The Best Employee Recognition Platforms (2024)
Our HR tech experts have rigorously reviewed the best employee recognition software on the market. Get pros and cons for each vendor, pricing details, and more below.
Employee recognition software helps companies organize, implement, and track recognition programs.
Peer-to-peer, top-down, and bottom-up recognition are all facilitated by many of the best employee recognition platforms. Examples include personalized messages, custom peer-nominated awards, and automated milestone celebrations.
Effective employee recognition programs can boost engagement and reduce turnover, so digitizing and automating them via a software solution can produce an impressive ROI for many businesses.
Best Employee Recognition Software
To choose the best employee recognition platforms, our experts conducted demos with dozens of vendors, tested each option extensively, and gathered input from HR thought leaders as well as professionals who use these tools day in, day out.
We have rated each tool’s performance on a multitude of factors, including the following three which we consider to be the most important for this software type:
Peer-to-Peer Recognition: The best employee recognition software empowers your team members to recognize one another for wins, completion of projects, or for simply being awesome colleagues.
A feature like this is often enhanced with functions like automated reminders, nominations or voting, and the ability to share recognition across other platforms like Slack, Teams, and LinkedIn.
Custom Recognition Options: Besides predefined alerts for known milestones like start dates and birthdays, best-in-class employee recognition software should give you some freedom to add a personal touch by tailoring recognition to the specific recipient(s).
Reporting and Analytics: Sophisticated reporting and analytics capabilities are a hallmark of top recognition platforms. They help you monitor the effectiveness of your programs and give you insights into engagement, recognition trends, and participation rates.
The key criteria are similar to those of employee rewards programs. Vendors with great employee recognition software often excel on both fronts.
Every product review and buyer guide on SelectSoftware Reviews is the result of many hours of painstaking expert research. This article on how we select the best HR vendors has more information on our methodology.
Nectar
Bonusly
Mo
Guusto
WorkTango
Cooleaf
Motivosity
Terryberry
Awardco
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Nectar
Nectar's peer recognition software is flexible and easy to use. You can engage employees through value-based shoutouts, customized challenges, and Amazon redeemable rewards.
PROS
- Nectar’s pricing is transparent and affordable.
- Discounts are available for companies with over 500 employees.
- Points-based system encourages peer-to-peer recognition.
- Free version available
- Volume discounts available for organizations with 500+ employees
- You pay for the rewards that are claimed. Points and allowances that remain unused won’t cost you a dime.
CONS
- There are no free trials at this time.
- The reward options are centered around gifts/gift cards, not experiences.
- There is a $99 monthly minimum to use the Standard plan and a $165 minimum to be on the Plus plan.
- The priced plans are not available to start off as a self-service process. You’d have to book a demo and pay to access some of the premium features.
- The rewards selection could feel limited to some teams, especially those looking for more experiences in offer.
Nectar offers a robust yet easy-to-use solution for peer-to-peer recognition aligned with company values. We like how its points-based system empowers all employees, not just managers, to reward coworkers' accomplishments and behaviors.
Peer-to-peer shoutouts are shared for everyone to see via a centralized feed. As for rewards, we’ve found Nectar’s catalog to be quite comprehensive, covering several options like Amazon purchases, gift cards, charitable donations, and company swag. Employees can quickly redeem their recognition points for rewards they value. Alongside peer bonuses, Nectar supports performance-based rewards and spot bonuses from managers.
Nectar also offers wellness features and impactful new capabilities like network analysis, providing HR teams visibility into cross-team recognition patterns. Overall, Nectar is a solid platform with a thoughtful approach to employee recognition. They also frequently roll out updates and release new integrations to continuously improve their offering.
Nectar is used by many recognizable brands including Redfin, Golden State Warriors, Major League Baseball, and SHRM.
Nectar has two plans. When billed annually, they cost as follows:
- Standard costs $2.75 per employee, and the minimum monthly charge is $99.
- Plus costs $3.50 per employee, and the minimum monthly payment is $165.
Best For
Nectar is best for smaller companies (<1,000 employees) that value employee recognition to build culture.
We use nectar for staff and management to reward employees exceptional work with points. Also, it is useful in terms of keeping employees connected with each other and interested in each other's work by allowing them to engage in a way similar to social media. It also was helpful for management to see areas of staff success that otherwise may go unseen, which was particularly helpful in things like formal evaluations. Since staff could comment on each other's posts, it allowed ongoing positive interaction daily to engage with teammates, learn more about each other and collaborate. It also was helpful for management to incentivize positive behaviors via tangible rewards.
I liked how it dramatically improved morale in a short time by giving tangible rewards to staff that felt stronger than just a thank you. Also, the way it connected the staff to each other and fostered collaboration and teamwork was great. I think it improved our retention too, and diminished some of the conflicts we used to see by creating a better sense of community.
We used it for 2 years. When many employees had to go remote due to covid, we were concerned about a lack of engagement and a lack of connection amongst team members. Introducing this tool improved both. It allows team members to interact and reward each other for excellent work, or for going the extra mile. It helped motivate staff to take on tasks and volunteer as they could see it was noticed and the benefits were more tangible than just a thanks. Also, it eliminated the need for staff to approach management or HR to request things like a small thank you gift and having to deal with the budgets involved. So, it has made keeping everyone connected to each other, to the company, and enthusiastic about their work much easier.
Not everyone was a fan and some staff members felt it had the potential to be a bit like a popularity contest and that the competitions it sometimes inspired were not helpful. Some managers were concerned it was too much like social media and could be a distraction. The analytics and reports could have been more in depth.
I think nectar is better than some similar tools in that its interface is really fun for staff and easy to use. I have used two such programs, and preferred nectar mainly because I saw a lot of engagement from the staff and it required very little instruction to get people up to speed on its use.
Does it make sense for the company to invest in these kinds of rewards, as it is an added cost. Also, it is important to have participation, and ideally that should be voluntary, so people should assess if this tool seems to match the culture of the company and would be well received by staff. Also, there is the possibility for some competition, which can be healthy and positive, but people should consider that and be aware and ready to discuss if staff are concerned.
The company seems to have improved its education and sharing of ideas with its users over time.
Remote companies who are concerned about employee connection, engagement and recognition will benefit. I think a young workforce in particular enjoy this kind of tool, and are used to the social media-like aspects.
I think not all older workers may enjoy it. Also, companies where a lot of the employees are very highly compensated and advanced professionals may not be as interested in these kinds of rewards and interactions.
Bonusly
Bonusly enables you to boost morale and cultivate a positive workplace culture through public peer-to-peer recognition, manager boosts, milestone reminders, and more. It also seamlessly integrates into your HRIS integrations so you won’t have to manually enter or remember special dates.
PROS
- Bonusly is easy to use both for managers and employees.
- It is currently available in German, English, French, and Spanish.
- You can use the platform on the go both on Android and iOS devices.
- Discounts are available for nonprofits and educational organizations.
- You can try the full-featured platform for free for up to 14 days.
- Intuitive user interface.
- Available in German, English, French, and Spanish.
- Supports Android and iOS.
- Discounts for nonprofit and education organizations.
- 14-day, full-featured free trial.
CONS
- The Core plan that's aimed at small businesses has a limited cap of only 50 users.
- Analytics and reporting are relatively basic in terms of scope and customization.
- The available reward options focus mainly on gift cards, cash, and donations rather than experiential rewards.
- Any unused bonus money does not roll over at the end of the period.
- The starter plan is for small businesses that cap out at 50 users.
- Analytics and reporting features are relatively underdeveloped.
- The reward catalog lacks in-person experience and physical goods, and options and focuses on gift cards, cash, or donations.
- Unused bonus funds don’t roll over: users use it or lose it.
Bonusly's 360-degree recognition capabilities make it easy to boost employee morale. We’ve tested their five-step recognition process and can confirm that it is as simple as it sounds: Each employee receives a monthly allotment of points (typically 100-200, valued at $10-$20) to recognize fellow team members. The process then is as simple as naming the recipient, choosing the points amount, sharing the reason, and adding hashtags or GIFs if desired.
We liked Bonusly’s public feed, showcasing all the recognitions given around, which motivates more action from coworkers. Managers also benefit from visibility into the recognitions occurring within their teams. They can amplify the recognition by praising both the giver and receiver.
In addition to recognizing achievements, managers, and teammates can send timely messages for birthdays, work anniversaries, and other special occasions thanks to Bonusly's automated reminders. The system neatly integrates with most HRIS platforms to automatically sync employee data, eliminating manual date entry.
Overall, Bonusly provides the essential features to boost employee engagement and build a more positive culture. It empowers employees at all levels to celebrate both major accomplishments and small wins, fostering a workplace where people feel recognized, connected, and invested in the company's success.
Over 3,250 companies use Bonusly, including Workday, Baxter, Headspace, and Qualtrics.
Bonusly has 3 subscription plans for users to choose from:
- The Core plan is $2.70 per user per month (billed annually) for up to 50 users.
- The Pro plan is $4.50 per user per month (billed annually) and has more flexibility in reporting, permissions, and integrations for growing teams.
- The Custom plan has customized pricing for larger businesses that need premium support and implementation.
Best For
Bonusly supports companies of all sizes looking to improve employee experience and create an ongoing culture of recognition.
We use Bonusly through the desktop and mobile version, and the team uses it on average about once a week. The team can use Bonusly to recognize their teammates for great work, or for their alignment with our core values. We also use it to give larger quarterly recognitions for client compliments or large wins.
It has an easy to use interface. It is easy to set up team members on it. It can be customized to align with our core values.
We were looking to integrate recognition into our workflows. We wanted it to be distributed across the organization, so it wasn't leadership only but everyone participated. We also wanted to align recognition with our core values. We've been using Bonusly for just over a year, and it has helped our team pause each month and recognize people for their efforts.
While Bonusly offers several beneficial features, there are areas that could be improved to enhance user experience and functionality. One of the drawbacks is the clunky and challenging nature of the Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) process, particularly when using it on mobile devices. Simplifying and streamlining the 2FA procedure would make it more user-friendly and accessible. Another area of concern is the Signals feature, which falls short when it comes to conducting employee surveys. The limited scale options of 1-5 restrict the ability to capture nuanced feedback, as some questions may require a more extensive rating scale. Providing customizable scales would allow for greater flexibility in survey design. Moreover, the lack of customization options for survey questions itself is a drawback. Enabling users to personalize and tailor questions to their specific needs and objectives would enhance the effectiveness of data collection. Lastly, improving the process of extracting and integrating survey results into analysis systems would facilitate data analysis and reporting. By addressing these cons and implementing the suggested improvements, Bonusly could offer a more seamless and customizable experience, enhancing its usability and value as an employee engagement tool.
One of Bonusly’s key strengths is the ability to customize company awards and rewards, allowing organizations to tailor recognition programs to their specific needs and culture. This flexibility ensures that employees feel appreciated in meaningful and personalized ways. Additionally, Bonusly has a user-friendly mobile interface, enabling seamless access and participation on the go. This makes recognition accessible anytime, anywhere. Another standout feature is its integration with Google Chat, which streamlines use within our team’s workflow. When searching for an employee engagement software, these qualities—customization, mobile interface, and integration—should be top considerations, and Bonusly excels in all these areas, making it an ideal choice for fostering a culture of recognition and appreciation.
It has worked great for our small company
People who are not tech savvy, and I can see it getting expensive for larger companies.
Mo
Mo is powered by peer-to-peer recognition; their platform emphasizes creating meaningful connections and shared moments between employees rather than just distributing material rewards.
PROS
- The user interface is easy to navigate and offers a good variety of gift card options.
- Moments and Boosts get employees in the habit of recognizing one another.
- Pricing is transparent and competitive compared to similar solutions.
- The platform is available in 12 languages and growing.
- Customer support is responsive and helpful.
- Mobile apps for both Android and iOS.
- Mo’s UI is easy to navigate, and users seem to appreciate the varied choice of gift cards they can offer through the platform.
- The platform’s pricing is transparent and reasonable compared to similar solutions in this space,
- Mo is available in 12 languages and growing.
CONS
- Only integrates with Slack and Microsoft Teams.
- Customer support is limited to weekdays, 9 am - 5 pm GMT.
- Free trials aren’t available at this time.
- Mo currently has limited integrations (only Slack and Microsoft Teams)
- The customer support hours are limited to weekdays, 9 AM - 5 PM GMT.
Mo’s aim is to help companies boost employee morale and retention through meaningful recognition. We like its Moments and Boosts features, which empower managers to highlight individual and team achievements big or small. Boosts can also be used to prompt team members to recognize one another for everyday wins and milestones. Employees can easily post public or private appreciative Moments and react with comments, emojis, and GIFs, spreading a spirit of gratitude.
Another thing we like about Mo is its automated Assistant, which reminds managers of upcoming celebrations so they can show employees they are valued. The Assistant even nudges managers if they haven't recognized someone in a while which is pretty neat. Mo also makes it easy to reward top performers. Managers to instantly grant credits redeemable for rewards from major stores like Amazon, Nordstrom and Tesco.
To sum up, we think Mo’s got all the features you need to make recognition a habit. With peer-to-peer recognition, automated reminders, robust rewards redemption, and more, Mo enables you to nurture a healthy culture where all employees feel appreciated for their contributions.
Mo has over 58,000 users from companies like SGN, The O2, NHS, Aspen, William Hill, and SHL.
Mo has three subscription plans:
- The Appreciate plan is $2.25 per user per month, billed annually.
- The Engage plan is $4.50 per user per month, billed annually.
- The Transform plan has custom pricing which is quoted on a case-by-case basis depending on needs. Companies should contact Mo directly to get a customized quote.
Best For
Mo works well for companies of all sizes, particularly ones with distributed teams looking to connect and motivate employees.
Guusto
Guusto’s employee recognition software pays special attention to companies with frontline, deskless employees. With print-out, web-based, mobile reward redemption options, no one is left out of your appreciation efforts, even if they don’t have an email address or a desktop.
PROS
- Straightforward recognition system that works great for hourly or field employees.
- Mobile apps for Android and iOS allow use on phones.
- Only reward givers pay a subscription fee - unlimited recipients can be added for free.
- Partnership with One Drop Foundation donates clean water with gifts.
- International reward options expanded recently to over 4,000 as of Spring 2023.
- They partnered with the One Drop Foundation to donate 1 day of clean drinking water for every gift sent.
- All gift cards are actually digital, meaning there’s no plastic waste. This also makes it a very remote-friendly product.
- Guusto is not a points program. All the gifts within the platform are real dollar value.
- As of early 2023, their global rewards options have grown to the thousands.
- In the process of becoming more international, gift redemptions can now be done in almost any currency within the regions they operate in.
CONS
- You can only fund accounts with USD or CAD credit, though gifts can be redeemed in many currencies.
- Monthly subscription minimums are $40 for Lite, $80 for Essential, and $400 for Premium.
- Accounts can only be funded with USD or CAD
Guusto’s innovative and easy-to-use platform supports recognition programs for employees at all levels, whether they work on the front lines, at the office, or at home. Many recognition platforms rely heavily on points-based systems that don't resonate with hourly or field employees. But Guusto allows companies to send printable rewards or gift cards that provide tangible value. We’ve given it a shot ourselves and can confirm that there's no learning curve to it: If an employee receives a $5 gift card, they get $5.
The platform also makes it simple to set up peer-to-peer recognition programs, performance goal tracking, anniversary/birthday awards, and more. Managers receive budgets to send spot bonuses or non-monetary "shoutouts" to motivate their direct reports. Everything is configurable based on each company's unique needs and culture.
Beyond its features, we admire and commend Guusto for its commitment to social impact. The company donates clean drinking water and supports a host of mental health organizations.
Guusto is used by many known organizations including Staples, Compass One Healthcare, The Body Shop, Fairmont, and Rexall Pharmacies.
Guusto offers tiered pricing plans to accommodate different business needs:
- Free - It’s free for a single user to send rewards
- Lite - This plan costs $40 per month for one user to send and schedule bulk rewards.
- Essential - This plan costs $120 per month for 30 user seats. Additional seats are $4 per user per month.
- Premium - This plan costs $400 per month and includes 80 user seats. Additional seats are $5 per user per month.
Note: Only recognition senders need user seats. There are no limits on how many recognition receipts there are in the system. Guusto also offers volume discounts for enterprise customers. Contact Guusto's Sales team for more details.
Best For
Guusto is an ideal solution for businesses that employ frontline staff, especially in the healthcare, retail, financial services, and hospitality sectors. The company has actively enhanced its platform with capabilities tailored to organizations with deskless employees.
- I send gifts to my current and past clients.
- I send gifts to my business partners like mortgage brokers, lawyers, etc
- I receive gifts from those same people that I used to take my family on outings
I like how easy to use it is.
I've been using Guusto for 3 years for customer loyalty and to stay in touch with the sphere of influence
There is literally nothing I don't like about this app.
- Ease of use
- Gift card selection
- Reliability of customer service
Small and medium size businesses.
Businesses with zero repeat clients.
WorkTango
WorkTango’s recognition engine checks all the boxes: A company feed, a points system, a broad rewards catalog, and the option to add custom rewards. It also packs an analytics dashboard, giving real-time data on your program’s effectiveness, participation rate, and more.
PROS
- WorkTango’s interface is simple and intuitive, making it easy for users to navigate.
- Users appreciate having a wide selection of gift cards, prizes, and other rewards to choose from when redeeming points.
- You can easily see upcoming employee birthdays, work anniversaries, and other events to send prompt shoutouts.
- The platform supports multiple languages, including English, Spanish, German and French.
- Unlimited surveys available in English, Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Korean.
- You can add modules as you go and these will be charged on a prorated basis.
CONS
- There is no monthly billing option. You have to pay per year, and all plans require a 12-month minimum commitment.
- Several users found the rewards redeeming process confusing and unintuitive.
- A few users reported the platform can be slow, glitchy, or have timeouts at times.
- Billing is only done annually and all plans require a minimum agreement for a 24-month subscription (see our FAQs for more and their pricing page for full details).
- Several users have complained about the rewards redeeming process being not very intuitive.
WorkTango’s employee recognition software is easy to use, amplifies core values, and reinforces positive actions. What stood out the most for us was how flexible the platform is: Employees can give public or private recognition to their colleagues anytime, anywhere through the desktop or mobile app. This peer-to-peer, bottom-up, and top-down recognition helps enhance the employee experience by making appreciation visible across the organization.
Another thing we like about WorkTango is its focus on community building. Features like social news feeds and the ability to react to and comment on recognitions foster connections company-wide. Employees gain visibility into recognitions across departments, roles, and locations. Adding customizable emojis, GIFs, and images further humanizes peer appreciation and makes them personal.
Integrations with communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams eliminate barriers by enabling recognition directly within employees' daily workflows. WorkTango also integrates with most HRISs to sync employee data seamlessly and without errors.
For any organization seeking to improve employee experience and retention through a culture of recognition, we think WorkTango is a worthy investment. Its thoughtful features, flexible tools, and user-friendly design enable impactful recognition while bringing teams together.
Over 1000 companies use WorkTango including Kia Motors, HUB International, Rexall, and Accruent.
WorkTango pricing starts at $8,000 annually. Request a demo to learn more.
Best For
WorkTango serves growing companies and enterprises best. They cater to all industries, particularly healthcare, technology, and financial services.
We used WorkTango regularly for engagement surveys, pulse checks, surveys following development events, for onboarding and so on. We used it to get feedback from our employees on specific events as well as general engagement feedback. We also used it for pulse surveys to get more insight into particular topics.
It's really easy to use in terms of setup of surveys and adding and deleting employees. You get results instantly with many ways to view the data and drill down. Their support is really good as well - knowledgeable and responsive.
I used WorkTango in a previous role, and used it for about 4 years. We bought it because we were looking for a better way to conduct employee engagement surveys, and WorkTango helped us do that in a way that was completely customizable. We did annual surveys as well as regular pulse checks. With WorkTango we could see participation rates throughout the survey periods and got results instantly. The tool provides some analysis and different ways to cut data (department, tenure, etc.).
The exporting of results isn't perfect - it got better while we were using it but we still had to manually create certain views to share the results we wanted with our executive. The trending feature, which is great overall, doesn't work if you change the wording of a question in any way, so if you want to reword a term the trending doesn't work.
I had always used companies to run engagement surveys and it was a less intuitive process and the results took weeks if not months to get. WorkTango makes it easy and instant.
Think about how often you want to use it and how to make the most of it. If you do one survey a year it's likely not worth it. Make sure you're comfortable interpreting results as well. The system does some of that but you need to be able to analyze responses and determine why things might be surfacing. And don't buy this type of tool if you're not going to do anything with the results.
WorkTango was very responsive to our suggestions for features or improvements. During the 4 years we used it there were some upgrades or changes, as well as one significant upgrade that addressed a lot of things and made the tool better, especially in terms of how data is displayed and exported.
Great for HR teams and people with little to a lot of technical savviness.
Very small organizations wouldn't benefit from this as it relies on a certain number of responses to maintain anonymity.
Cooleaf
Cooleaf empowers managers to recognize behaviors tied to core values. It also features custom incentives, automated reminders for milestones, and peer shoutouts to surprise and delight employees, no matter the occasion.
PROS
- Cooleaf features a very user-friendly interface that makes it easy to give and receive recognition.
- There’s a seamless Slack integration that gathers posts and kudos in one place.
- Diverse rewards like donations, experiences, merch, and more can be selected from its catalog.
- Mobile apps for iOS and Android are available.
- Full platform for all things employee engagement, not just rewards and recognition.
- The Slack integration is very seamless. Challenges, posts, and recognitions can all be gathered within dedicated channels in your team’s Slack workplace, if you want to.
- Wide variety of rewards including a team store, donations, entertainment, travel experiences, merch, products, and restaurant coupons.
CONS
- There currently aren’t any gamification features for recognition.
- Customer support can only be contacted through an online form.
- Pricing isn’t disclosed publicly and there isn’t a free trial at this time.
- A few login and SSO issues were reported with its mobile app.
- For some of the workplace culture-building features, like challenges and activities, you can’t create your own, so you rely on how often Cooleaf’s team makes them available.
- We found the support center’s documentation to be somewhat limited in comparison to similar tools. Also, it seems like support is only done through an online form, no other channels are available.
With its robust set of features, Cooleaf enables companies to make appreciation frequent and meaningful. We’ve put the platform to the test and found it particularly excellent at tying recognition to core values. Managers can send real-time recognitions that highlight how an employee's actions embodied a certain value, such as collaboration or integrity. This not only motivates the recipient but also reinforces behaviors your company cares about. Cooleaf also provides manager dashboards to track recognitions and see how well values are being integrated.
Celebrating big milestones is easy too. Features like automatic anniversary rewards ensure no career achievement goes unnoticed. Milestones can be personalized for each level, from an employee's first year to their 10th anniversary. Rewards go beyond the typical gift card - managers can create a catalog of merchandise, experiences, donation gifts, and more that fit their culture.
Whether it's recognizing day-to-day wins or momentous occasions, we love how Cooleaf empowers managers to show appreciation in personalized ways. Its user-friendly interface, customization options, and focus on values make Cooleaf a great choice for companies looking to delight their teams while aligning them to important principles and goals.
Mountain Seed, Shipt, Orangetheory Fitness, SalesLoft, and Toyota are some of the companies that use Cooleaf.
Cooleaf’s pricing depends on the number of employees and the scope of your recognition efforts. Contact their team for an exact quote.
Best For
Cooleaf works optimally for small and mid-sized companies with 250+ employees on average. It's also suitable for distributed or hybrid teams aiming to boost employee happiness and morale.
I use Cooleaf weekly to check on health and reporting within my clients' companies. It improves social and cultural collaboration. The platform is an easy to use employee management system. Cooleaf makes employee communication fun for the team. Recognizing employee accomplishments through Cooleaf has helped my clients understand employee performance and perspectives.
Cooleaf is very employee friendly. It can be difficult for larger teams to keep track of accomplishments, birthdays etc but this platform eliminates that concern. It has been instrumental in improving engagement for remote team members post-pandemic.
I have used Cooleaf to manage employees for clients since 2021. The service allows HR to track employee engagement and handle employee reporting. Cooleaf allows me to send surveys, improve peer recognition, and offer rewards for staff. It integrates with other software that we use easily. Cooleaf has a fun interface that enables the HR team to keep track of important changes on the go.
There are sometimes issues with the mobile app sending push notifications. Cooleaf’s voucher program can be tedious to track if the employee does not use their points. The voucher system could use an update with more exciting redeemable options.
Cooleaf is a fun platform. The service is affordable and user friendly. Other platforms like Guusto have slightly better features and redeemable options.
How many employees need Cooleaf access? Do you have a remote staff and will any rewards be applicable in their location?
I have used Cooleaf since 2021 and since that time, they have improved their customer service response and engagement surveys.
Cooleaf is good for small-medium sized organizations that focus on employee engagement. It is a customizable service that can get expensive if you have budgetary constraints.
I would not recommend Cooleaf to large companies because the cost can increase as you expand but it is a solid service.
Motivosity
Motivosity helps you take employee experience to a new level via its mobile-friendly solution that incorporates straightforward recognition features, advanced reporting plus goal tracking, and eNPS into a single platform.
PROS
- Motivosity is mobile-friendly and accessible across devices, as well as third-party platforms like Slack and Teams.
- A free, basic version of their software is available for small companies.
- Free trials are offered for all paid subscriptions.
- Peer recognition with shout-outs are easy to quick to give.
- The built-in analytics provide insights on attrition risks, top performers, and coaching needs.
- Employees can access this system from their phones, desktop, and apps they are in at work such as Teams/Slack
- One platform that combines rewards, recognition, employee engagement, and more
- Built in reporting with insights around potential attrition, most recognized employees, managers that need coaching, etc.
CONS
- Several users felt constrained by the fixed monthly budget for giving recognitions. They wanted the ability to add more funds.
- Some features like 1:1s and coaching are relatively basic and limited in scope.
- The platform lacks controls over peer recognition point distribution, allowing potential favoritism or uneven allocation.
- Only has dollar (not points) based rewards. Their research shows dollars is more effective, but many companies want points.
- Some users claimed sometimes it can be a bit buggy connecting to Slack to notify people that an appreciation came through.
- It would have broadened the number of gift card options for users to choose from.
- There could have been an easier way to integrate the software with swag stores. For now, you have to transfer funds to a card and then link that card with the swag store, which slows down a bit the process to cash in funds.
Motivosity takes employee recognition to the next level with its innovative peer-to-peer platform. We’ve given it a try and liked how easy it is to send shout-outs. We also liked how all shout-outs are posted on a customizable homepage, showing appreciation in real-time across the organization.
Motivosity's ThanksMatters digital cards empower employees to redeem their received recognition for Amazon gift cards, restaurant vouchers, or anything that appeals to them. The custom company store and integration with hundreds of vendors take care of all the logistics.
You can also use Motivosity to incentivize company-wide initiatives. We’ve found it easy to create custom badges and awards. It also does not forget about service milestones and birthdays. Individual gifts and peer celebrations through comments make employees feel valued on their special days.
With its modern, peer-driven recognition and seamless administration, Motivosity offers the complete package. It empowers employees, reinforces company values, and fosters a positive culture. If you’re looking to drive engagement and show appreciation, we think Motivosity is a great bet.
A&W, Bosch, KPMG, Chick-fil-A, and Toyota are some of the companies that use Motivosity.
Motivosity offers flexible pricing starting at $2 per employee monthly when billed annually. This covers the core recognition platform. Additional modules focused on manager development, employee insights, and enhanced rewards are available as add-ons, also starting at $2 per employee per month.
Best For
Companies of all sizes can benefit from Motivosity’s offering to boost employee morale and engagement.
Motivosity for management and leadership development has been a major area we employ. We use this to facilitate one-on-one and small group meetings between supervisors and their teams. It's been extremely helpful in getting everyone to participate and as they can add agenda items and plan in advance.
Performance has improved as a result because staff receives guidance on problem-solving and prioritizing work from their supervisor and they receive acknowledgment afterward. Also, the leadership team can see the reports on how often these meetings are happening and get a sense of how well our supervisors are performing.
We also use the recognize feature to reward the daily achievements and allow staff to recognize coworkers. Great work that often went unacknowledged or just was easily forgotten/overlooked now gets the attention it deserves. We found that everyone responds to this feature and that these small, regular acknowledgments tied to tangible monetary and gift rewards have really increased overall employee motivation and satisfaction and made doing great work rewarding and fun for our staff. We also set it up to make sure major events like an anniversary are not missed.
We also benefit from the surveys and feedback that leadership can see as insightful and data-driven reporting. It has been critical in getting information that was mainly anecdotal, unpredictable, and sporadic in the past. We use this for departing employees' exit interviews and to track turnover. Handling and understanding employee turnover had been overly informal and a bit chaotic before this feature, but we use the exit interviews and data to get a better picture of areas we need to focus on.
It improved employee morale and performance by offering ways for them to connect better with coworkers and supervisors and allowed ongoing, regular, and routine recognition rather than just major things like salary increases and promotions.
Leadership has gained a better sense of how our management is performing and increased the effectiveness of our supervisors at every level.
It's given us valuable data about how our staff are performing, employee turnover, and management performance in reports.
We were concerned about employee engagement given the fact that a large number of employees were remote, and we have multiple worksites. Both factors created a sense of disconnect among the staff from both the company and their co-workers. It seemed to be harming employee morale and, consequently, employee productivity.
We were also very concerned about increased interpersonal conflict, declining employee retention and feedback that generally indicated dissatisfaction. We were also looking for a way to provide ongoing recognition and to attain ongoing feedback, because annual reviews and occasional surveys were not enough, and were not incorporated into the day-to-day culture.
We've used motivosity for about a year and a half. In that time, we've seen improvements in all these areas.
We were not thrilled with the customer support regarding questions about billing and technical errors.
The system seemed to have some technical issues and was sometimes really slow or even would crash.
Though it met our needs, there do appear to be products on the market that have more features for around the same cost.
Having used a few similar products, I think Motivosity does a better than average job creating personalized connections between coworkers and social media-like content for staff members and was very good at fostering a sense of empowerment by management to the employees.
It allows for employees to recognize each other, not just management recognizing employees as is typically the case. Also, the user interface is very straightforward, intuitive, easy to navigate, and easy to use.
A tool like this will very likely increase employee engagement and increase performance and retention, but people should consider the costs involved both in the product and in monetized rewards and recognition to staff.
Once you institute such rewards, taking them away may be poorly received by staff. Also, it requires leadership to support and endorse the efforts to use this product and without that, it may not be effectively deployed, especially if you do not have full participation.
From my understanding, they have refined the features to focus better on reporting and on management development.
Remote workers will especially benefit. It helps to replace some of the personal bonding and connection that usually happens through in-person interactions.
Organizations, where there is infrequent staff interaction, will also find a lot of benefits in both the sense of personal connection and regular recognition that can be lost when workers are not physically near each other often.
An organization that highly values a top-down style of relationships may find that they don't value the degree to which employees are empowered to give feedback and recognition.
Terryberry
Terryberry is one of the most feature-rich platforms for corporate recognition programs. They have been in this industry for over 100 years and are a preferred choice for large global companies based in the US and UK.
PROS
- Terryberry packs several employee engagement features like rewards, incentives, and wellness tracking.
- You can use their offering to share custom company merchandise.
- Users appreciate how responsive and attentive Terryberry’s Customer service and account management are.
- The implementation process is thorough, spanning an average of 6 weeks with lots of help along the way like internal/customer testing and user training.
- Customized physical goods as employee rewards
- Wide range of employee engagement features, including rewards, incentives, and a wellness tracker.
- Customer support and account management at Terryberry are quite good. Their reps stand out for being very responsive and attentive, which is evidenced by some of the client testimonials we read.
- The implementation process, while six weeks long, is quite comprehensive, and you get tons of help along the way. For instance, the last two weeks consist of internal and customer testing, as well as user training.
CONS
- The platform design could look more modern and sleek.
- There is no open API yet, but it's on the development team’s roadmap for late 2023.
- No free trial is offered at this time.
- While Terryberry is easy to use, its design could look more modern and sleek.
- No open API, but on the roadmap for the end of 2023.
- No free trial at the moment.
Terryberry offers one of the most comprehensive feature sets we've seen in an employee recognition platform. The platform provides social recognition tools, feedback and communication features, a wellness app, service awards and custom jewelry, performance management, incentive programs, and a global rewards catalog.
During a recent 2023 video demo, we got an in-depth look at the platform's expansive capabilities. With so many features covered in a single call, it was difficult to get a detailed walkthrough of every workflow. For anyone interested in a Terryberry demo, we recommend identifying the specific workflows that are most critical for your needs and asking for those to be covered in greater detail.
It's also worthwhile to explore their custom awards offerings. Terryberry can manufacture everything from trophies to belt buckles tailored to your specifications, while also providing the software to identify which employees you want to recognize and reward.
Among Terryberry’s 40,000 customers are Tesco, Epsilon, General Motors, and Trilogy Health.
Terryberry offers flexible pricing. You can choose certain features of the platform to begin with and add more later as your needs grow. Their basic subscription plans start around $3 per employee receiving an award, however, to get a more precise quote it's best to reach out to their sales team directly.
In addition to the subscription costs, Terryberry charges one-time setup fees and an annual administration fee that is calculated based on the total employee headcount and number of reward redemptions processed.
Best For
Terryberry is best suited for companies in the US and UK of any size and industry, though they have global capabilities. It's especially good for those with a large number of deskless employees who would appreciate physical gifts.
Awardco
Awardco goes further than the average recognition platform. It packs a social feed, peer-to-peer appreciation, and extensive international reward options. It also allows employees to create memory books, boxes, and more for a personal touch.
PROS
- Features like the public feed and AwardCodes make recognition simple, effective, and inclusive.
- The platform is available in 16 different languages.
- It easily integrates with commonly used software like Slack, Microsoft Teams, HRIS systems, and HubSpot.
- Amazon Business integration, huge reward catalog for a multitude of countries.
- The platform is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, and Simplified Chinese.
CONS
- No free trial is offered.
- Awardco only works with Amazon for gift cards.
- A few users reported that prices on some rewards are high or inflated compared to retail prices.
- Rewards delivery is delayed at times.
- Actual pricing is not publicly available, so getting started won’t be a quick and self-service process like with other companies in the space.
- With Awardco, digital and physical gift cards are ineligible for refunds.
- Only Amazon-delivered products are available from Awardco. Goods sold by third-party vendors on Amazon are not available.
- The Awardco mobile app is only available as a Progressive Web Application, not from the App Store or Google Play, which might be less intuitive for some users.
Awardco makes it easy to recognize anyone in your organization for living your values, achieving goals, or simply for being awesome employees. In our testing, it was easy to choose who to recognize, for what, and why. We’ve also liked the social component to it, featuring all given recognition on a public feed for everyone to see. Awardco also facilitates remote employee recognition through integrations with communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams. This boosts engagement further, bringing recognition to platforms your employees already use.
We appreciate Awardco's inclusive approach to recognition. Their newly released feature, AwardCodes, makes it possible to give recognition offline to employees without regular computer access so they aren’t left out of any appreciation efforts. Managers provide customized award codes, which employees later scan to receive their rewards. The codes work for any employee, anywhere, anytime while still enabling tracking and security.
Another thing that caught our attention is Awardco’s service anniversary features. Its level of gift creativity and personalization is something we’ve not seen on other platforms. Employees can create Digital MemoryBooks which collect teammate contributions into a cherished keepsake for coworkers celebrating milestones. It also has curated gift packages called Bonus Boxes that employees can put together and ship right to the doors of their coworkers to make their day.
Awardco has over 3 million users including staff at companies like Percepta, Paramount, Hertz, Pacific Life, and Aptive.
Awardco offers two main plans for small and medium businesses.
- The Lite plan provides basic automation for things like service awards, birthdays, and reporting. It establishes a foundation for employee recognition and costs $2,500 per year.
- The Go plan includes everything in Lite plus additional features like peer-to-peer recognition, manager recognition, value-driven rewards, and budget oversight. It is more robust for employee appreciation and costs $4,000 annually.
For larger companies, Awardco offers customized pricing depending on the specific features required. The enterprise plans are more tailored to the company's needs and size. Since enterprises have more complex requirements, pricing is on a case-by-case basis. Interested companies should contact the Awardco Sales team to discuss enterprise pricing and put together a plan that fits their organization's goals and budget.
Best For
Awardco’s comprehensive recognition offering makes it an excellent choice for growing teams and multinational businesses looking for a powerful and flexible solution for their recognition program.
We use it for incentives. Anytime we want to shout out an employee we're able to offer them a bit of points to use at any major site they're interested in. This is great for employee recognition and overall morale. We typically aim to tie it to some measurement of performance.
It's easy to keep track of the expenses towards incentives. It's easy to use on both ends (sender and receiver). Employees also love the idea of receiving $25 in Awardco instead of receiving money on their check that they don't really notice.
We were interested in finding a way to reward employees in an organized fashion. This made taxes easier for us, while also easily creating a budget for each department. It also made it easy for us to track why incentives were being passed to each individual, creating better oversight of expenses.
I don't think there's really all that much I don't like about the software. We would appreciate a lower fee for using it! Other than that, it's truly great and I highly recommend it.
It's simple. It's very user friendly and the money can be spent anywhere.
Ease of use is one. Second would be the stronger sense of oversight.
I don't think there's really been any adjustments over time, but I also don't need it to. It does what its intended purpose is.
Larger organizations that care about culture and want an easy way to budget and control incentive spending.
I would say it's not necessary for smaller companies where you already have the oversight of incentive budgets.
Kudos
Kudos helps you tie recognition to company values, reinforcing your mission statement and delighting employees at the same time. In addition to software, they offer consulting services to companies that need extra assistance.
PROS
- Kudos is very easy and simple to use for giving recognition and appreciation to coworkers.
- The mobile app is quite robust and has nearly all of the functions of the web version.
- You can use the platform in 10 languages besides English.
- Unique, company culture-oriented features are present all across the platform, such as in the way they approach analytics, or on the actual Culture Accelerator module.
- Excellent relation of mobile / desktop functionality. You basically get all the bells and whistles on both versions.
CONS
- Several users feel that the monthly limit on points you can give to others is too low.
- The reward redemption process isn’t very intuitive and could be improved according to users.
- The platform’s pricing puts it out of reach for small businesses. There also aren’t any free trials to sign up for.
- Unless you get a demo and start exploring the tool with the help of an insider, we’d say it’s somewhat hard to get a good idea of what features are like, how they work, and even what they do, just from their website alone.
- From our research, we could gather that the points system and how this works can get a bit confusing for some users.
Kudos offers a robust employee recognition platform that can help you build a positive, engaged workforce. We like its peer-to-peer recognition abilities which empower employees to recognize one another for key wins and achievements. Employees can also give kudos for actions or behaviors tied to company values like collaboration or innovation. Not only does this reinforce those values but giving specific recognition provides valuable people analytics for managers to track what behaviors are being role-modeled.
All of this peer recognition activity is collected and displayed on the Kudos Wall. This broadcast of appreciation helps employees feel valued and reminds them that they are part of something bigger. It also cultivates an inspiring sense of community.
Rewards can also be given through the system. It’s all gamified, which we’re big fans of. Employees can collect points from giving and receiving kudos, which they can then redeem from an online catalog. The platform also integrates seamlessly with existing HR systems to pull employee data like birthdays, work anniversaries and more so you won’t have to remember or input any of this info manually.
Kudos is used by thousands of growing businesses and enterprises including MTN, Russel, ATCO, Bulgari, and DHL.
Kudos’ pricing starts at $3.25 per user per month for organizations that have at least 500 employees. Its actual pricing is flexible, based on the number of user seats you need and the length of the contract.
Best For
With its variety of recognition options and multi-language support, Kudos is a great choice for big, diverse workforces looking for a flexible employee recognition solution.
Kudos was used as a pilot. It was used as a demo software. It was around honoring employees who hit a silver or gold anniversary (25/50 years of service). The Retirement Services of our HR department used this software the most. I used Kudos during our Employee Recognition month.
- It has many functions that it can be used for.
- It is easy to use.
- It provides the opportunity to build your own rewards.
We brought Kudos to ramp up our employee experience through the employee lifecycle. It provides opportunities to recognize employees through various stages in their careers. It was also a way for us to acknowledge milestones and do pulse surveys. I used this software for about a year.
It is quite costly. Other competitors in the marketplace offer better cost value.
In the employee recognition space - Kudos has a lane that offers services for People Analytics
Why are you purchasing an employee recognition tool? Is their buy-in for senior leadership? Can you buy tools a la carte or do you have to buy everything the platform has to offer?.
Large organizations
Employers who have a strict budget
Why You Should Use Employee Recognition Software
The benefits of employee recognition software include increased engagement, access to valuable data, and the myriad benefits that come with automated processes.
Increased Engagement
Employee recognition software makes it easier for employees to engage with each other in ways that align with your company’s values. Employee recognition statistics show that higher engagement is great for the bottom line, too: organizations with high employee engagement levels are 21% more profitable.
Automation
Fully automated features are critical for consistent recognition across all levels of your business. They enable you to create a significant impact with little to no manual effort required.
Automatic reminders of work and personal anniversaries are a perfect use case for employee recognition software, as are competitions and monthly awards.
Actionable Data
The best employee recognition systems will provide you with all sorts of useful metrics. This data will help you ensure that recognition plans are being executed within a specific budget and time frame, and that rewards are fairly distributed.
Saving Time
Implementing employee recognition software means your HR team is free to focus on higher level initiatives. Not only does this likely improve their own satisfaction, but it also means you’ll be getting the most out of your talented staff.
Employee Recognition Software Pricing
There are two main pricing models for employee recognition platforms:
- Marketplace
- Per-employee/per-month
Marketplace pricing model
Using the marketplace model, an employer pays a percentage of their spend on the platform For example, if you spend $50,000/yr on employee recognition, their fee is X% of $50,000.
Customers often prefer this model because it means the product is often free to start (minus implementation fees, if applicable) and scales up in costs only as your business grows. Starting a pilot program can be hard, but a free pilot program is a little bit easier.
Here are some guidelines on pricing for these types of employee recognition programs:
Per-employee/per-month pricing model
The per-employee/per-month model is more standard and results in more consistent costs. This is a good choice for companies who engage their employees frequently. Here’s what pricing might look like for this model:
Employee Recognition Best Practices
Knowing how to get the most out of your employee recognition software is as important as selecting the right platform in the first place.
Integrating the platform with the rest of your tech stack, performing regular checks, automating workflows, and maximizing peer-to-peer recognition opportunities are all key best practices for HR specialists working with employee recognition programs.
All this is, of course, made more simple if you also make some effort to secure management buy-in.
Integration
Selecting an employee recognition program that doesn’t integrate smoothly with your existing tech stack will hamstring your business in two ways:
- It will be impossible to maximize the software’s functionality, and;
- You’ll also lose valuable employee hours on things like maintenance and data transfer.
At an absolute minimum, any platform you pick should integrate with your company’s HRIS system as well as productivity and internal comms tools such as Slack or Teams.
Checkups and automation
It’s well worth spending time performing regular check ups on your employee recognition platform. You’ll make back that time - and then some - by proactively identifying any ways that your implementation of the software can be improved.
Automating processes where possible is another fantastic time saver and likely one of the most popular features of this type of software among HR pros.
As mentioned above, even automating simple reminders like work or personal anniversaries frees up significant time.
Peer-to-peer engagement
Enabling peer-to-peer engagement through this software is arguably the most important box to tick of all. The employees should have a say on the rewards and recognition that motivate them the most.
Your employee recognition ROI will be levels higher if you encourage engagement throughout your organization rather than settling for a top-down tool that delivers information in one direction.
Management buy-in
Present a clear plan of action for integration, checkups and automation, and peer-to-peer engagement.
Your organization’s decision makers need to be able to easily understand the return on investment of your time and their money.
Once that’s established, they’re more likely to give your HR team the freedom to implement these best practices as effectively as possible.
Employee Recognition Software FAQs
What are the best employee recognition software platforms?
- Nectar: Best for gamified recognition
- WorkTango: Great for employee engagement
- Bonusly: Best for peer-to-peer recognition
What are the main benefits of employee recognition software?
The main benefits of employee recognition software are improved employee engagement, time savings through automation of core tasks, and the collection of actionable data.
How much does employee recognition software cost?
The cost of employee recognition software platforms vary widely. The cost depends on your usage and the pricing model.
Software on a marketplace pricing model is cheaper to start with but can get expensive when you scale up. Per-employee/per-month pricing typically has a higher entry price but may be more cost efficient for larger organizations.
What are some examples of employee recognition?
- Celebrating an individual’s achievements at a company-wide celebration
- Recognizing the employee of the month
- Peer-to-peer shout outs for a terrific job
- A personalized thank you note or email
Final Thoughts on Employee Recognition Software
The best employee recognition software can have a significant positive impact on your company’s bottom line. Improving employee engagement is the core purpose of these platforms, and there are many spillover benefits associated with task automation and integration with the rest of your HR tech stack.
It’s worth going the extra mile to get management buy-in so you can really get the most out of your employee recognition platform. Be sure to also check the available pricing models to pick one that best suits your organization.
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