How to Use ClickUp for Employee Engagement

ClickUp can be a powerful hub for employee engagement when you set it up intentionally for feedback, recognition, and performance visibility. This guide walks you step by step through configuring workspaces, views, and features so your team feels informed, connected, and motivated.

The steps below are adapted from best practices for employee engagement tools and show how to implement them in a real workspace.

Step 1: Plan Your ClickUp Engagement Workspace

Before you create tasks or dashboards, map out how you want people to interact with the platform. Engagement improves when work and communication stay in one organized place.

Define engagement goals in ClickUp

Start by deciding what engagement outcomes you want to support, such as:

• More transparent goals and performance expectations
• Regular feedback between managers and team members
• Recognition and celebrations of wins
• Clearer project ownership and accountability

Create a Space dedicated to People Operations, HR, or Culture to keep your engagement workflows together.

Organize Lists for core engagement workflows

Inside your engagement Space, set up Lists for recurring processes like:

• 1:1 Meetings and manager check-ins
• Performance goals and OKRs
• Learning and development plans
• Recognition, shoutouts, and rewards
• Pulse surveys and feedback collection

Each List can become a structured workflow that employees use consistently.

Step 2: Create Engaging Goals and OKRs in ClickUp

Clear goals are a foundation of employee engagement. People want to see how their work connects to the bigger picture.

Set company and team goals with ClickUp Goals

Use the Goals feature to define measurable objectives at different levels:

• Company Goals: Annual or quarterly outcomes that guide the entire organization.
• Team Goals: Department objectives aligned to company direction.
• Individual Goals: Personal targets that support team and company goals.

Add key results or targets for each goal, such as revenue, completed projects, or engagement scores. Update progress automatically using task completion or manual updates during review meetings.

Connect work to Goals

To keep engagement high, employees need to see how their daily tasks move goals forward.

1. Create tasks for major projects or initiatives related to a goal.
2. Link tasks to the relevant goal in the Goals panel.
3. Use custom fields to track impact, such as expected outcome, priority, or owner.

When people can open a goal and see the connected tasks, they gain context and motivation.

Step 3: Run Effective 1:1s and Check-ins in ClickUp

Regular, structured conversations between managers and team members have a direct impact on engagement.

Build a 1:1 meeting template in ClickUp

Create a List called “1:1 Meetings” and add a task template that includes:

• Agenda sections (wins, challenges, priorities, support needed)
• Action items with due dates and assignees
• Custom fields for focus area, sentiment, or follow-up date
• Recurring schedule so 1:1s are never missed

Each recurring task becomes the shared agenda where both manager and employee add talking points in advance.

Use comments and attachments for context

Within each 1:1 task, use comments and threaded replies to track discussions and decisions between meetings. Attach relevant docs, performance snapshots, or survey results so everything is easy to reference.

Step 4: Centralize Feedback and Surveys with ClickUp Docs

Engagement improves when feedback loops are easy and safe. Use Docs and tasks to collect feedback and turn insights into work.

Create feedback forms in ClickUp Docs

In your engagement Space, create Docs for:

• Quarterly pulse surveys
• Onboarding feedback
• Exit and stay interviews
• Learning and development requests

Use structured headings and bullet points so employees know exactly what to share. Link these Docs in relevant tasks or pin them for quick access.

Turn feedback into actionable tasks

When you identify themes in feedback, convert them into tasks:

1. Create a task for each improvement opportunity.
2. Assign an owner and due date.
3. Tag tasks with labels like “Engagement,” “Onboarding,” or “Benefits.”

This keeps employees informed that their input leads to real change, which increases trust and commitment.

Step 5: Build ClickUp Dashboards for Visibility and Recognition

People feel more engaged when they can see progress and celebrate results. Use Dashboards to keep key engagement metrics and wins visible.

Design an engagement Dashboard in ClickUp

Create a Dashboard that surfaces:

• Goals progress widgets for company and team OKRs
• Task widgets showing completed initiatives related to culture and people
• Time or workload widgets to spot burnout risk and balance work
• Text or embed widgets highlighting recognition, shoutouts, and milestones

Share this Dashboard with leaders and team members so everyone sees the same source of truth.

Highlight wins and shoutouts

Use a dedicated List for recognition. Each task can represent a shoutout with:

• The person or team being recognized
• The behavior or achievement being celebrated
• Tags for company values demonstrated

Add a Dashboard widget that surfaces recent recognition tasks. This creates a public feed of wins and reinforces positive behaviors.

Step 6: Automate Engagement Routines in ClickUp

Consistent routines help employees feel supported. Automations reduce manual work so engagement workflows actually happen every week.

Use ClickUp Automations for recurring engagement tasks

Set up Automations that:

• Create recurring 1:1 tasks on a schedule.
• Assign onboarding tasks when a new hire Folder or task is created.
• Notify managers when a feedback task is submitted or updated.
• Move recognition tasks to a “Celebrated” status after review.

Automations keep processes moving without constant manual oversight.

Standardize processes with templates

Turn your best engagement workflows into templates:

• Onboarding project templates with checklists and Docs
• Performance review templates with tasks, custom fields, and views
• Survey follow-up templates so feedback always leads to consistent next steps

Templates make it easier to scale engagement practices as your team grows.

Step 7: Measure and Improve With ClickUp Data

Engagement is not a one-time project. Use data from tasks, goals, and Dashboards to refine your approach.

Track key engagement indicators in ClickUp

Monitor signals such as:

• Completion rates for engagement-related tasks and projects
• Frequency of 1:1 meetings and check-ins
• Time to complete onboarding workflows
• Participation in surveys and feedback tasks

Combine this data with survey results to see how process changes affect engagement over time.

Iterate on your ClickUp setup

Review your workspace structure regularly with HR and team leaders:

• Archive Lists that no longer support engagement goals.
• Refine custom fields and statuses for clarity.
• Adjust Dashboards to highlight the most relevant metrics.
• Update templates based on what managers and employees actually use.

This continuous improvement mindset helps your engagement workspace stay aligned with real needs.

Additional Resources

To dive deeper into employee engagement strategies and tools, review the full guide on employee engagement software that inspired this walkthrough.

If you need expert support designing a scalable engagement workspace and process, you can also explore consulting services from Consultevo.

By thoughtfully configuring ClickUp around goals, feedback, recognition, and visibility, you create a single place where employees understand priorities, feel heard, and see the impact of their work—key ingredients for sustainable engagement.

Need Help With ClickUp?

If you want expert help building, automating, or scaling your ClickUp workspace, work with ConsultEvo — trusted ClickUp Solution Partners.

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