Technology for Employee Engagement on the Rise

To counter a corporate talent shortage and multitudes of detached workers, the marketplace of employee engagement technology goods and services is expanding, with roughly 70 to 100 vendors offering products ranging from rewards programs and surveys to sophisticated software that identifies the disaffected.

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The degree to which employee engagement technology translates into a happier, more productive workforce, however, may depend on company culture and management’s willingness to examine and act on its own shortcomings.


Employee disengagement—a lack of motivation or willingness to put in extra effort for the company—appears to be a significant problem for employers globally. A Gallup survey released in October shows that only 13 percent of workers across 142 countries are engaged at work. “In other words, about one in eight workers … are psychologically committed to their jobs and likely to be making positive contributions to their organizations,” analyst Steve Crab tree stated in an article for Gallup.

The highest proportion of engaged workers—29 percent—are in the United States and Canada, Gallup found. That figure nonetheless leaves more than 70 percent of U.S. and Canadian workers either unengaged or actively disengaged.

In times of talent surplus, “companies don’t talk about engagement, they don’t talk about wellness,” said William Tincup, principal analyst at HR tech consulting firm KeyInterval Research. When the pendulum swings back to talent scarcity, “now we care more about engagement.”

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