A Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. survey found that employers are committed to retaining the workers they have and are focused increasingly on employee engagement as the most effective means of achieving that goal. In the survey of human resources professionals, 80 percent said their companies were focused on employee engagement and 67 percent said the focus on engagement is greater now than it was before the recession. In the Challenger survey, communication between employer and employee was recognized as the most effective method of boosting employee morale and engagement. It was selected by 26 percent of respondents as being the best means of improving engagement. Just over 20 percent of respondents named awards and other forms of recognition as the most effective engagement-building tool.