Employee Experience and Engagement– There’s a Difference

Every business leader strives to foster a working environment that engages employees. Engaged employees are 22% more productive, resulting in 21% more profitability for their companies. Companies with engaged employees also experience dramatic growth in revenue, stock price, and net income. However, a recent Gallup study indicated that only 35% of employees are engaged. Companies need to do more to create a culture that motivates, empowers, and inspires employees.

This is where employee experience comes in. Employee experience refers to the entire workplace experience taken as a whole, with the outcome being employee engagement – or lack thereof. It’s in a business’s best interest to ensure that the experience is a positive one. Fortunately, creating a positive employee experience is something that leaders have control over.

Put Yourself in Your Employees’ Shoes

Creating a workplace experience that leads to engagement requires considering every touchpoint of the working environment from the perspective of an employee. It’s about the totality of the experience– everything that affects their day across all dimensions, from the personal to the physical to the professional, and beyond. Work, after all, has an impact that extends beyond the 9-5. Employees who find themselves in an environment that caters to their needs are far more likely to feel positive about work and as a result, be engaged.

This kind of employee-centric environment is most likely to occur when leadership consciously and continually puts themselves in employees’ shoes.

It Begins with a First Impression

The employee experience arises from the cumulative interactions an employee has with a workplace, beginning from the very first moment. It’s about more than putting out candy bars and having the occasional team meeting. The onboarding experience, including meeting with people and being introduced to the workspace for the first time, sets the scene for what an employee can expect. An environment that’s warm, welcoming and that allows for personalization, collaboration, and self-expression is far more likely to drive engagement than a standard office arrangement.

Leaders should strive to ensure that the initial cues provided by their workplace environment demonstrate to employees that the space and its amenities have chosen with employee needs in mind.

Maintaining the Experience is Vital

While first impressions can be lasting ones, the employee experience can be negatively impacted at any time, undermining the goodwill and engagement that has been so carefully engendered. This can lead to poor work performance, absenteeism, and turnover. For this reason, it’s vital that organizations actively work to maintain an environment that meets employee’s needs – even as these needs grow and change. One reason that organizations of all sizes are turning to coworking spaces is that such spaces can be more agile and flexible in adapting to the needs and interests of employees. The spaces cater to the experiential requirements of employees with amenities spanning wellness, dining, technology, and alternative workspaces.

Optimum Coworking has been carefully crafted to be people-centric in every way, with every amenity having been selected after taking into consideration how and what workers think, feel, and believe about their working environment. To explore our experience-first workspaces and learn more about how they can foster engagement among your employees, please get in touch.