In today's work force, encouraging employee engagement can be a struggle, especially considering the economic troubles. However, developing a connection between company executives and employees can improve engagement, says Jason Carney, director of human resources at WorkSmart Systems Inc., a professional employer organization in Indianapolis. As many employees are not seeing the kind of pay raises that may have happened before the recession, it's increasingly important to find other ways to foster engagement, and developing those key relationships is a huge step in the right direction.

"Any time you have the 'us versus them' mentality, no amount of pay or benefits will keep someone engaged and looking forward to coming to their jobs every day," Carney says. "The more you can portray your senior executives as humans with the same issues and struggles and who are open to the ideas of everyone else, the more engaged your folks will be. Anything that can make someone get out of bed and want to go to work besides pay and benefits is huge."

Helping the work force feel connected to executives is also important because it provides employees with insight as to where the company is heading, says Sheryl Kovach, entrepreneur and president and CEO of Kandor Group, a human resources consulting firm in Houston. When there is a sense of ambiguity, employees can feel stressed, and that uncertainty can impact their performances. This is especially important as the economy is still recovering.