6 Best Employee Engagement Workshops in 2023

Employers are still feeling the rumblings of ‘The Great Resignation’ in late 2022, which contradicts the assumption that this mass walkout was intrinsically liked to the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19’s lockdowns merely provided the opportunity for workers to free themselves from position they found unworthy.

As Pew Research^[1] found out, employees were leaving because they felt underpaid, underappreciated and treated with a lack of respect. Given the inherent dangers of working during a pandemic, such working conditions merely provided the proverbial final straw. The problem, reduced to a single word, was one of engagement.

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The Importance of Employee Engagement

Let’s be honest – it’s impossible for everyone to find their job a constant source of unalloyed joy. A lot of roles are emotionally or physically draining, requiring concentration, physical labor, long hours, and interpersonal conflict. However, it is always possible to maximize employee engagement, even under such challenging circumstances.

Because employee engagement maximizes productivity and performance^[2] more than any other factor (according to a Gallup meta-analysis), this is a parameter worth dialing up. Fortunately, much has been written and understood about employee engagement and how to improve it. Some of this has been shaped into useful workshops and programs, which build engagement in interactive ways.

Let’s look at six of the best employee engagement programs available in 2022.

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Employee Engagement Programs – Six of the Best

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1. Value Alignment – ensuring employees are in sync

Divon Academy’s ‘Creating a Purpose-Driven Culture’^[3] is a 90-minute online course which aims to help engage hybrid and home workers as well as those who work from a shared office. It includes group activities and breakout sessions, and there’s a personal exercise for each attendee to complete.

The course is led by Harvard alumni Elan Divan, an author and educator who runs the team course over Zoom to include as many attendees as you’d like. During the course attendees define their own purposes and values, then enquire whether those values are in alignment with the goals of their organization.

The purpose is not to assign blame for any disengagement, but merely provide an opportunity to realign those personal and corporate objectives and maximize engagement.

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2. Development and Retention – making employees feel valued

One of the most commonly cited reasons for staff disenchantment is a lack of progression. Employees can feel stuck in a rut and undervalued. The Leadership E.D.G.E. Program^[4] (Empathy, Diversity, Growth and Engagement) focuses on how leaders can better appreciate and support their teams.

Leadership coach Susan Drumm developed the program to presentive an alternative approach to blindly throwing money at the engagement question. In Drumm’s view, rather than simply paying more, companies need to take a more holistic approach to engagement.

In this online program, which includes two workshops, and requires around 5-6 hours to complete, Drumm breaks down the task into three modules: identifying leadership style, looking at team diversity and productivity, and improving performance and cohesion.

Leaders who take this course should come away with a better sense of how to motivate their teams, and lead by example.

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3. Corporate Innovation – shaping an exciting workplace

Engaged workplaces are often innovative ones, where employees feel they are active in exciting projects with high potential for success. The LEAD Online Business Program^[5] from Stanford University aims to turn managers into ‘changemakers,’ emphasizing creativity and risk taking.

With such a prestigious provider, you’d expect a hefty fee, but the LEAD program rewards such investment. It is a year-long program requiring 5 to 10 hours study per week. Participants engage actively through virtual workshops and talks given by lauded business leaders.

The program includes nine individual courses, and certification is provided by Stanford’s Graduate School of Business.

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4. Culture of Health – prioritizing health and vitality

Health, both literally and metaphorically, is vital to a successful workplace. A healthy workplace is more productive, happier, and more engaged. This Harvard University program^[6] focuses upon the wellbeing of employees, and how leaders can support and promote healthy working practices.

It’s a nine-week online course aimed at executives and entrepreneurs who want to strengthen their organization by implementing a Culture of Health which, the providers insist can “improve your employees’ well-being as well as the health of your consumers, your communities, and the environment.”

It’s a bold claim, but certainly one worth investigating. The course, based on a series of pre-recorded lectures, with guest speakers and case studies, requires 1-3 hours per week study and can be certified for a small additional fee.

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5. Women’s Leadership – addressing the imbalance

Even in 2022, women face discriminatory practices and unequal pressures in leadership roles. Bentley University have devised a course which tackles female leaders’ unique challenges head-on. Titled Taking Charge: Women’s Executive Leadership^[7], the course is aimed at mid- to senior-level leaders hoping to progress into executive roles requiring a commanding presence and enhanced skillset.

Combining an honest 360-degree leadership assessment, interactive classes and executive coaching, the program is an empowering way to unleash inner potential. Subjects covered include communication skills, change management, and negotiation.

Eight live, virtual sessions of four hours are delivered by course leaders and faculty members Wiley Davi and Jill Brown. The individual coaching is a real bonus in this program, making it one of the most personalized programs on this list.

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6. Team Building – getting the mix right

Morale and engagement can be significantly affected by team dynamics, as recognized in this course from organizational health expert Patrick Lencioni. Under the umbrella of the Five Dysfunctions of a Team^[8], Lencioni provides a customizable program for groups of up to ten participants.

Over a half day, full day, or two days, you’ll talk through the titular dysfunctions, using the course materials to lead your team towards better cohesion and comprehension of the forces which can subvert group performance. This is especially important when leading hybrid or remote teams.

The course materials, workbooks and online portal make this a great value program which can be repeated across teams and departments within your company. The end product should be improved teamwork and efficiency within a happier, more engaged team.

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Employee Engagement can be Facilitated with Great Leadership

As all these courses demonstrate, leaders can have a huge impact on employee engagement, by showing that they empathize with employee concerns and will take steps to address inter-team conflicts.

Staff engagement, in fact, should be the number one priority of any leader who wants to shape excellence within their purview.

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[1] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/03/09/majority-of-workers-who-quit-a-job-in-2021-cite-low-pay-no-opportunities-for-advancement-feeling-disrespected/

[2] https://news.gallup.com/businessjournal/163130/employee-engagement-drives-growth.aspx

[3] https://www.thriver.com/services/providers/divon-academy.30/experiences/creating-a-purpose-driven-culture.107

[4] https://go.susandrumm.com/edge

[5] https://grow.stanford.edu/browse/stanford-lead-online-business-program/

[6] https://pll.harvard.edu/course/improving-your-business-through-culture-health

[7] https://www.bentley.edu/centers/executive-education/taking-charge

[8] https://www.tablegroup.com/product/comprehensive-kit/