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Employee experience vs. employee engagement: The differences
Employee experience vs. employee engagement may seem like similar concepts, but knowing the difference is key to improving both. Learn what HR staff should know about each.
Employee experience and employee engagement are both vital components of a thriving workplace. Engagement and experience are interconnected parts of the employee lifecycle but diverge in crucial ways.
Understanding these differences is important for HR staff's handling of their organization's employee lifecycle. HR staff should learn about employee experience and employee engagement to ensure that both are as positive as possible.
Learn more about employee experience vs. employee engagement and the importance of each.
What is employee experience?
Employee experience is a worker's journey with an organization, from onboarding to potential promotions to the exit interview, as well as the employee's feelings about their journey.
Employee experience includes an employee's interactions with others during work, their relationships with colleagues and leaders, and their perception of their workplace's culture.
Creating a positive employee experience can lead to several benefits, including improved employee productivity, higher employee engagement and better business outcomes.
What is employee engagement?
Employee engagement refers to workers' level of dedication to their organization and motivation for their work.
Employee engagement is about more than job satisfaction. Employees who are engaged at work help move the organization and its strategy forward, are aligned with the company's mission and values, and feel emotionally invested in its success.
Employee experience is the journey an employee takes within the organization, while engagement is the end goal of that journey.
3 differences between employee experience and employee engagement
Understanding the differences between employee experience and employee engagement and knowing how engagement and experience are linked to one another are key to fostering positive employee engagement and a stellar employee experience.
Here is a deeper look at the differences between employee experience and employee engagement.
1. Timeline
Employee experience encompasses an employee's entire journey, from attraction and hiring to separation and offboarding.
In contrast, employee engagement only describes specific engagement statuses for the employee, such as highly engaged or actively disengaged.
2. Metrics
HR staff and other leaders at the company, such as managers, analyze employee experience using the data gleaned from strategies like continuous feedback and check-ins throughout the employee lifecycle.
Meanwhile, HR staff mostly track employee engagement through surveys that measure various aspects of engagement, such as satisfaction, motivation and commitment.
3. Leaders' involvement
The responsibility for creating a positive employee experience is shared by several different departments in the organization. Some of the groups who work on employee experience are HR leaders and upper management.
The responsibility for positive employee engagement is usually shared by direct and upper managers, because engagement is fostered through direct interactions and daily activities.
5 ways HR can help improve employee experience
Fostering a more positive employee experience can help improve and sustain employee engagement. Here are several ways that HR staff can help create a better employee experience and therefore improve engagement.
1. Survey the workforce
HR staff can use surveys to learn about the current state of the workforce.
Employee responses can help HR leaders decide the best areas to focus on for improving employee experience, and the surveys can give insight into workers' general perceptions of the organization and feelings about the company's recent business strategies.
2. Provide development opportunities
Employee development is key for improving employee experience because workers can use training to improve their skills and establish goals for their paths at the company.
Employees who are given the opportunity to enroll in training and other learning opportunities are more likely to feel loyalty to their organization and its strategic goals.
3. Encourage collaboration and connection
Employees who feel close to their team members will likely have a more positive employee experience.
HR staff can set up social events at work and otherwise encourage team bonding, such as informal virtual chats, to help improve workers' sense of belonging and purpose at their organization.
4. Prioritize work-life balance
Ownership over schedules is frequently part of a good employee experience.
Flexible work schedules and other options for customizing employees' work experience, such as being given the freedom to decide what task to tackle when, can improve workers' satisfaction.
5. Recognize employee achievements
An important part of a positive employee experience is employers lauding their workers for their contributions. HR staff and company leaders should dedicate time to praising employees for their work.
Publicly celebrating employees can also help strengthen the idea that employees are all working toward a shared goal, which could potentially improve workers' views of the company.
Alison Roller is a freelance writer with experience in tech, HR and marketing.
