Engagement—and how to increase it—is on nearly every manager’s mind these days. But what happens when once-engaged employees begin to slip? Almost all employees start out wanting to perform as best they can and to become a valuable company asset, but along the way many of them give up on this goal. In 2014, Gallup found that 51 percent of employees were “not engaged” in their job, and 17.5 percent were “actively disengaged.” To solve this issue, managers should first identify the challenges to engagement levels in the workplace. Some of the most common include a shortage of recognition, poorly defined managerial goals, a lack of communication, and an ambiguous path for growth within the company. As long as these challenges exist, no perks or gimmicks will bring back disengaged employees. There’s no way to fake engagement, and no shortcuts to get there. Employees will see through stop-gap solutions, and may become further disengaged or leave for good. It’s important to be honest with employees, keep them in the loop on their progression toward true engagement, and keep them abreast of company and individual goals.