15 Best Employee Rewards Programs (2024)

I feel the ease of sending employees rewards is my number one pro of the program. Keeping my team excited and motivated is great. Also, not having to use multiple programs for each task is wonderful. I feel remembering milestones and birthdays is important to my staff and this has very little room for error.

My company was using other software programs to set reminders of anniversaries and birthdays. We then would have a separate email program to send recognition awards. It was a hassle and very time-consuming. It was also easy to make errors because of not having a streamlined program.

I feel that sometimes, the number of options in awards can be overwhelming. The news feed could be organized by department, which would make it geared to that area of the company. I also think being able to make the recognition public to all staff could be motivating to everyone.

Bucketlist was incredibly easy to use, and I feel it is one of the better programs out there. It also is cost-effective and great for time management. I feel that fewer steps taken daily increase HR productivity and keep my team hyped up to do better. It is a great way to encourage staff members to do their best while feeling valued.

I would recommend doing their own research as to whether this program fits their company's needs. They offer a free trial, which I highly recommend utilizing. I feel this program is a wonderful tool, and my advice would be to purchase it.

They are constantly updating their system, adding new tools, and making it easier to navigate.

Tech companies and really, any office with staff members.

I liked that employees can recognize each other for accomplishments and a job well done. I like that employees can be recognized for their birthdays. I like that employees can be recognized for their anniversary each year.

We purchased WorkTango to build employee morale and encourage team building and recognition amongst peers. This is another way to provide positive reinforcement to our employees and encourage them to work hard and love what they do! I used it for 2 years.

Some employees would complain about the shop and being hard to navigate. We would receive feedback that employees didn't think it was super user-friendly. We had technical issues occasionally that would take a little while to resolve.

WorkTango is very similar to other programs out there. Not a lot of difference between the different ones I've used.

This is a great way to build morale and recognize employees. Employees love to be able to use their points towards items in the shop.

They have added unique features that make the overall experience more enjoyable.

WorkTango is good for companies that are looking for ways to recognize employees and build morale.

• Cooleaf is a great tool that encourages amazing work collaboration.
• It has partnerships with multiple great companies so users can get some really great gift cards.
• Cooleaf is very easy to use, and has great customer support.

I used Cooleaf at Salesloft for about 1.5 years, as they were trying to create an extremely inclusive workplace and it was a great way to collaborate remotely globally. Cooleaf was used to make people feel special and feel like they were being rewarded at work. It has a lot of partnerships with multiple different companies.

• At times it became an extra step in employees' workflows so I think they stopped wanting to do it.
• Employees were pigeon held to the challenges the companies created so sometimes there was a lack of creativity or diversity.
• To get a large gift card/ reward payout often takes a longtime.

I have not used a tool similar to Cooleaf. I think if you are a large organization with the majority of your workforce remote, Cooleaf is a great option.

I think that the total cost of the product is definitely an investment for companies. In order to ensure usage of the product companies must come up with diverse Cooleaf challenges that target a wide range of the organization.

Cooleaf has added many different companies that they partner with for gift cards which definitely makes the product more attractive.

A company that has a majority of their workforce working remote.

It’s a quicker way to generate gift cards; no need to go to stores to buy or visit recipients in person to give out the gift cards. It’s also easy to use, both on mobile and web versions.

Guusto offers a quicker way to send out gift cards to our team members. I have been using Guusto for more than a year now.

• Guusto needs to add Mastercard or Visa Card as a merchant which can be used anywhere. Not everyone likes to use exclusive gift cards like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, or any restaurant.
• Ability to change the selected merchant- Users should be able to change the merchant once selected, sometimes there is a change of Mind.

Employers or businesses

Some of the main reasons why I like Motivosity are:

It helps me feel appreciated and valued by my colleagues and managers for my work and contributions.

It allows me to redeem my points for gift cards, perks, or donations that I enjoy or care about.

It integrates with my other tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and ADP making it easy to access and use.

My organization bought Motivosity because we wanted to improve our employee engagement and retention. We had a problem with low morale, high turnover, and lack of recognition among our staff. We needed a tool that could help us create a culture of appreciation and motivation in our workplace.

I have personally used Motivosity for about six months, and I have seen a positive change in our workplace culture. I feel more appreciated and valued by my colleagues and managers. I also enjoy recognizing and rewarding others for their work. I think Motivosity is a great employee engagement platform that helps us achieve our goals and grow as a team.

Some of the main ways that Motivosity can improve or I wish it were different are:

It could offer a free trial for the upper tiers, so that potential customers can evaluate the features and benefits of the platform before purchasing.

It could improve the Android app, so that it is more stable and reliable, and has the same functionality and user experience as the iOS app.

It could provide more direct support options, such as chat, phone, or email so that customers can get faster and better assistance for their questions, issues, or feedback.

Motivosity is different from its competitors in a couple of ways. Here are some of the main differences and how it stacks up:

Motivosity has a unique feature called MVTV, which is a live stream of recognition that can be displayed on TVs, monitors, or screensavers. This feature enhances the visibility and impact of recognition in the workplace. I have not seen this feature in any other platform, and I think it is a great way to celebrate and inspire employees.

Motivosity has a flat pricing model that charges per user per month regardless of the number of users. This makes it easy to budget and scale the platform as the organization grows. Most of the other platforms have tiered pricing models that charge different rates based on the number of users or features. I prefer Motivosity's pricing model because it is affordable, transparent, and easy to use.

Employee engagement software is a type of tool that helps organizations measure and improve the engagement and satisfaction of their employees. When buying this type of tool, people should think about the following criteria:

The tool should offer features and functionality that match the organization's goals and needs for employee engagement. The tool should also be easy to use, customize, and scale.

It should have a high user adoption and feedback rate which means that most of the employees who are invited to use the tool actually use it regularly and provide feedback on their experience. This indicates that the tool is engaging, fun, and valuable for the employee.

Lastly, the tool should have a transparent and affordable pricing model that fits the organization's budget and expectations. The tool should demonstrate a clear and positive return on investment (ROI), which means that the tool helps the organization achieve its desired outcomes, such as improved performance, retention, and culture.

I have noticed two ways in which Motivosity has changed or evolved over time to meet users needs:

It has introduced new features and functionality to enhance the user experience and provide more value to the customers. For example, some of the recent additions are MVTV, a live stream of recognitions that can be displayed a number of ways; ThanksMatters Card which is a Visa card that allows users to use their Motivosity Bucks anywhere Visa is accepted; and 1 on 1's, a tool that helps managers and employees have effective and meaningful conversations.

Motivosity has expanded the integrations and partnerships to make it easier for users to access and use the platform from different platforms and tools. For example, some of the recent integrations and partnerships are Microsoft Teams, a chat and collaboration tool that allows users to send and receive recognitions, points and badges from within the app; Covver, a swag provider that allows users to redeem their points for branded merchandise; and Sweeteners, a perk provider that allows users to redeem their points for discounts and deals.

Motivosity is suitable for teams of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises, across various industries and sectors. It is especially beneficial for remote or hybrid teams, as it helps them stay connected, engaged, and motivated.

I really like the design of emails. I like that you can custom-make emails that are sent to employees. I like to provide employees with a fun tool.

They decided to use workstars as an additional resource for employee recognition for birthdays. They also wanted to recognize employees for anniversaries. They wanted to be able to give each other props on a regular basis.

Thought it was expensive for the platform. Wish it was more user-friendly. Wish we had one dedicated rep.

They are very similar to other platforms out there.

How often you plan to use it. How many employees you will have using it.

I haven’t noticed changes while we used it.

Hybrid organization that has employees all over the world.

• 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

Simple, fast platform. Easy set-up and free trial version prior to transition to paid version. Easy implementation and great reporting options and support.

In the age of remote, work-from-home, and hybrid models, and all of the inherent challenges it presents, Assembly has allowed us to continue to celebrate business culture and monetize the value of success within our organization. We are able to easily recognize team members and their accomplishments so that those ambiguous moments can become tangible for the entire company to see. Acknowledgements of birthdays, anniversaries, work anniversaries etc. are seamlessly built in, never to be forgotten or overlooked. Coins can be exchanged for gifts, donated to charity, traded in for company-branded gifts, or cashed in for rewards. Our engagement rate is over 90% on the Assembly platform and we are very excited to see how they can continue to evolve its value proposition.

Coins expire if not used in time. UX could be more user-friendly. Larger tiered allotments would be a great improvement.

When considering any employee recognition platform, functionality and reporting should always be heavily weighted in the final decision. Recognition platforms go hand-in-hand with engagement surveys; some platforms do not offer this feature or offer. Limited version of this feature. Mobility and accessibility are primary concerns, especially where remote and global teams exist. Also, goal/challenge creation, tracking and attainment features are wonderful enhancements to include.

There have been consistent upgrades to the platform and Assembly is very open to feedback and suggestions.

Assembly is ideal for small and mid-market organizations.

You can let the rewards accumulate to earn large prizes. You can have multiple ways to redeem your earnings and rewards like through gift cards or a cash visa card. You can earn discounted items that you might use for work like computer monitors, chairs, and headsets which help your performance and do not kill your pocketbook. The main reason I like this solution is that options give you freedom, you don't feel tied down to being limited to what you can choose to get for your hard-earned incentives.

We got Awardco back in 2020. We were incentivizing employees with Venmo by sending cash and that was a wreck from an accounting and logistical standpoint. Awardco lets you give employees gift cards, visa cash cards, swag, company products for improved performance, etc. I have personally used this platform for over two years. The selections of products and offerings are great and diverse.

The way to navigate the website is not that user-friendly, like how to find the cash visa card, you have to call customer service to get instructions to locate it. The way you have to find retailers for gift cards is to scroll through endless companies when it would be nice just to search for a specific offering or company instead. I don't like how they do the confirmation for redeeming items. It doesn’t feel very secure. I actually had my rewards sent to the wrong person one time and I lost that money and never got it back. I wish they could let you recapture your funds if they were sent to the wrong place due to confusion in placing your orders.

This is pretty unique and comprehensive to other platforms. It gives you great variety and selection. Everyone loves choices and they deliver on that front.

Will your employee feel comfortable using the platform since it is not always intuitive? What cost is going to be involved internally to administer within the company on top of the cost of the service? How are people going to take advantage of what they earned upon departure from the company?

They have increased their selection and customer support so you don't have to rely so much on the employer to provide support to use the platform.

Sales People! Customer Service agents with good metrics. Lower-level employees that are motivated by small token amounts of money.

We like the user-friendly platform. They have great customer service. Our employees are able to use their points towards stuff they enjoy.

We purchased it to engage employees and give recognition. We love the idea of employees giving positive feedback to each other. Our employees wanted to be able to give each other recognition as well. We used it for 2.5 years.

Nectar took a while to implement. Our employees would like to see additional / new options to purchase with points. Notifications to employees didn’t always work.

They are very similar to competitors. Their gift selection seems smaller then others.

Consider time of implementation. Make sure that your team uses it on a regular basis. Give incentives for employees to give each other recognition.

They are always making updates to improve. They have improved the overall design of the app.

Larger companies that aren’t able to recognize and acknowledge every employee all the time.

• It saves me SO MUCH TIME!
• It's so simple to use and for other people to pick up
• Its use grows organically once people start using it
• The variety of the store gives our people huge autonomy and variety
• It makes rewarding easy and fun
• It helps drive a positive culture, a culture of recognition and appreciation
• I love just how much everyone else loves it
• The team that works there is so helpful and works with you to always deliver improvements
• It continues to deliver extra value, we're always finding new ways to get more out of it.
• It's made my life a million times easier. I could never go back.

We initially bought it to automate the plethora of manual processes that I was trying to execute manually myself beforehand. This includes managing the general reward and recognition schemes, all nomination processes, awarding, and the peer-to-peer R&R scheme we ran. All purchasing of vouchers, prizes, etc in a hybrid world which requires getting people's addresses, etc.

This range of activities took up almost all of my time and left very little to work on bigger strategic projects. It couldn't continue.

Mo automated all these processes, for example sending out the nominations sent in for our quarterly awards to each nominee. This took the best part of a day to manually send all of these emails for every nomination. Now it takes no more than 30 seconds, I click one button for each category and they all go out. This is a time saving that is replicated across multiple processes and has completely changed the scope of what my role can deliver because of the time it saves.

However, the real value has come since then. With my free time, I've been able to develop our use of Mo to be the centerpiece that everything is built around. We've learned much further on the peer-to-peer scheme and the overarching objectives of engagement are about bridging the gap and connecting people to feel part of a team where community is our culture and fun is in our DNA. Mo allows us to drive this culture shift, connecting people all over the country through positive interactions on the platform, strengthening working relationships and our sense of broader identity. We've been using it for 2 years now, and are averaging 1500 moments shared on the platform a month (each being a recognition, thank you, or award) with c1100 users. It's helped drive a 1.9 increase in our engagement score in Peakon in 1 year.

• I really can't call out things I dislike. The only feedback I get is:
• You can't edit a moment once you've sent it (but I understand why that's the case).

It wraps everything up into one easy-to-use and comprehensive platform. At the same time, it's not cluttered with useless extras. The service you get for the price is extremely good, the customer service is exceptional and the team is an absolute pleasure to work with.

It was the only platform I found that facilitated the peer-to-peer scheme I was running. I was able to completely replicate the model in Mo but have the entire thing automated. Nothing else allowed that level of autonomy for the user but control for the admin too. The store is extremely comprehensive too which makes a massive difference. Others were good but the Mo one is bang on with variety and caters to a wide range of preferences. Once or twice at the start, I had people ask if other stores could be added but I've never had it since.

The Boost functionality and how it helps support our agile ways of working has been a real leap forward and their manager assistant is a really helpful tool for our leadership population. It seems as time goes on, the more and more we can align how we work and what we do to utilize the platform to support us.

Think about what you really need, and what problem are you directly trying to solve. That's the first question. The second is what's possible. My view shifted so much once we got Mo to all these other possibilities that I hadn't considered before. Ask the what-if questions, challenge what you are doing, and think what would be the dream scenario. Also, think of it from a bigger cultural piece. What attitudes, behaviors, and cultures are you wanting to drive within your business and what's going to best support you in doing that. Also, does it automate for you? The more it automates, the more time you have to dig deeper into the bigger issues/questions.

Since we started using it 2 years ago. It introduced the Boost function and the manager's assistance. These two upgrades more specifically target the leadership population as we/they'd identified that they were the harder population to get engaged with the platform. These upgrades build in routine and simple triggers which are easy for leaders to respond to. The assistant also gives all the key information you need in one easy place (budgets, team activity, etc) but also great in-house articles to get people thinking about management approaches with a more modern and progressive approach which I know has been really well received.

I would say a more modern organization or one that wants to modernize. It's probably not good for a traditional working environment so much. It works for big businesses and small businesses too. Its functionality allows you to manage the view in a way that means you can scale as large as you like and not lose the personal touch it offers.

The convenience for HR and the employees is a benefit. The engagement and ease of engagement improves employee satisfaction. The ROI on using Terryberry for our company will continue to grow.

We bought Terryberry to align our employee recognition program across locations and regions. We have used it since 2016. The benefits of using the platform is that people across locations and regions can recognize each other easily and effectively. You can showcase how locations work together. Terryberry provides a platform to display how aligning to the company values can get you rewarded. It has worked really well for our organizational structure and size.

Some dislike the options of rewards. I feel only a portion of the company uses it - the employees who work independently at a desk. I would like to see more features related to AI.

We like the one stop solution that Terryberry provides.

The number of employees they have. The number of employees who are computer-based and technology savvy. The budget for employee recognition and how the system takes from that cost.

It has improved the website design and features.

Remote teams mainly.