Global Employee

Engagement Index™
Effectory’s global benchmarks, trends and strategies
to improve employee engagement in 2025

Employee engagement • People analytics • Employee feedback data • Benchmarks

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Listen. Learn. Lead.
Contents
Executive summary���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������3

1. What is the Global Employee Engagement Index™? ����������������������������������������������� 4

Methodology���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������4

2. Defining employee engagement �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������6

The impact of engagement on organizations ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7
The cost of disengagement����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7

3. Employee engagement benchmarks per country ���������������������������������������������������8

Questions linked to highly engaged employees�����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������9

4. Employee engagement benchmarks per industry ���������������������������������������������� 10

Key engagement drivers per industry ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������11

5. Employee engagement benchmarks per company size ������������������������������������� 12

6. Strategies for improving employee engagement �������������������������������������������������� 13

Start with the right data ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������13
Make data actionable ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 14
Complementary strategies to boost engagement ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 15
The importance of a long-term strategy ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 15

7. Effectory: Your benchmarking partner ������������������������������������������������������������������������� 16

Benchmarks tailored to your organization ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������17
Take the next step ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 18

About Effectory    ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 19

Executive
summary
Employee engagement is fundamental to
organizational success. When employees are engaged,
they are more committed, perform at higher levels,
deliver better customer experiences, and are more
likely to stay with their employer. Understanding what
drives engagement is essential for HR professionals
looking to strengthen their organizations.

The 2024-2025 Global Employee Engagement Index™ explores the key factors influencing engage-
ment across countries and industries. It provides global benchmarks to help organizations evaluate
their standing and take targeted steps to improve engagement.

Our research highlights the top drivers of employee engagement in 2024 as:

1 2 3
Feeling appreciated Inclusivity Being enabled to do
by the organization (a sense of belonging) their work effectively

4 5 6
Finding their work Opportunities for growth Supportive
meaningful (and understanding its and development leadership
contribution to the organization)

Additionally, data shows that employees who score high on engagement feel like their organization:

1 2 3 4 5
Rewards Offers good Has a vision Has managers Satisfies their
performance training for the future who motivate development
opportunities that inspires them in their opportunities
them work

We recommend that organizations prioritize these areas to improve engagement, reduce turnover,
and build stronger, more resilient teams as they move forward.

This report outlines practical strategies to support organizations in their efforts to boost engagement
and overall business performance through 2025 and beyond.

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1 What is the Global
Employee Engagement
Index™?

54
Countries
17,000+
Respondents
18
HR themes

The Global Employee Engagement Index™ (GEEI) is a comprehensive international benchmark that
tracks employee engagement trends across the world.

Conducted every two years, the GEEI collects feedback from a representative sample of employees
in 54 countries, offering insights into how they perceive their work environment, management,
colleagues, and more.

Since its launch in 2012, the GEEI has enabled HR professionals and managers to compare
engagement levels across various industries and countries. This helps organizations better
understand cultural and regional influences on engagement, supporting them in developing
strategies for improving the employee experience in different markets.

The GEEI is one of the most widely used tools for assessing engagement, with data from over 17, 000
respondents. The survey covers 18 HR themes, including key themes like organizational commitment,
leadership, and performance, and explores how these influence employee engagement.

Methodology
For the Global Employee Engagement Index™ study, we gathered
data from over 17,000 employees worldwide using Effectory’s
developed and validated questionnaires, which produce reliable HR
constructs.

Employee engagement was measured using four key items on a

5-point Likert scale (1 – “Strongly Agree” to 5 – “Strongly Disagree”).
These items were developed by Effectory and are consistent with
previous GEEI versions, but they have been extended with more

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relevant questions to capture current popular HR topics. The scale has proven to be highly reliable
(Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.87) and has demonstrated strong validity.

To ensure consistency and comparability, the raw scores from the Likert scale were converted to a
0 to 10 scale. The overall engagement score was then calculated by taking a weighted average of
the engagement questions. Employees scoring above 8.0 were classified as “engaged.” This cut-off
point allowed for clear comparisons between engaged and less engaged employees. We tested the
drivers of engagement by creating a correlation list.

Did you know?

When running employee surveys with Effectory, you can compare your results not only to the
GEEI benchmark, but also to various industry and regional benchmarks. Discover how similar
organizations in your sector or location are performing, identify gaps, and prioritize actions that
make a real difference.

Learn more

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2
Defining employee
engagement
Employee engagement refers to the extent to which employees feel inspired, ener-
gized, and connected to their work and work environment. More than just a positive
attitude, engagement reflects an emotional investment that drives employees to
contribute meaningfully to their organization.

Engaged employees are typically more committed, show higher levels of productivity, and deliver
better results, ultimately benefiting the entire organization.

While employee engagement is often confused with terms like satisfaction, motivation, commitment,
and happiness, each concept has distinct differences:

Satisfaction
Although employees may feel positive about their job, that does not always mean they are
enthusiastic. An employee can be satisfied yet unengaged, doing just enough to meet the basic
requirements.

Motivation
This fuels performance, but without engagement, motivation may be temporary or tied to
external rewards.

Commitment
While engagement and commitment often go together, an employee may feel engaged in their
role without fully committing to the organization’s values and long-term goals.

Happiness
Although engaged employees tend to be happier, happiness is influenced by both workplace
and personal factors and does not always correlate with engagement.

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The impact of engagement on organizations
Employee engagement is a key driver of organizational success. Data from the 2024 Global
Employee Engagement Index™ reveals that organizations with higher engagement experience
improvements such as:

26.4% 22.5% 20.6%

increase in eNPS increase increase in
Employee Net in alignment employee
Promoter Score
retention

19.9% 19.3%
increase in increase
customer in productivity
focus

Get the latest insights and strategies on retention

In 2024, about 34% of European employees were actively exploring new job
opportunities—were yours among them? Our report reveals why retaining talent
has become increasingly challenging and what you can do about it. Download a
copy for essential insights and proven strategies to keep employees on board.

Download the State of Employee Retention

The cost of disengagement

A lack of engagement comes with significant costs. Disengaged employees are estimated to cost
the global economy $8.8 trillion each year1.

According to Effectory’s findings, on average, only 37.4% of employees worldwide are engaged, with
Japan scoring the lowest at 12.1%, followed by Croatia (15.9%) and South Korea (17.2%).

This widespread disengagement highlights a missed opportunity for organizations to tap into
greater potential, agility, and performance.

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 67.1%
3
India

Employee
63.0% 62.5% engagement
Indonesia China

benchmarks
60%
per country
58.1% 58.0% 57.8%
Kenya Nigeria Thailand In 2024, India, Indonesia,
and China had the highest
levels of employee
engagement,
54.9% 54.7% 53.5% 50.2% while Japan,
UAE Vietnam South Africa Mexico
Croatia, and

50% South Korea had

the lowest.
48.5% 47.5% 47.1% 46.3%
France Turkey Brazil USA

43.5% 42.0% 41.5% 40.5% 40.0%

Norway Chile Switzerland Denmark Australia

40%

39.5% 39.3% 39.0% 38.5% 38.3% 37.8% 37.8%

Netherlands Peru Romania Bulgaria Malaysia UK Spain

36.5% 36.0% 36.0% 36.0% 35.5% 34.8% 33.5%

Argentina Egypt Canada Sweden Belgium Hong Kong Ireland

32.7% 32.3% 32.0% 32.0% 31.7% 31.5% 31.0% 30.2%

Finland New Zealand Singapore Germany Portugal Poland Austria Israel

30%

28.6% 28.0% 26.7% 26.5% 24.0% 23.9% 23.9% 23.4% 20.4%

Italy Greece Hungary Luxembourg Slovakia Taiwan Slovenia Czech Serbia

20%
17.6% 17.2% 15.9% 12.1%
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Latvia South Korea Croatia Japan
Questions linked 1
“I know what tasks I need to carry
out to do my work well.”
to highly engaged
employees 2
“I am enabled to do my work
efficiently.”
In the most engaged countries, the
following questions showed the strongest “I know what results are expected
positive correlation with employee
3 of me at work.”
engagement:
“I am proud of the work
4 I deliver.”

“I have the ability to organize

5 my tasks.”

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4
Employee engagement
benchmarks per industry
This year, industries such as Marine & Offshoring, Information Technology (IT), and
Legal had the highest employee engagement, while Telecommunication, Services,
and Production industries had the lowest.

Marine & Offshoring 52.5%

Information Technology (IT) 50.4%

Legal 46.3%

Financial services 44.0%

Construction 42.3%

Agriculture 40.8%

Education 40.3%

Government 40.0%

Business services 38.8%

Healthcare 38.4%

Engineering 37.2%

Media & entertainment 36.3%

Retail 33.8%

Social services 33.2%

Transport & distribution 32.2%

Other 32.0%

Production 31.6%

Services (e.g. catering) 29.4%

Telecommunication 29.2%

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Key engagement
drivers per industry
Based on our analysis, the key drivers of employee
engagement vary across industries. Here, we
focus on education, engineering, healthcare, and
IT to show how engagement factors differ across
organizational contexts.

Viewing the organization as a good place to work.

Feeling fit and energetic at work.

Education

Supporting the objectives of the organization.

Identifying with the culture of the organization.

Caring about the future of the organization.

Engineering

Being satisfied with development opportunities.

Being enthusiastic about the job.

Feeling appreciated by the organization.

Healthcare

Being satisfied with work at the organization.

Being inspired by the vision for the future of the organization.

Being optimistic about the future of the organization.

IT

Identifying with the culture of the organization.

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5
Employee engagement
benchmarks per company size
Organizations with 501 to 1,000 employees have the highest engagement levels, with
43.4% of employees classified as ‘engaged.’ In contrast, organizations with fewer than
100 employees have the lowest engagement levels, at 34.3%. These percentages rep-
resent the proportion of engaged employees within each group.

Between 501 and 1,000 Between 1,001 and 5,000

43.4% 39.2%

More than 10,000 Between 5,001 and 10,000

38.2% 37.1%

Between 100 and 500 Less than 100

36.9% 34.3%

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6
Strategies for improving
employee engagement
Employee engagement is essential for boosting productivity, retention, and advocacy
within your organization. Before you can make meaningful improvements, it’s impor-
tant to first understand the current engagement levels in your organization.

Start with the right data

Collecting the right data is key. Employee surveys are one of the most effective ways to track
engagement levels and gather the insights needed to improve. Surveys help you measure how
employees feel at different stages of their journey with your organization. Some of the most useful
types of surveys include:

Pulse Surveys
Check in frequently with short surveys to get a quick overview of employee experiences.
Read more

Theme Surveys
Explore specific topics like engagement, leadership, workload, team dynamics, and more.
Read more

Hybrid Working Surveys

Check how well remote or hybrid work setups are functioning. Read more

Exit Surveys
Understand why employees leave and what could have been done to retain them.
Read more

The insights you gather from surveys will help you spot
trends and take targeted action.

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Make data actionable
Collecting data is only the first step. The real value comes from using it to drive change. A successful
employee engagement strategy includes the following actions:

Gather feedback regularly

Implement a continuous listening approach to understand employee experiences
over time.

Analyze the results

Identify patterns and areas for improvement, using visual tools like dashboards that
present the data clearly.

Develop targeted initiatives

Based on the data, develop initiatives that directly address employee concerns
and needs.

Effectory’s platform offers dashboards that make it easy to interpret survey results and pinpoint
areas where engagement can improve. This allows organizations to monitor progress and adjust
their strategy as needed.

Discover how top organizations tackle HR

challenges with feedback
See how leading companies like Verstegen and Boskalis use employee
surveys to improve engagement, retention, wellbeing, and more.

Download our Inspiration Bundle

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Complementary strategies to boost engagement
While surveys are a foundational tool for understanding employee engagement, other initiatives can
strengthen it further.

Create meaningful work

Show employees how their efforts contribute to the organization’s success.

Offer career development

Provide growth opportunities and career paths to demonstrate you value their progress.

Support wellbeing
Prioritize employee wellness through mental health resources and fitness programs.

Encourage flexibility
Offer remote work and flexible hours to help employees balance their personal and
professional lives.

Build open communication

Create channels where employees can freely share their thoughts and ideas on how to improve
processes and reach company goals.

The importance of a long-term strategy

Improving employee engagement is not a one-off task. It requires a commitment to
listening and acting on feedback over time. By implementing a continuous listening
strategy, supported by specialized tools like Effectory’s surveying platform, you can
consistently improve engagement, build stronger teams, and reduce turnover.

Take the first step by setting up regular surveys, analyzing

the data, and putting initiatives in place to address what
matters most to your employees. Over time, you’ll see real
improvements in productivity, retention, and overall job
satisfaction.

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7 Effectory:
Your benchmarking partner
To understand your organization’s performance, you need more than raw data—you
need context. Are your efforts to engage employees making a difference? How does
your organization compare across teams, departments, industries, or even globally?

At Effectory, we help HR professionals like you find clear answers to these questions. Our
benchmarking tools go beyond numbers to give you actionable insights that guide your decisions,
improve engagement, and strengthen your organization.

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Benchmarks tailored to your organization
Effectory’s benchmarking solutions help you analyze a wide range of themes across your
organization.

Internal benchmarks:
Insights within your own organization

Previous surveys
Track how engagement metrics have changed over time to see what’s working and where
additional efforts are needed.

Organizational levels
Compare results from specific teams to higher levels in your organizational structure, like their
department, to identify differences and trends.

External benchmarks:
Understanding your position in the market
Get a broader perspective by comparing your results to others in the industry or beyond, using these
four options:

Industry benchmark
Compare your results to others in your sector for a realistic view of your performance. You can
also choose to include the top 3 performers for additional insights.

Effectory Index
Compare your scores to the average score of all organizations using Effectory, offering a
broader perspective on performance trends.

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 Custom benchmarks
Create a benchmark tailored to your needs by selecting organizations operating in similar
contexts or industries.

Global Employee Engagement Index™ (GEEI)

Compare your results globally with data from 54 countries, providing insights into how
employee engagement varies across regions, industries, and company sizes.

Data you can trust

Effectory’s benchmarks are built on scientifically validated questions and draw from responses
of over half a million employees each year. This ensures your comparisons are accurate,
representative, and practical for decision-making.

Take the next step

Effectory equips you with the tools and insights to build a more engaged, productive, and resilient
organization. By comparing your performance internally and externally, you can take clear, targeted
steps to improve retention, boost engagement, and drive success.

Get in touch to explore how Effectory’s solutions can help your organization succeed.

Get in touch  

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 About Effectory   
Effectory is Europe’s leading employee feedback platform, trusted by over 1,200 or-
ganizations in 110 countries. With 25 years of experience and a team of 200+ special-
ists in Amsterdam and Munich, we help HR teams and leaders transform feedback
into actionable insights. Our platform, available in 60 languages, makes it easy to
collect and analyze feedback across the employee journey, delivering response rates
of up to 70%. Organizations can compare results with extensive benchmarks to gain
valuable context and build a competitive advantage.

Our mission is to improve the working world by giving employees a voice and ensur-
ing their feedback drives meaningful change. Companies like Rituals, KLM, and Karl
Lagerfeld rely on Effectory to increase engagement, reduce attrition, and make da-
ta-driven decisions that enhance both people and business outcomes. Your employ-
ees have the answers—Effectory helps you ask the right questions and act on what
matters most.

Explore Effectory

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wellbeing

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Rokin 16, 1012 KR Amsterdam, The Netherlands | [email protected] | www.effectory.com