Employee experience vs employee engagement: Similar sounding, yet different. Dive into this blog to find out how they differ and know their key benefits.

Let's face it - buzzwords like “employee experience” (EX) and “employee engagement” (EE) are getting thrown around quite a bit in the biz world.  We hear you if you too feel they seem like different names for the same thing. Turns out, they're not. And knowing the exact difference between the two (beyond the semantics) is super important. 

Here's why: Both play unique roles in your organization's and (your performance) success. When you understand the employee experience vs. employee engagement distinction and the right set of tools to optimize each, you are better equipped to build a thriving workplace. We mean one where employees don't just show up clockwatching but are ready and motivated to make a difference. Isn't that fab?

In this blog, we'll explain what these terms mean and clarify the exact distinction between employee experience and employee engagement. We'll also shine a light on why mastering both is the key to building a high-performing, loyal workforce. Let's dive in, shall we?

Employee Experience vs. Employee Engagement: Understanding what they mean

• Employee Experience (EX) is the sum of how an employee feels about your company, from their first interaction to their last. This includes the whole ride, right from their first impression as a potential job candidate, and continues through onboarding, working experience, up to departure (including the farewell party😆). Every touchpoint along this journey—good, bad, ugly, or confusing adds to the employee experience, both for the frontline and in-office workers.
• On the other hand, Employee Engagement (EE) is a term that encompasses something narrower in scope. It captures the daily commitment within the employee experience. It's the part that specifically zooms in on how committed, motivated, and enthusiastic an employee feels at any moment.  In other words, EE is all about how much someone buys into their role and the organization's goals. So, unlike EX, it's way more focused, tracking the here-and-now of each employee's connection to their work. 

Let's move on to understanding their differences more in detail. 

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Employee Experience vs. Employee Engagement: breaking down the key differences

1. Scope & Focus

Employee Experience takes into account the big picture over the long term. After all, EX includes everything from onboarding and growth opportunities to work-life balance. Employee Engagement  is more specific and real-time in that sense. EE checks whether employees are motivated and are contributing meaningfully at any given time.

2. Timeframe

EX is fluid and ongoing, capturing every past and present interaction that feeds into the employee's perception and impacts future engagement. EE fluctuates as it is all about how employees feel right now, based on the dynamic current conditions. So, it can change at any time. 

3. Responsibility

EX is the entire team's responsibility, from HR to leadership and IT. Unsurprising, as it covers everything from job design, culture, benefits, and overall employee well-being. 

EE, in contrast, is mostly influenced by managers and rests on their shoulders. According to Gallup Research, managers account for 70% of the variance in engagement. Again, this is no surprise, as they set the tone, so if they're unengaged, chances are, their team will be, too.

4. Measurement

Measuring EX  requires looking at feedback across the employee lifecycle, including the different touchpoints from onboarding satisfaction to using tools to offboarding. On the other hand, measuring EE is simpler(yay!) and best done using surveys focusing on an employee's commitment, job satisfaction, and alignment with company values.

Now, let's go over why both matter.

Why you need to nail both Employee Experience & Engagement

Acing EX and EE in your organization is essential to creating a thriving environment. These two elements are symbiotic and feed into each other. Exploring their benefits individually will make it easier to understand how.

Let's go over the benefits of building positive Employee Experiences

• Improved acquisition prospects: First impressions are everything.  According to Glassdoor research, 77% of job seekers say a positive experience matters. Good employee experiences attract the best talent!
• Higher retention: Employees who love their work and workplace tend to stick around longer. When this happens, it saves your company money and helps you build a stable, loyal team.
• Enhanced engagement: A strong EX feeds into a higher engagement (and translates into higher employee engagement scores). This ensures employees are motivated, connected and perform to the best of their abilities.
• Increased productivity: This one's as simple as Happy employees = productive employees.
• Better customer experience: Engaged employees work better and make for happy customers, who in turn mean loyal customers and growing revenues🤑. 

Are you inspired to take action? Check out this Employee Experience Platform Implementation Checklist

Here are the benefits of harboring high employee engagement

• Higher productivity: When employees are engaged, they take initiative, drive projects, and deliver quality work. This is what defines the difference between the best and average organizations out there, isn't it? On the other hand, the opposite hurts. According to a recent report by ,  disengaged employees cost the global economy approximately $7.8 trillion annually due to lost productivity. (You definitely don't wanna be one of them!)
• Improved business outcomes: More productive employees perform better and this leads to enhanced business outcomes. Companies with engaged employees see better profitability, innovation, and customer satisfaction. According to research, companies prioritizing employee engagement see up to a whopping 233% greater customer loyalty and a 26% increase in annual revenue.
• Employee retention: High engagement keeps turnover low—A no-brainer there. And in case you're looking for proof, here's what the numbers say: Engaged employees are 87% less likely to leave their organization (yep!)
• Positive culture: Engaged teams have high morale and help create a positive culture where everyone wants to participate.

In essence, a positive employee experience enhances engagement, and engaged employees contribute to a supportive culture. Together, they create a more substantial workplace culture that improves brand reputation and customer interactions. Statistically, employees who report having a positive employee experience are 16 times more engaged than those with a negative experience. So, when you prioritize both, you can navigate better business outcomes and boost productivity and profitability while ensuring your customers are raving about you.

Both EX & EE matter and one cannot exist without the other

Employee experience and engagement aren't trendy buzzwords—they're crucial to building a workplace in which people want to work.  As an HR, if you're going to make a happy, productive team that will contribute to long-term success, you need the right support system. In today's digital age, this has a one-word answer: technology. Speakap's award-winning employee engagement software can empower you to level up both employee experience and engagement. 

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FAQs about Employee Engagement vs Employee Experience

What’s the actual difference between employee engagement vs employee experience?

Employee experience encompasses the entire journey an employee has with your company — from the recruitment process and onboarding process to performance reviews and offboarding (yes, even the awkward goodbye cake moment). Employee engagement refers to how motivated and emotionally committed employees feel during that journey. Think of experience as the whole movie, and engagement as the emotional reaction to each scene.

Why should business leaders care about employee engagement vs employee experience?

Because both are linked to key outcomes like organizational performance, lower employee turnover, and business success. Employee engagement reflects how well your organization motivates employees, while employee experience management ensures they want to stay and thrive. You can’t Netflix-and-chill your way through this — it needs a strategy.

Can you have a positive employee experience without high engagement?

Technically yes, but it won’t last. A positive employee experience might start strong (hello, awesome onboarding process), but if engagement drops, so does job satisfaction and commitment. For sustained success, the engagement and employee experience strategies need to hold hands and skip into the sunset together.

How do employee engagement surveys help in evaluating the overall experience?

Surveys let you tap into employee sentiment and gather actionable employee feedback. They show how employees feel about their development opportunities, the physical environment, and their alignment with the company’s mission. Want to know if your snack fridge is doing better than your senior leaders? This is how.

What role does the employee lifecycle play in this whole experience vs engagement debate?

The employee life cycle defines touchpoints where companies can build either loyalty or a LinkedIn update. From new hires to seasoned vets, your employee experience strategy should support personal growth, work life balance, and professional development — all of which fuel higher employee engagement.

How can you measure employee experience vs employee engagement?

To measure engagement, use short pulse surveys that ask how committed or motivated employees feel right now. To evaluate employee experience, zoom out: review every step of the employee journey, from hiring to exit interviews. Spoiler: if exit interviews are the only time people speak up, you’ve got a bigger issue.

Why do some employees remain disengaged despite a seemingly great experience?

Maybe your workplace has kombucha on tap but zero emotional commitment to the people drinking it. Even the best physical environment can’t replace real connection to the company’s mission, team culture, or meaningful work. You need to continuously increase employee engagement through recognition, feedback, and (gasp) actual conversations.

What happens when both employee engagement and experience are neglected?

Buckle up — you’re likely looking at low employee engagement, high employee turnover, and disengaged employees who bring down the workplace dynamics. It doesn’t just hurt your employer brand — it messes with business performance. Oh, and actively disengaged employees? They cost more than your last failed rebranding.

What are the benefits of aligning your employee engagement strategy with your experience strategy?

When aligned, you get an engaged workforce, improved employee outcomes, and a positive work environment that actually retains top talent. Plus, highly engaged employees don’t just meet expectations — they crush goals and improve business outcomes like customer loyalty and innovation.

What tools can help improve both employee experience and engagement?

Invest in employee engagement platforms (like Speakap, just sayin’) that support everything from internal communication to recognition and feedback. The right tech can enhance every part of the employee lifecycle, keep more engaged employees connected to your organization’s goals, and improve well being while driving better business outcomes.