2025 Employee Engagement: Industry Leaders & Laggards
Employee engagement remains a top priority for organizations seeking to retain talent, improve productivity, and strengthen organizational culture.
SelectionLink, Inc. has conducted employee engagement surveys across a wide range of industries, including, but not limited to, healthcare, financial services, insurance, technology, energy, education, retail, hospitality, government, manufacturing, nonprofit, and professional services.
SelectionLink’s analysis of survey responses from these industries has provided a clearer picture of where employee engagement is thriving—and where it’s falling behind.
Industry Trends: Who’s Leading and Who’s Lagging?
Using two core metrics—the Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS) and the Employee Engagement Index (EEI)—we’ve identified clear patterns in engagement levels across sectors:
Most Engaged Industries (2024 – 2025):
- Financial Services
- Technology
- Professional Services
These sectors tend to show strong scores in areas such as pride in the organization, employee loyalty, and willingness to recommend the workplace to others. Leaders in these industries are more likely to have structured development programs, transparent communication practices, and responsive management — all of which contribute to sustained engagement.
Least Engaged Industries (2024 – 2025):
- Healthcare
- Retail
- Hospitality
In these sectors, employee feedback frequently cites burnout, limited recognition, unclear career paths, and understaffing as significant concerns. High turnover rates and demanding frontline roles often exacerbate disengagement.
Key Challenge: Maintaining Momentum in High-Performing Industries
Even among the most engaged sectors, challenges remain. The primary concern for financial, technology, and professional services organizations is sustaining high engagement levels over time. As business priorities shift or leadership changes, there’s a risk of losing focus on the practices that are working.
To address this, we encourage organizations to:
- Monitor key priority items identified in survey results.
- Regularly revisit and reinforce the practices that earned high scores, such as strong internal communication or effective manager-employee relationships.
- Use engagement data as a strategic asset, communicate, and act.
Opportunities for Improvement: Increasing Engagement Where It’s Needed Most
In industries struggling with lower engagement, actionable steps can make a significant difference. Based on our findings, organizations can begin with:
- Listening with intent: Conduct anonymous employee surveys to uncover honest insights.
- Closing feedback loops: Share survey results transparently and communicate specific actions being taken.
- Investing in frontline leadership: Equip managers with the training and tools to foster trust, support development, and recognize contributions.
- Creating growth opportunities: Help employees envision a future with the organization by clarifying career paths and internal mobility.
- Recognizing and rewarding contributions: Small, consistent acknowledgments of good work go a long way toward boosting morale.
The Bottom Line
Engaged employees are more productive, loyal, and likely to speak positively about their workplace—even during challenging times. Conversely, disengagement is a silent drain on performance, innovation, and culture.
Understanding where your organization stands—and why—requires more than assumptions. It requires data, context, and the willingness to act.
Whether you’re in healthcare trying to reverse disengagement trends or in financial services looking to maintain a strong culture, the insights gained from thoughtful employee engagement surveys can guide meaningful progress.
Contact SelectionLink to see how you stack up against industry leaders!