What are Employee Engagement Models? 5 Models to Improve Employee Engagement
Gallup reports that only 23% of employees worldwide are engaged at work. That means most of your team may be coasting, or worse, actively disengaging and dragging down morale and output.
If you're committed to building a high-performing team, surface-level perks won't cut it. You need a proven, meaningful employee engagement model.
A well-defined engagement model is a strategic tool that helps you understand what drives your people, where your culture is falling short, and how to turn that around.
So, What Exactly is an Employee Engagement Model?
An employee engagement model is a structured approach to understanding what motivates employees and how to design work environments where they stay committed, energised, and productive. Think of it as a blueprint.
A good employee engagement framework helps leaders connect the dots between culture, leadership, communication, and performance. It gives structure to engagement, so you’re not just guessing what works.
Models vs. Programs:
Programs are one-off tactics (like surveys or wellness days). A model is the foundation, it informs everything from how you onboard to how you promote.
Frameworks vs. Models:
Some use “employee engagement framework” and “model” interchangeably, and that’s fair. But technically, a framework is broader: it can guide strategy across multiple teams or departments. A model often gets more specific, detailing the mechanics behind engagement (like Gallup’s Q12 or the Say-Stay-Strive method).
Why Do You Need an Employee Engagement Model?
Without an employee engagement model, companies end up reacting, throwing perks at the problem or over-surveying employees without following up. The result? Burnout, turnover, and teams that feel like no one’s steering the ship.
A strong employee engagement framework provides: high Retention, Productivity, and Profitability.
It also solves practical HR challenges:
- Combat burnout by ensuring roles are designed with purpose and clarity.
- Lowers churn by aligning employees’ work with their strengths and goals.
- Equips managers with a consistent roadmap, so engagement doesn’t depend on personality or guesswork.
Common Drivers of Employee Engagement
Before choosing or building an employee engagement model, you need to understand what actually drives engagement. Hint: It’s not free snacks or a generic “culture fit.”
Here are the real levers that move the needle:
Trust in Leadership
Leadership plays a big role in employee engagement. Employees who trust leadership are more likely to stay loyal, take initiative, and speak up when something’s off. This starts with transparency, leaders who communicate openly, admit mistakes, and connect business goals to people’s day-to-day work.
Career Development
Stagnation kills engagement. Teams want to grow, learn, and move forward through internal mobility, mentorship, or new skill-building opportunities. A great employee engagement framework should include clear development pathways.
Recognition and Purpose
People want to know their work matters, and they want to be seen for it. Regular feedback, meaningful recognition, and a clear connection to purpose all fuel long-term engagement.
Autonomy and Flexibility
Micromanagement smothers motivation. When employees have control over their work, schedules, and decision-making, they’re more invested and perform better. Combine this with flexibility (remote options, flex hours), and you unlock deeper commitment.
Wellbeing and Inclusion
A healthy workplace is a productive one. Inclusive cultures where people feel respected, heard, and safe to be themselves drive higher engagement. Add strong support for mental health at work, and you’ve got a team that actually wants to show up.
Also read: The 5 C’s of Employee Engagement
Employee Engagement Models That Work
Not every organisation needs the same employee engagement model. But chances are, one of these six will give you the structure you need, or inspire you to create your own. Each model brings a different lens to engagement. Let’s break them down.
Aon Hewitt’s Say-Stay-Strive Model
This employee engagement model links employee engagement to three specific behaviours: advocacy, loyalty, and discretionary effort. It provides a clear way to measure how committed employees are and how that affects business outcomes.
Core components:
- Say – Employees speak positively about the company and recommend it to others.
- Stay – They express a strong intention to remain with the company long term.
- Strive – They go beyond basic job requirements and show high levels of effort.
The model assesses six key engagement drivers:
- The nature of the work itself
- Relationships with coworkers and supervisors
- Career and growth opportunities
- Total rewards (compensation and benefits)
- Organisational values and practices
- Quality of life, including work-life balance
Pros:
- Actionable and easy to interpret
- Backed by extensive global research
- Connects engagement directly to business performance
Cons:
- Focuses more on behavioural outcomes than emotional causes
- May require external consultants or survey platforms
Gallup’s Q12 Model
A widely used employee engagement framework built around 12 questions designed to measure what employees need to thrive at work. It helps leaders identify engagement strengths and weaknesses at the team level.
Core components:
The 12 questions address themes like:
- Knowing what's expected at work
- Access to tools and resources
- Opportunities for development
- Recognition and praise
- Feeling cared for by a manager
- Alignment with company mission
Each response is linked to key business outcomes like customer satisfaction, profitability, and retention.
Pros:
- Scalable across small teams and large enterprises
- Data-driven and research-backed
- Empowers managers with actionable insights
Cons:
- Requires training to interpret and act on data
- Doesn’t emphasise external motivators like compensation
Deloitte’s Simply Irresistible Organisation
This engagement model focuses on designing a workplace that people genuinely want to be part of. It combines psychological needs with business strategy to create a compelling employee experience.
Core components:
The framework includes five pillars:
- Meaningful work aligned to individual strengths
- Supportive and empowering management
- A positive and inclusive work environment
- Opportunities for continuous learning and growth
- Leadership that inspires trust and purpose
Pros:
- Covers the full spectrum of the employee experience
- Prioritises human-centred leadership
- Emphasises trust, inclusivity, and meaning
Cons:
- Can be complex and resource-intensive to implement
- Lacks specific guidance on compensation strategies
Maslow-Based Model
This employee engagement model adapts Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to the workplace, outlining how employees' needs must be met in stages.
Core components:
- Basic needs – Compensation, job safety, and a stable work environment
- Belonging – Positive relationships, teamwork, and community
- Esteem – Recognition, responsibility, and respect
- Growth – Career development and autonomy
- Purpose – Alignment with meaningful work and personal values
Pros:
- Easy to understand and communicate to all employees
- Encourages a holistic, people-first mindset
- Adaptable to individual and organisational needs
Cons:
- Doesn’t include specific tools for employee engagement measurement
- May require customisation for different job roles and industries
Also, find out: 10 Employee Engagement Games and Activities
Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Model
An engagement model that helps organisations balance the pressures employees face with the support they’re given. It’s commonly used in high-stress environments.
Core components:
- Job Demands – Workload, time pressure, emotional strain, and unclear expectations
- Job Resources – Autonomy, social support, training, feedback, and advancement opportunities
The balance between demands and resources determines engagement levels or risk of burnout.
Pros:
- Offers a clear diagnostic structure
- Helps organisations proactively manage stress and burnout
- Applies well across roles and departments
Cons:
- May miss emotional or cultural nuances
- Geared more toward stress management than long-term engagement growth
The Kahn Model (Alternative: Zinger Model)
This foundational engagement model, based on William Kahn’s research, focuses on employees’ psychological presence at work. It encourages people to be emotionally, mentally, and physically invested in what they do.
Core components:
- Meaningful Work – Employees feel their contributions matter and align with personal goals
- Psychological Safety – A work environment where individuals feel safe to express themselves and take risks
- Personal Investment – Emotional and cognitive energy is fully directed to work
The Zinger Model expands on Kahn’s ideas with practical tools and leadership behaviours that support sustained engagement.
Pros:
- Highlights deep emotional drivers of engagement
- Encourages openness, inclusivity, and trust
- Strengthens personal connection to the workplace
Cons:
- Hard to quantify and track using standard metrics
- Requires skilled leadership and cultural readiness
How to Choose the Right Employee Engagement Model for Your Company
Picking an employee engagement model is about finding a system that reflects how your company operates and what your people need. Use the points below to guide your decision.
Match the Model to Your Company Culture
If your culture emphasises autonomy and innovation, a rigid, compliance-heavy model will backfire. On the other hand, if your team values structure and predictability, a loose, informal framework may create confusion. Choose an engagement model that mirrors how your organisation thinks and behaves, not just how it markets itself.
Consider the Business Stage and Growth Phase
Startups and early-stage companies may prioritise flexibility, alignment, and trust-building, which makes models like Kahn’s or Deloitte’s a better fit. Mature organisations often need structure and measurement, where Gallup’s Q12 or Aon Hewitt’s model offers clearer ROI tracking.
Evaluate Organisational Complexity
The more complex your company, across departments, locations, or functions, the more critical it is to choose an engagement framework that scales. Survey-based models like Gallup Q12 can be rolled out widely and benchmarked across teams. Culture-first models like Zinger’s require deeper, localised application and leadership buy-in.
Align With Team Size and Management Bandwidth
If you have limited HR support or stretched managers, opt for models with built-in structure and tools. Engagement won’t stick if managers don’t have time to act on it. Choose a framework that makes it easier for them, not harder.
Audit Existing Tools and Systems
Your engagement model should complement what you already use, not duplicate or contradict it. If you run regular pulse surveys, make sure the model you adopt builds on that data. If your company uses performance management platforms or recognition tools, ensure they can be integrated into your engagement strategy.
Identify the Core Problem You're Trying to Solve
Different models solve different problems. If burnout is your top issue, the JD-R model helps balance pressure and support. If low morale is the concern, a model rooted in purpose and recognition, like Maslow or Deloitte, will offer more lift. Let the problem dictate the approach.
Test for Executive and Manager Buy-In
An engagement model is useless without leadership support. Make sure the approach you choose is something your leadership team understands, believes in, and is willing to champion. If they see engagement as “just an HR initiative,” it will stall before it starts.
Prioritise Actionability Over Theory
Some models sound good in a slide deck but fall flat in the real world. Choose a model that tells managers exactly what to do, whether that’s coaching regularly, creating recognition loops, or improving communication flow.
How to Put an Engagement Model Into Practice
Choosing an employee engagement model is step one. Making it work across your organisation is what actually drives results. Here’s how to roll out an engagement framework that sticks:
Start With a Baseline Assessment
Use surveys, exit interviews, and informal check-ins to understand where your employees stand. What’s working? What’s broken? Which teams are thriving and which are burned out? This diagnostic step helps you choose the right model or tailor one to your context.
Involve the Right Stakeholders Early
Don’t build engagement in isolation. Involve team leads, people managers, and reps from different departments early in the process. This builds trust, increases buy-in, and gives you a clearer view of day-to-day employee experience.
Set Clear Objectives and KPIs
What does success look like? Improved retention? Higher satisfaction scores? More internal promotions? Define a few key metrics up front so you can track progress and adapt over time.
Run a Pilot Program
Start small. Apply your engagement model to one department or region first. Test the messaging, get feedback, and see what resonates. Use these insights to fine-tune your wider rollout.
Train Your Managers to Lead Engagement
Engagement lives or dies with managers. Equip them with practical tools, conversation guides, recognition templates, and coaching frameworks, so they know exactly how to drive the model on the ground.
Integrate Into Daily Workflows
Your engagement model shouldn’t feel like “one more thing.” Embed it into existing rhythms, team meetings, 1:1s, performance reviews, and onboarding. Make engagement part of how work gets done, not an add-on.
Communicate Consistently
Keep the message alive. Share stories of what’s working. Celebrate team wins tied to the model. Reinforce key behaviours until they become part of the culture.
How CHOYS Can Help You With Employee Engagement
Putting an employee engagement model into practice takes the right tools. That’s where CHOYS comes in. CHOYS is a comprehensive employee engagement and wellbeing platform that helps organisations measure, manage, and strengthen engagement at every level.
It starts with our Employee Engagement Survey, designed to uncover what’s driving or draining morale. From there, we create a tailored engagement plan based on your results, no guesswork, just actionable strategy.
But we don’t stop at insights, we drive real participation. CHOYS includes built-in tools that support your chosen engagement framework, such as:
- Steps, Challenges, and Step Duels to promote physical wellbeing and team bonding
- Recognition and Rewards to highlight top performers and build a culture of appreciation
- A Habit Tracker to help employees build and sustain positive routines
Ready to stop guessing and start engaging? Let CHOYS help you build a happier, healthier, high-performing workplace.
FAQs On Employee Engagement Models
What are the 4 types of employee engagement?
The four types of employee engagement typically describe levels of commitment and involvement employees have with their work and organisation. Highly engaged employees are deeply connected to their roles and consistently go above expectations. Moderately engaged employees are generally satisfied but not fully invested. Disengaged employees do the minimum required, often without emotional investment.
What is the employee engagement model theory?
Employee engagement model theory refers to the conceptual understanding of what drives employees to be emotionally and psychologically committed to their work. These theories are often based on organisational psychology and behavioural science.
What are the 4 pillars of employee engagement?
The four pillars of employee engagement are typically understood as leadership, recognition, development, and wellbeing. These areas represent the core factors that improve the engagement of employees in the workplace.
Why is having an employee engagement model important?
An employee engagement model gives structure and direction to your engagement efforts. Without one, initiatives are often reactive, inconsistent, and hard to measure.
How do you implement an employee engagement model?
To implement an employee engagement model effectively, start by assessing current engagement levels through surveys or focus groups. Identify the main challenges your workforce is facing, then choose a model that aligns with your goals, culture, and business needs.
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