Boosting employee engagement is crucial in a small business landscape. Highly engaged employees are more productive, encourage innovation and drive powerful workforce retention rates.

In 2025, experts at Gallup revealed that globally, 23% of employees are actively engaged in the workplace. While this is a record high, data shows that more than three-quarters of employees still struggle to engage with their roles.

In an era of high staff turnover, SMBs must work harder than ever before to retain their workforce. However, with a smaller budget than many of their most established competitors, it can be hard to replicate the same engagement-driving perks.

With this in mind, we've put together a guide to boosting employee engagement on a budget. From getting creative with worker perks to investing in wellness, here are seven brilliant ways to skyrocket your engagement.

Get Creative with Your Perks

One of the most effective ways to raise employee engagement is to offer your workforce perks in exchange for their hard work.

69% of employees claim that they would work harder if they felt that their efforts were better appreciated.

While larger companies offer fully fledged benefit packages for their employees, it's important to note that creativity can be just as effective. Employee recognition at your company should be unique to your organisation and your workers.

For example, a fitness brand could offer their employees a monthly gym membership, or a food brand could offer workers a product-based office lunch on the last Friday of every month.

Getting creative with your perks actively encourages employees to get involved. Why not leave a suggestion box out for staff members to suggest their own rewards?

Allow Flexible Work Schedules

Flexibility is an essential job requirement if you want to maintain your workforce long-term.

In a post-pandemic working world, hybrid and remote working have become some of the most sought-after perks for job seekers across the globe.

Providing your workforce with the ability to have more control over their working schedule is a great way to boost motivation. Permitting employees to choose flexible hours/working formats that suit their own schedules encourages a healthier work-life balance.

According to experts at Future Forum: "94% of global desk-based workers desire schedule flexibility, which correlates with higher employee satisfaction and reduced burnout."

As you can see here, businesses that implement flexible working schedules see a staggering 73% improvement in employee motivation and 72% enhancement in staff engagement.

The ability to feel present outside of the workplace reduces symptoms of work-related stress and drives an employee to feel more motivated when they come to work.

Introduce Wellness Challenges

Health and wellness remain one of the key factors associated with a happy, highly engaged workforce. As a small company, it's your job to maintain the wellness of your employees, especially if you want them to stick around as your business grows.

There are plenty of ways to invest in employee wellness at little to no cost. One way to do this is to introduce 'wellness challenges' into the workplace.

The key here is to be creative and think about how you can improve your team's self-care. Challenges can be customised to appeal to different interests and abilities for a bit of inclusive fun for all the team.

Why not introduce a lunchtime fitness challenge into the office or host a healthy food-making competition? Wellness challenges should foster team bonding and boost morale while improving working wellness at the same time.

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Conduct Regular Employee Appraisals

Gone are the days of the dreaded 'yearly review'. As a small business, connecting with your employees regularly to review their performance is a crucial process that ensures that they are growing in line with the company.

Appraisals offer employees the opportunity to discuss their personal career aspirations, set goals, and receive feedback on their progress.

Modern performance appraisal software even allows you to conduct regular reviews with your employees and set and track personal goals for each and every worker.

Having something to work towards motivates a worker to be more productive in the workplace and engage with their own growth within the company. In fact, employees who receive regular feedback are 2.8 times more likely to be engaged with their role.

Make Your Workers Feel Special with Employee Spotlights

Spotlighting your employees is an easy way to make them feel positive about the work they do within your company.

Spotlighting is a simple yet effective way to highlight achievements and make your workers feel valued. Often accompanied by a prize such as a voucher or a sweet treat, employee spotlights give teams something to work towards and get excited about as the end of the month rolls around.

Fostering friendly competition for a chance to shine, employee spotlighting is a quick and easy morale booster and a productivity driver all year round.

Introduce Lunch and Learn Sessions

Enhancing your team's lunchtime routine is a creative way to re-engage your employees with their roles.

Combining mealtimes with fun learning opportunities allows teams to connect, collaborate and gain knowledge while enjoying a meal together.

Why not invite guest speakers into the canteen to share insights on company news and role-specific topics? Better still, why not host fun lunchtime quizzes and Q&A sessions that promote team building without feeling like a learning exercise?

Install an Employee Suggestion Box

The best way to improve employee engagement is to ask your employees themselves.

Establishing an inclusive platform for workers to express their worries, ask questions, submit growth ideas and offer morale-boosting suggestions is a low-cost way to build trust and strengthen engagement within the team.

Something as simple as an employee suggestion box can go a long way in a growing company. If employees feel like they are contributing to the development of the company, they are more likely to feel empowered in the workplace and believe that their voices are valued by the company.

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Wrapping Up

The UK remains one of the least engaged workforces in Europe. In 2025, it's up to SMB leaders to actively work on boosting morale and motivation in the workplace.

As demonstrated above, costly benefit packages are not the only way to foster a happy, productive workforce.

In fact, companies that invest time rather than money into communicating and collaborating with their employees will come out on top when it comes to retaining role engagement in an ever-changing working landscape.

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