. Similarly, Bupa utilized an interactive AR experience for its 'Savannah27' strategy rollout. The initiative reportedly garnered 99% positive feedback from employees and resulted in average quiz scores of 80%, demonstrating a high level of message comprehension and engagement.
Other companies are focusing on a data-driven, personalized approach to benefits and career development. At Southern Glazer's, Chief Human Resources Officer Amy Kickham has led an effort to rethink the company's engagement strategy by leveraging employee feedback. The company uses data from surveys to identify distinct talent populations—engaged, passive, and top talent—and tailor its strategies accordingly. This approach informs everything from benefits packages to leadership training.
"Employees are comfortable jumping from job to job, which means that it's up to us to teach them, train them and hold ourselves accountable to their growth," Kickham told Benefit News. This philosophy underpins two major initiatives: a wellness program called BYOB (Be You Only Better) to support physical and mental health, and the development of Southern Glazers University, an online learning platform.
Key Initiatives Shaping Modern Workplace Culture
Meaningful, regular conversations between supervisors and their team members are a practical, powerful tool for strengthening culture and boosting engagement. These interactions build trust and connection that broad, impersonal communications often fail to achieve, representing a renewed focus on the human element of management beyond technology and data.
According to analysis from agproud.com, several key elements define these culture-building conversations. They include providing specific recognition, discussing team relationships, ensuring clarity on goals and expectations, maintaining a consistent frequency, and adopting a strengths-based dialogue. Such intentional conversations make employees feel seen and valued, which is a cornerstone of a positive work environment. These discussions do not need to be lengthy; regular 15- to 30-minute check-ins can be highly effective.
Jollibee Group, which recently won the Gallup Engagement Award for the fifth consecutive year, exemplifies the long-term benefits of sustained commitment to employee engagement. Such consistent recognition results from a multifaceted strategy combining clear communication, growth opportunities, and a culture of recognition and support, reinforcing that engagement is an ongoing process, not a one-time initiative.
The Shifting Paradigm of Employee Experience
Vinod Nair, CHRO at Aadhar Housing Finance Ltd, states that the next phase of HR will be shaped by a search for balance and proven credibility, particularly concerning new technologies like artificial intelligence. This suggests the evolution of human resources and employee engagement will be characterized by careful validation rather than rapid disruption.
"AI adoption is currently in its nascent stage because most HR leaders are seeking final validation of credibility," Nair noted in an interview with HRKatha. This cautious approach suggests that while technology will be a critical tool, its implementation will be deliberate and measured to ensure it genuinely enhances the employee experience.
Nair believes skills will play a larger role in hiring decisions, though academic degrees will remain relevant as indicators of discipline and structured thinking. This hybrid approach, aligning with agile work teams and project-based work, is expected to give way to "career lattices"—flexible career paths enabling lateral movement and diverse growth trajectories within an organization, catering to employees seeking a breadth of experience.
"I'm a firm believer that every employee in our organization has the skills and abilities to do something more if we just give them the opportunity to," said Southern Glazer's Amy Kickham. This reflects a broader understanding that employee growth is not always linear, emphasizing internal mobility and continuous learning as key to retention.
What We Know About Next Steps
Southern Glazer's plans to finalize its online learning platform, Southern Glazers University, by 2027. This platform, designed to provide leadership development programs and classes for all employees, represents a significant, multi-year investment in embedding new engagement strategies and internal talent development.
"With the pace of work and technological change, burnouts and disengagement are bound to increase," Vinod Nair told HRKatha. This means workplace challenges will persist, requiring organizations to continuously adapt their strategies, as employee engagement must be an evolving practice responsive to changing workplace dynamics, not a static program.
The focus on creating robust workplace cultures and effective engagement strategies is also reflected in labor market projections. Employment for HR and benefits leaders is projected to grow 8% from 2023 to 2033, a rate faster than the average for all occupations. This growth underscores the increasing organizational priority placed on attracting, retaining, and engaging talent in a competitive and rapidly changing world of work.
