Why Your Corporate Events Are the Secret to Employee Engagement in 2026
Engagaging your employees in 2026 will be your secret sauce to success!
According to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace report, cited widely by Forbes, low employee engagement costs the global economy $8.9 trillion — or 9% of global GDP. In 2024, global engagement dropped to 21%, an 11-year low, meaning roughly 79% of employees are not fully engaged at work.
#TLDR: Forbes research backed by Gallup data reveals that employee engagement is at an 11-year low — costing the global economy $8.9 trillion annually. The fix isn't another survey or HR initiative. It's recognition, belonging, and shared experiences. Your company events are the most powerful — and most underused — tool you already have. Here's how to make them count.
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The Employee Engagement Crisis Is Real
Employee engagement is in freefall — and the numbers are impossible to ignore.
According to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace report, cited widely by Forbes, low employee engagement costs the global economy $8.9 trillion — or 9% of global GDP. In 2024, global engagement dropped to 21%, an 11-year low, meaning roughly 79% of employees are not fully engaged at work.
These aren't abstract statistics. Disengaged employees show up late, call in sick, deliver subpar work, and quietly update their résumés. For HR leaders and event planners, this crisis is personal — and the pressure to fix it is relentless.
But here's what most companies get wrong: they treat engagement as an HR software problem, a survey problem, or a perks problem. Forbes research makes clear it's something far more human.
Why Recognition Is the Missing Link
In September 2024, Forbes contributor Kara Dennison, SPHR, published a landmark piece: "Why Recognition Could Be The Key To Employee Engagement In 2026." Drawing on research conducted jointly by Gallup and Workhuman, the findings are striking.
"Employees who strongly agree that recognition is an important part of their organization's culture are 3.7 times more likely to be engaged at work and are, on average, half as likely to experience frequent burnout." — Kara Dennison, Forbes, September 2024
Despite this, the recognition gap is enormous. The Forbes article reveals that only 34% of employees report their employer has a recognition program — and a mere 13% rate those programs as excellent. Companies are leaving one of their most powerful engagement tools completely on the table.
The research also points to what meaningful recognition actually produces:
A 366% increase in fulfillment when recognition acknowledges how an employee uniquely contributes
A 208% increase in community within the workforce
Reduced burnout and higher productivity across all levels
The lesson? Recognition isn't a "nice to have." It's a strategic business imperative.
Belonging: The Word Every HR Leader Needs to Hear
Recognition unlocks engagement — but belonging is what sustains it.
Writing for Forbes in January 2024, Jan Bruce identified belonging as the single most important workforce strategy of the decade:
"Culture may eat strategy for breakfast, but belonging eats strategy, engagement initiatives, and productivity tools for lunch." — Jan Bruce, Forbes, January 2024
The data backs this up. Research cited by Forbes shows that employees who feel a sense of belonging are 3.5 times more likely to contribute to their fullest potential. And that sense of belonging has a direct line to the bottom line: a 43% increase in retention and an 84% increase in estimated tenure among employees who feel they truly belong.
Meanwhile, the Gallup and Workhuman research featured in Forbes confirms the connection between recognition and community:
"When employees have a strong workplace community, they are eight times more likely to feel like they belong." — Kara Dennison, Forbes, September 2024
So what builds community and belonging faster than almost anything else? Shared experiences. And shared experiences don't happen in Slack threads or performance reviews — they happen at your company events.
Your Corporate Events Are a Recognition Goldmine
Annual meetings. Holiday parties. Award trips. Sales kickoffs. Quarterly reviews. These events are not just logistical obligations — they are the single greatest opportunity your company has to create the shared experiences and recognition moments that Forbes research identifies as essential to engagement.
The Forbes article is direct about what effective recognition looks like:
"Recognition should be an ongoing practice, not just an annual event. When integrated into everyday experiences, recognition becomes a powerful tool for reinforcing culture and expectations." — Kara Dennison, Forbes, September 2024
Your corporate events are exactly that — an "everyday experience" writ large, a moment where culture becomes visible, where values get celebrated, and where people see themselves as part of something bigger than their job description.
But there's a problem most companies don't address until it's too late.
What Happens When Memories Disappear After the Event Ends
You plan a flawless award trip. Your team bonds over dinner, laughs over the speeches, and leaves on a high. Three weeks later? The photos are scattered across 50 personal phones, the slideshow is lost in someone's email drafts, and the moment has evaporated.
This is the recognition gap that no survey or HR platform can fix — because it's not a systems problem. It's a memory problem.
When employees can't revisit, relive, and share the moments that made them feel seen and celebrated, the engagement lift from your event fades fast. The belonging you worked so hard to create has no home.
That's exactly why Dearest built the Corporate Digital Memories package — a beautifully simple, app-free solution that turns any corporate event into a living, shareable memory gallery your team can revisit for a full year.
Here's how it works: guests scan a private QR code at your event and upload photos, videos, and personal reflections in real time. Dearest compiles everything into an AI-powered digital gallery — complete with facial recognition and a downloadable music slideshow. The gallery stays private until you decide to share it, building anticipation and giving the recognition moment a second life.
Starting at just $50, it's less than the cost of one hour of lost productivity — and it extends the emotional impact of your event for months.
5 Corporate Events That Drive Employee Engagement
Not all events are created equal when it comes to building belonging and recognition. Here are the five that Forbes research — and real-world experience — show make the biggest impact:
1. Annual Meetings & All-Hands
The annual meeting is your single biggest opportunity to align your team around shared purpose. When employees see their peers celebrated, their company's journey documented, and their contributions acknowledged in front of the full organization, belonging follows naturally. Capture every keynote, candid moment, and team celebration with a Dearest gallery — then share it at your next all-hands as a living reminder of what you've built together.
2. Award Trips & Recognition Events
Forbes research detailed that recognition of results and the behaviors behind them creates the deepest engagement. Award trips are the ultimate recognition moment — and they deserve a keepsake that matches their significance. A Dearest gallery and luxury lay-flat photobook gives your award recipients something they'll keep and share long after the trip ends.
3. Holiday Parties
The holiday party is where culture becomes visible. Laughter, gratitude, and connection across departments — these are the belonging-building moments Forbes points to as engagement drivers. A private photo gallery that employees can revisit and download keeps the warmth of that celebration alive well into the new year.
4. Quarterly & Sales Kickoff Meetings
Recognition doesn't have to wait for the annual gala. Quarterly meetings are ideal moments to celebrate team wins, document milestones, and reinforce company values. A branded Dearest gallery makes it easy to share those moments with leadership and across teams.
5. Corporate Retreats & Multi-Day Offsites
Multi-day events are the richest source of shared experience — and the hardest to capture comprehensively. Dearest's multi-day event support ensures every day of your retreat becomes part of a single, cohesive gallery your team can revisit together.
How to Make Every Corporate Event Count
Drawing directly from the Forbes-backed research, here's a four-part framework for turning your corporate events into genuine engagement drivers:
1. Align the event with your company's values. Don't just celebrate achievement — celebrate howyour team achieves. Recognition that reflects company values creates belonging at a cultural level, not just a personal one.
2. Recognize both results and behaviors. Award the big wins — but also acknowledge the collaboration, creativity, and persistence behind them. This is what the Gallup/Workhuman research, cited in Forbes, identifies as the most fulfillment-generating form of recognition.
3. Make it frequent, specific, and visible. A single annual awards dinner isn't enough. Layer recognition moments throughout the year — at every quarterly meeting, every kickoff, every team celebration — and make sure those moments are documented and shareable.
4. Extend the experience beyond the event itself. The Forbes research emphasizes that recognition must be woven into everyday experience. A shared digital gallery, a music slideshow at the next all-hands, a beautiful photobook on a desk — these are the artifacts that keep recognition alive long after the applause fades.
The Bottom Line
The Forbes research leaves no room for ambiguity: employee engagement is broken, recognition is the fix, and belonging is what makes it stick. Your corporate events are the most powerful — and most underused — tool you already have.
But a great event without a way to preserve and share it is a missed opportunity. The memories your team makes at your annual meeting, your award trip, your holiday party — those are the raw material of belonging. Give them a home.
Explore the Dearest Corporate Digital Memories package → Starting at $50. No app required. Gallery access for 12 months.
Sources: Forbes — "Why Recognition Could Be The Key To Employee Engagement In 2025" | Forbes — "Belonging Is A Top 2024 Workforce Strategy" | Gallup State of the Global Workplace Report 2024| Gallup-Workhuman Workplace Recognition Research
