The 19 Best Employee Engagement Software Tools of 2025
We’ve just wrapped up our review updates for Q2, with a thorough review and comparison of top employee engagement software vendors, their pricing, product enhancements, and more. Read on to get all the juicy details.
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Employee engagement software is a tool that helps organizations collect employee feedback, monitor engagement metrics, and take targeted actions to enhance workplace satisfaction, retention, and overall performance. This tool typically includes surveys, real-time analytics, and communication features to drive continuous improvement in employee experience.
We demoed over 80 vendors in the past five years and put them to our rigorous tech tests to find those that truly deliver. Whether you’re looking to build an engagement program from scratch or seeking to upgrade your current tools, this guide helps you compare top employee engagement solutions tailored to different needs, team sizes, and budgets.
Since 2021, we’ve conducted dozens of software demos and real-world testing, evaluating each engagement software on three factors: ease and anonymity of use, reporting and analytics, and automation.
- Ease and anonymity of use: The best employee engagement platforms make it easy for employees to take surveys and share their feedback regularly from different devices. Tools that integrate with Slack, MS Teams, and email scored particularly high in our selection process. We’ve also spent extra time looking for tools with anonymity settings, which ensure you’re getting the most honest and actionable feedback from your employees.
- Reporting and analytics: The most effective employee engagement software allows you to track engagement metrics, identify trends, and gain insights into employee sentiment. Reports can be generated to measure progress, spot areas of concern, and inform decision-making.
- Automation: We only select employee engagement tools that support a scheduled cadence for collecting employee feedback and seamless automation processes that disseminate that information to HR teams and execs through email and/or dashboards.
And we simply reassess them from time to time. Usually every quarter, our tech editors run the software demos and technique assessments again to evaluate how well our picks are performing, whether any vendors no longer make sense or new ones might be worth considering, and if any information and data need refreshing.
To further ensure we select the most effective employee engagement software, we leverage a blend of insights from product demonstrations, candid user feedback, the expertise of industry leaders, and the extensive experience of our in-house team. We are proud to have invited significant voices in the field:
- Mallory Herrin: As the CEO and Principal HR Consultant of HerrinHR, Mallory brings over 18 years of HR expertise and holds dual certifications from HRCI and SHRM. Renowned as a thought leader, she consistently contributes innovative ideas that shape the industry.
- Tracie Marie: A passionate partner and leader, Tracie is dedicated to delivering outstanding experiences and results. With nearly 30 years of extensive HR experience across various sectors, including start-ups and corporate giants, she possesses deep knowledge in Talent Acquisition and Communications, making her insights invaluable.
- Christina Moran: A licensed Industrial/Organizational Psychologist, Dr. Moran is part of the leadership team at ThenDesign Architecture. Known for her energy and strategic mindset, she has a proven track record in enhancing people leadership, streamlining business operations, and driving organizational effectiveness, along with expertise in marketing and international account management.
We also want to extend our thanks to the HR professionals who took the time to share their candid experiences with the tools featured in this guide. Special thanks to Connor Peterson, Sr. Associate of Technology Modernization at Grant Thornton (US), Amir Hussain, Manager of Talent Acquisition at ACL Digital, Laurie Brewer, CEO of Glow Up Consulting, Antoinette Price, Senior Human Resources Business Partner at Seneca Holdings, and others who contributed insights, even if we can’t mention everyone by name here.
This multi-faceted evaluation process prioritizes what we believe is best for our readers. For an in-depth look at how we do that, read this article about our editorial standards.
Motivosity
Motivosity’s product is changing every time we see it! We like that their employee Net Promoter Score survey (eNPS) goes out on the cadence you choose, and their feature-rich tools combine community, recognition, and rewards, and employee engagement insights.
PROS
- Easy to use for both employees and managers.
- Employees can access this system from their phones, desktops, and apps they use at work, such as Teams/Slack.
- Free implementation support is included in all plans.
- Premium support: Help desk, help site, community site, training videos, quarterly QBRs with a dedicated Customer Success rep (for large customers) in every product.
- The average administrator spends 43 minutes per month in this system.
- Robust analytics to measure the impact of their platform, as well as measure employee sentiment
- eNPS surveys, template surveys, plus build your own surveys.
- 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
- Only has dollar (not points) based rewards. Their research shows that dollars are more effective, but many companies want points.
- Doesn’t allow for as many rules regarding who can give what dollars to whom (for example, a team member could theoretically give 100% of their rewards to a friend each month).
- 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 product’s philosophy is that engagement and recognition should come from the bottom up, not from the top down, which explains why the software is designed to be simple for employees to access via their mobile devices, Slack/Teams, and also easy to use with an interface that looks like a social platform vs. enterprise software.
Motivosity’s solution is based on three pillars: Building Community, Employee Recognition, and Manager Relationships. The platform enables employees to interact with their entire team via a Facebook-like social feed and recognize and reward peers for a job well done, while managers engage with their team members, see where their employees are going above and beyond, and understand and track employee engagement.
What’s also great about Motivosity is that it’s scalable. Users can upgrade plans and add additional products or team members as they grow.
With Motivosity, all recognition rewards are backed by real incentives: every employee is given a small monthly dollar budget to reward peers. This approach aligns with Motivosity’s own internal research, which suggests that dollar rewards are more meaningful, but it also means that it may not be the best fit for those who prefer points-based systems.
Another trade-off is reward governance. Employees receive a monthly budget to reward others, but the platform lacks controls over who can reward whom or how often. While this open structure promotes trust, it also invites “reward cliques” unless companies put internal policies in place.
Instructure, University of Michigan, WGU, Cotopaxi, HealthEquity, DF Credit Union.
Motivosity costs $4 per person per month for the Recognition & Rewards package and $2 per person per month for the Employee Insights product.
Best For
Movitosity works best for mid-market (75-750 employees) companies prioritizing culture, peer feedback, and fast implementation—not rigid reward systems or enterprise-grade surveys.
I use Motivosity on a daily basis, as it is a part of my routine and habit. Here are some key workflows I use it for:
Every morning, I check the social feed to see the recognitions that my colleagues and managers have sent and received. I like to read the comments and reactions, and join the conversation by adding my own.
Throughout the day, I send and receive recognitions, points, and badges for the work that I do and the work that others do. I try to align the recognitions with our core values and goals, and be specific and sincere in my messages.
Every week, I redeem my points for gift cards, perks, or donations. I like to treat myself or others with something that I or they enjoy, or support a cause that is cared about.
Every month, I review the analytics and reports that Motivosity provides. I like to see the impact of recognition on my performance, engagement, and retention. I also like to see the trends, patterns, and insights of the recognition and rewards activities.
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.
Motivosity might not be a good fit for users or organizations that:
Prefer more customization and flexibility for the recognition and rewards features, such as creating their own badges, points, or gift cards.
Require more direct support or contact options from the Motivosity team, such as chat, phone, or email, for their questions, issues, or feedback.
ThriveSparrow
ThriveSparrow stood out as an employee engagement tool with solid AI-driven insights, flexible survey distribution, and strong integration capabilities throughout our tech tests. Its recurring pulse surveys, sentiment analysis, and structured action plans are a big help for HR teams to gather and act on employee feedback efficiently.
PROS
- Highly customizable pulse surveys with pre-built templates and flexible anonymity settings.
- AI-powered sentiment analysis auto-categorizes employee feedback and highlights key concerns.
- Heat map visualization makes it easy to track engagement trends by department, location, or tenure.
- Action Plans help HR teams document, assign, and track engagement initiatives.
- Strong integration options with HRMS platforms and API support.
- Offers deep customization, allowing full control over survey questions, rating scales, and visibility settings.
- AI-powered sentiment analysis categorizes qualitative responses into key themes and presents insights in a visually digestible format.
- Granular data filtering by department, tenure, or location for precise trend analysis.
- Transparent pricing starting at $2 per user per month.
- Strong integration capabilities.
CONS
- Some integrations may incur additional costs.
- On-the-go usability is not yet available for HR users.
- Relatively new to the market so may lack experience compared to more established competitors.
- Some integrations may require an additional cost.
- No dedicated mobile app for admins.
- As a relatively new product, ThriveSparrow may not have the experience of more established vendors.
ThriveSparrow’s employee engagement tool offers a highly customizable, AI-powered approach to gathering and acting on employee feedback.
During testing, we found its survey system particularly well-designed, featuring pre-built templates for engagement, leadership, and culture, along with flexible customization options. Organizations can adjust anonymity settings, select distribution channels (Slack, MS Teams, email, SMS), and automate check-ins on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis—whatever suits them best.
One of our favorite features is its AI-powered sentiment analysis, which processes open-ended responses and categorizes them into key themes like leadership, communication, and workload. In our test, negative feedback on “management style” was automatically flagged, helping us quickly pinpoint leadership concerns. The heat map visualization made it easy to spot trends by department, location, or tenure, a functionality that compares well with platforms like Quantum Workplace, which also offers AI-driven sentiment tracking.
For organizations that struggle to turn feedback into action, the Action Plans feature provides a structured approach to engagement efforts. We tested this by setting up a plan to improve leadership communication, assigning tasks to managers, and setting deadlines. The system tracked action items in an interactive dashboard, making it easy to monitor progress and ensure accountability.
However, ThriveSparrow is relatively new in the market, (founded in February 2020), which may mean they might not have the same level of experience as more established companies such as TerryBerry (1918) or Quantum Workplace (2002).
Another thing we noticed is that ThriveSparrow actually does offer a free trial, but it wasn't immediately clear from their pricing page. We only found it after doing a quick search for “ThriveSparrow free trial” on Google, which led us right to their sign-up form. Also, it's worth mentioning that some integrations might cost extra, depending on your contract, so definitely double-check that before signing up.
Lastly, while employees can easily complete surveys on mobile devices, on-the-go usability is not available for HR users just yet. They still get to rely on a desktop to access the engagement dashboard.
ThriveSparrow's client list includes major companies such as Tropicana, Tesla, and Ikea, though the total number of companies using the software remains undisclosed.
ThriveSparrow's Engage module costs $3 per employee per month, billed annually. It includes automated survey scheduling, multilingual support, AI-driven text insights with sentiment analysis, action plans, and eNPS analytics.
Best For
ThriveSparrow is a strong choice for companies looking for deep employee engagement analytics, flexible survey distribution, and structured action planning.
I use ThriveSparrow to gather feedback from employees, which helps improve our service delivery. Additionally, I integrate the tool with WhatsApp to automate the collection of reviews from employees in different regions we operate in. The tool's chat system also enables real-time feedback collection from clients who visit our pages, enhancing our responsiveness and engagement.
I appreciate the user-friendly interface of ThriveSparrow, which makes navigation straightforward. The pricing is affordable, scaling reasonably with the number of users, which suits our budgetary constraints. Furthermore, I value the tool's ease of integration with other live chat tools, streamlining the collection of reviews directly from chat interactions.
Our organization purchased ThriveSparrow to enhance our feedback collection and review processes, aiming to improve service delivery within our human resources sector. Additionally, it facilitates the collection of client feedback, particularly useful when integrated with employee automation tools. I have been using this tool for over three years, during which it has significantly raised the standards of talent acquisition management at our company.
The customer care team is slow to respond to technical queries via live chat, which can be frustrating. The tool supports very limited payment options, complicating the subscription process. Additionally, some integrations, such as with Intercom, do not function properly, limiting its utility.
ThriveSparrow offers more competitive pricing compared to other tools I have evaluated, making it a cost-effective choice for our needs.
Potential buyers should carefully consider the pricing and the tool's capabilities relative to their specific needs before making a purchase. ThriveSparrow is particularly well-suited for HR departments focused on collecting employee feedback and customer reviews. Assess whether the tool's features align with your organizational requirements to ensure it adds value.
Over time, ThriveSparrow has been enhanced with a faster-loading browser extension, improving ease of use and accessibility. This development demonstrates the company's commitment to evolving in response to user feedback and technological advancements.
This tool is especially beneficial for human resource managers who need to manage and improve internal feedback mechanisms efficiently.
ThriveSparrow is not well-suited for support operators, as it lacks specific functionalities tailored to optimizing support operations.
Leapsome
Leapsome is highly flexible; you can choose to build on its best-practice surveys and questionnaires developed by psychologists or customize everything — from questions to timelines and anonymity settings.
PROS
- Leapsome is feature-rich and easy to use.
- Through anonymous surveys, managers can collect honest feedback to understand employee sentiment.
- Users appreciate how Leapsome centralizes feedback and reviews in one place.
- The notifications and reminders ensure tasks aren’t neglected.
- The visual charts, graphs, and analytics in Leapsome help you understand feedback and performance data.
- Leapsome is quite feature-rich; the platform packs modules for employee onboarding, learning management, engagement, performance management, goals tracking and much more.
- The majority of users find Leapsome’s UI to be friendly and easy to navigate.
- There are lots of third party integrations options to choose from, including Slack, which many users appreciate.
- The platform has transparent pricing, and you only pay for the modules you need.
CONS
- Users can’t include images or files in feedback.
- Leapsome’s wide range of features does mean a learning curve and lengthy implementation.
- There isn’t a mobile app for quick access on the go.
- Free trials require a sales demo to access.
- There is currently no way to post or upload an image or file into your feedback.
- Since Leapsome can do so many things, you may need some time to get used to it. The implementation process can also take some time.
- There currently isn’t a mobile app that users can download and access Leapsome quickly on-the-go.
- Free 14-day trials are available but you need to book a demo with the sales team first to sign up for one; you can’t do so on your own.
Leapsome offers a host of features dedicated to measuring and improving employee engagement. Through easy-to-create surveys featuring pre-made templates based on scientific research, you can regularly collect anonymous or identified feedback from your employees and gain valuable insights.
Among the Leapsome features, what stood out for us is its advanced sentiment analysis. Using AI and machine learning, the software can analyze open-ended survey responses to uncover hidden insights and common themes. It automatically scores the sentiment of qualitative feedback to reveal how employees truly feel. This level of analysis provides the actionable data you need to tackle the biggest engagement challenges.
Leapsome also enables the segmentation of survey results by factors like tenure, team, and manager. By spotlighting correlations between engagement drivers and performance or turnover, you can develop targeted strategies for improving the culture at your organization. Selective sharing options allow managers to view trends and feedback relevant to their teams without compromising anonymity.
With its focus on survey customization, automated deployment, advanced analytics, and anonymous follow-up dialogues, Leapsome combines comprehensive feedback collection with the tools to turn insights into positive action. If you’re seeking to measure employee experience and make positive changes to workplace culture, we think Leapsome is worth checking out.
But be aware of these drawbacks. First, while Leapsome makes collecting feedback easy, it currently doesn’t allow users to attach files or images to their responses, which can limit context in some cases, especially for peer reviews or 360-degree feedback cycles.
And while we respect the breadth of features (surveys, performance reviews, goals, OKRs, learning modules), it does mean there’s a learning curve. It took us quite a few onboarding sessions to fully understand how modules interconnect. Larger teams will likely need to phase their implementation to avoid overwhelming users.
Mobile accessibility is also a weak spot. At the time of testing, Leapsome didn’t offer a dedicated mobile app, which made quick check-ins or manager follow-ups less convenient on the go. If your workforce is highly mobile or remote, that’s worth factoring into your decision.
Finally, there’s no way to access a free trial independently. You’ll need to go through a sales demo first before testing the platform hands-on.
Over 1,500 companies use Leapsome, including Mercedes Benz, Spotify, Trivago, Eventim, and Babbel.
The starting price for Leapsome is $7 per user per month with an annual billing plan. A 14-day free trial is available.
Best For
Leapsome is suitable for medium-to-large companies across different verticals.
The tool has allowed them to create a cohesive performance management system, foster engagement, and support continuous learning and development, which are critical for building a high-performing organization. The client uses it for performance management, 360-degree feedback, employee engagement, pulse surveys, and onboarding of new employees.
The OKR functionality has increased collaboration and transparency, especially for remote teams. They leverage the data analytics and reporting modules for performance tracking, identifying training needs, and monitoring employee engagement and satisfaction. The client also uses Leapsome for employee recognition and rewards to increase retention.
The client appreciated the simple and intuitive interface, making it easy for both employees and managers to navigate. The platform’s design minimizes the learning curve, making it quick to adopt for teams of all sizes, which is a plus for a growing company.
The ability to integrate goal-setting (OKRs), continuous feedback, and performance reviews was highly valued. Another advantage was the ability to create custom review cycles, run 360-degree feedback, and effectively track performance.
Leapsome was purchased to streamline performance management, OKR tracking, and employee engagement. It allowed my client to align team and individual goals with the organization’s objectives through goal-setting frameworks like OKRs (Objectives and Key Results). It increased visibility and tracking to ensure that everyone was working toward measurable outcomes.
Leapsome provided customizable performance review cycles, including 360-degree feedback, continuous reviews, and self-assessments, which helped tailor reviews to organizational needs and culture. The ability to engage employees through surveys and gather real-time feedback was also a key selling point. The learning and development tools were valuable, although the client was using an existing tool at the time and had not yet begun leveraging this aspect of the platform.
There are limitations in customization for features like performance review templates and feedback processes, which could benefit from more flexibility. Companies with unique organizational structures or processes may find it challenging to tailor every aspect to their needs.
The learning curve for advanced features, such as custom analytics or deep performance tracking, can be difficult to fully grasp and utilize. The per-user pricing model and modular nature of the platform can become cost-prohibitive as the organization scales, which is interesting since scalability is also a pro, but the cost structure could be more considerate of hyper-growth companies.
Leapsome offers a modular approach, allowing companies to choose and pay only for the features they need, offering flexibility that many competitors lack. While some competitors provide all-in-one solutions that can be less customizable, Leapsome allows companies to avoid paying for unnecessary features.
Unlike many performance management platforms that emphasize periodic reviews, Leapsome strongly encourages a culture of continuous feedback and recognition, making it ideal for companies that prioritize ongoing development.
Competitors like Lattice and 15Five offer feedback options, but Leapsome’s seamless integration of real-time feedback and performance tracking helps embed feedback as a constant part of the employee experience.
Companies should clearly define the must-have versus nice-to-have features and consider how their future growth could impact their needs. Customization options for performance cycles, feedback, and surveys are essential.
Organizations should evaluate their data requirements, such as the need for deep data analysis versus standard performance, goal, and engagement tracking. Ease of use for both users and administrators, including integration with existing tools and the level of skill required for customization, should also be key considerations.
Leapsome initially focused on performance management and employee engagement. Over time, it expanded to include a full suite of tools covering goal setting (OKRs), continuous feedback, learning and development, and detailed reporting and analytics.
Recognizing that different companies have unique processes, Leapsome introduced greater customization options. Users can now tailor performance review cycles, feedback forms, and learning paths to meet their specific organizational needs.
Leapsome is ideal for tech companies and startups that are scaling, especially those with a feedback-rich culture. It’s also well-suited for medium-sized companies looking for scalability, as well as companies focused on learning and development and personal learning tracks for employees.
Leapsome may not be a good fit for budget-constrained small businesses. It is also not ideal for companies that are not interested in creating a culture of continuous feedback, or for highly hierarchical, traditional companies like those in banking. Industries with minimal need for data-driven HR decisions may not benefit from the platform’s extensive capabilities.
Connecteam
Connecteam’s platform is mobile-first, user-friendly, and packed with tools to drive engagement, including surveys, polls, rewards, recognition, chat, news feed, skills development courses, and much more.
PROS
- Connecteam’s platform is user-friendly and mobile-first, designed with deskless workers in mind.
- The platform covers a wide range of features for team management, communication, training, and engagement.
- The pricing of all modules is transparent, with free plans for small businesses.
- There’s a 14-day free trial you can sign up for, no credit card is needed.
- One of the only fully-mobile HR tech tools for deskless workers
- Very adequately-priced for all it entails, SMB-friendly
- Quite open to feedback, having implemented user suggestions as features in the past.
CONS
- May require a learning curve due to extensive features.
- Some essential features are locked behind the higher pricing tiers.
- Surveys are part of the communication hub; rewards, recognition, and training are in the HR & skills hub. Full use of all modules may require subscriptions to both hubs.
- In the communication hub, the app offers no confirmation that messages were sent and/or seen.
- Certain features that some teams consider essential, such as GPS-tracking, are only available in the higher-tier pricing plans.
Connecteam offers a comprehensive suite of employee-centric tools that cover communication, training, recognition, and operations in a mobile-friendly format, designed for deskless teams. After trialing the platform, we found a lot to like, especially for organizations looking to connect and engage employees on the go.
Let’s start with the Communication Hub. The surveys and live polls functionality allows you to quickly collect input from your team, whether it’s feedback on a new policy or pulse-checking morale. The Updates module is another strong point. It provides managers with a streamlined way to share company news, best practices, or shout-outs, ensuring frontline staff stay informed in real-time.
Another thing that excited us about Connecteam is its commitment to recognition, which is not often seen in deskless workforce platforms. Managers can use built-in tools to highlight top performers, celebrate birthdays and work anniversaries, and issue digital rewards and shout-outs. This helps reinforce positive behavior and foster a culture of appreciation even in highly distributed workforces.
Connecteam also supports professional growth with features that span the employee lifecycle, from digital onboarding to mobile-first training courses. Employees can complete skill modules from their phones, access SOPs, and keep up with certifications through a centralized knowledge hub. This all-in-one approach helps boost productivity and engagement while reducing administrative burden.
Beyond engagement, this vendor also offers task and shift scheduling tools for day-to-day ops. Managers can assign work based on availability, approve time-off requests, and promote team events to build camaraderie. Consulting some HR professionals who have been using these features, one trend we noticed was that Connecteam is quite popular among teams working in retail, logistics, hospitality, and other mobile-first industries.
One anticipated drawback of this employee engagement platform, however, is that it can take time to fully get the hang of it due to its breadth of features. Connecteam is divided into multiple hubs (Communication, HR & Skills, Operations), allowing it to accommodate different scales. However, that also means that if you opt for just surveys, training, and recognition, you may end up paying more than one hub subscription with a few features unnecessarily plugged in.
Connecteam is used by 36,000+ businesses, including Subway, Hilton, and Volvo.
Connecteam offers three hubs: Operations, Communications, and HR & Skills. Each hub has various plans from $29 to $99 per month for 30 users, and a free plan for under 10 users.
Best For
Connecteam’s employee engagement tool is best for companies with mobile or deskless workforces looking to centralize communication, training, and engagement in a single platform.
I use the solution to connect and collaborate with the team remotely, to develop work libraries that help our new team understand how we operate, our ethics, and our code of conduct during the orientations at our workplace, I also use the tool to share documents online for the team to work and to provide feedback on through the chat channel
- I like the software pricing of the tool, it is cheap to use for business purposes and hence does not affect the ROI of the company.
- I like the chat feature which you can use to broadcast your messages amongst the team at no extra cost.
- Event notifications make sure that our users never miss our internal meetings and events
Connecteam is faster and easier to use, which has helped us solve the problem of team management, team collaborations, and group work, it is helping us to share documents, and work plans with the team remotely, and, also we use it as decision-making tool where we use the chat feature of the software to chat with our team remotely to make important decision makings to our tool. I have used the solution for three years and eight months as an administrator of the software
The software has a lot of video tutorials that play automatically hence creating inconvenience, one should only play the video when needed and with his or her consent.It does not have a calendar integration which makes it hard for one to integrate a calendar within the software to track personal events and business events to prevent event conflicts, the text editor in the tool is too slow when you are creating event descriptions, it is impossible to add the ALT text on images that you add in the tool.
They have kept the pricing relatively lower to help even smaller businesses use the solution, and they have a responsive customer support team through the live chat
Good for HR, team leaders, and marketing teams
May not be a good solution for support teams
Workleap
Workleap is a thoughtful, feedback-first platform that supports people managers in building trust, surfacing concerns, and celebrating wins. While not the most fully featured tool for recognition or goal tracking, it’s an excellent choice for organizations looking to elevate engagement through better conversations, smarter feedback loops, and ongoing team development.
PROS
- Feedback is truly anonymous, requiring a minimum of 5 responses before managers can access it.
- Built-in peer recognition empowers employees to acknowledge and praise colleagues for excellent work.
- Native surveys cover a wide range of topics.
- The 14-day free trial allows users to try all Workleap features without requiring a credit card.
- Workleap AI is free to access across plans and products.
- Workleap is easy to use and has a free plan that a team of up to 10 users can use.
- To ensure that feedback is truely anonymous, without the manager, or anyone with higher access being able guess who submitted what response, a minimum of 5 responses need to be sent in before the survey manager is able to access the anonymous feedback.
- The platform has a feature for peer-to-peer recognition, giving your employees the ability to praise one another for outstanding work.
CONS
- Personalized onboarding is available for 100+ users. A dedicated success manager is available for 500+ users.
- Resetting or adjusting OKRs has some limitations, some users noted.
- Good Vibe allows private peer-to-peer recognition, visible only to recipients, senders, and managers. Public praise is not an option.
- Some users found the 1-on-1 templates and scheduling clunky.
- Some users have reported that Slack integration sometimes malfunctions.
- Workleap does not include a complete performance management solution among their offerings. They have an OKR tool that lets you set goals but there isn’t a mechanism in place to track thos
- e goals or conduct performance reviews.
- There currently isn’t a mobile app that managers and employees can use on the go.
Workleap (formerly Officevibe) is a cloud-based platform built to help managers drive engagement, growth, and team connection. We’ve tested its engagement features firsthand and figured this platform would offer an excellent solution to surface honest employee sentiment and guide managers toward meaningful action.
The pulse surveys and anonymous feedback tools are Workleap’s core strengths. Managers can schedule recurring check-ins to assess team morale, and the platform provides suggested talking points, analytics, and coaching tips based on real-time feedback. For client-based organizations, we liked that you can compare engagement across different accounts or departments through Workleap’s team and agency-level reporting dashboards.
More recently, Workleap has introduced tools to strengthen employee recognition. Its Good Vibes feature lets team members send appreciation e-cards to one another, while managers gain insight into recognition trends, such as who is consistently being celebrated and what types of contributions are driving praise. One limitation here, though, is that recognition is private by default, visible only to the sender, recipient, and team manager. There’s no option (yet) to showcase recognition company-wide, which could limit its cultural impact.
Workleap also includes manager tools for hosting 1-on-1s and tracking OKRs, but we found these features less polished than others. Some verified users told us they found the 1-on-1 scheduling clunky and noted that resetting OKRs mid-cycle can be unintuitive.
Another caveat to keep in mind is that personalized onboarding is only available for teams with 100 or more users, and a dedicated success manager is included with 500 or more seats. So while Workleap scales well for larger teams, smaller organizations may need to self-navigate the setup and onboarding process.
WeTransfer, Dyson, Bose, PayScale, and Trivago are some of their 20,000 Workleap customers.
Workleap Engagement is now priced at $5 per user per month, billed annually, with no minimum headcount requirement. A free trial is also available. This replaces the old Essential and Pro plan structure we covered in our last review.
Best For
Workleap’s employee engagement solution is best suited for medium- to large-sized, service-based companies needing team- and client-level engagement reporting.
I use Workleap several days a week. I am the admin of the tool for our organization, so I am the one who manages teams and adds new employees to the program. We use the tool to report on each manager's team, as well as on department ratings, and all-company ratings. We also use the tool to send out any company-wide surveys, including our yearly Employee Engagement survey. Team members engage regularly with Good Vibes recognition.
- It allows you to build as many teams as you would like.
- It is clear on its anonymity policy so that team members feel comfortable sharing honest feedback.
- It allows you to conduct custom surveys on any topic.
We bought this tool for our organization because we take employee feedback very seriously. We have been using the tool for 3 years. I have been using it as a regular employee for 2 years and as an HR professional (admin of the tool) for 1 year. It allows you to get regular feedback (at whatever frequency you prefer) and allows you to put team members into teams so that managers can get team-specific feedback. It also allows you to give "Good Vibes" so that any team member can provide recognition to their peers.
- It does not have a Performance Management feature, which other similar tools do. For the price point, I would expect more features.
- It does not have industry benchmark data for specific questions, which is something our ELT was hoping to see.
- It currently does not integrate with our HRIS, which I mostly fault to the HRIS but it means I have to manually add all of our members and put them on teams.
I have not personally used comparable tools but I have done demos with others. I think this tool is very clear (more so than competitors) on its anonymity policy which is very important to our employees. I also think Good Vibes is a fairly unique feature that our team heavily uses and appreciates.
People should consider what features they need the tool to have. This tool does not have performance management, which is something that many similar tools do. They should also consider pricepoint. Workleap is a high price point for the limited number of features. Overall, I think it is a great tool, just hard to justify the price considering it is lacking a crucial feature (performance management) that we will need soon.
Workleap has launched new features throughout our time using it and I know it is currently working on others. Good Vibes was a feature that was added due to requests, and it has been a great addition to the tool. It also has an amazing Customer Support system, where you can answer your own questions or if you can't, they are very prompt at responding.
It is very good for large organizations that want specific team feedback. It is also good for teams that have a large budget for employee engagement metrics.
It is probably not a good fit for a small company or a start-up due to its price point. However, I do think any company could benefit from the tool.
Mo
Mo drives morale and engagement through its easy-to-understand rewards system, peer nominations, and an AI Assistant that ensures appreciation never falls through the cracks.
PROS
- User-friendly UI with a wide range of vouchers available.
- System auto-nudges employees to recognize achievements if recognition is overdue.
- Reasonable pricing with no rewards fees.
- Free onboarding and implementation support.
- Users can access the platform in 12 languages.
- Android and iOS mobile apps are available for on-the-go access.
- UI is easy to navigate, and users seem to appreciate the varied choice of gift cards they can offer through the platform.
- Transparent pricing starting from $2.25/user/month with no rewards fees.
- Free onboarding and implementation support for all users.
- Robust and feature-rich mobile applications.
- Available in 12 languages and growing.
CONS
- Base plan does not offer HRIS integration. Additional implementation fees may apply for Slack and Microsoft Teams integrations.
- The availability of customer support is limited to weekdays from 9 AM to 5 PM GMT.
- There aren’t free trials or free plans that you can sign up for at this time.
- HRIS integration absent in Base plan. Possible implementation fee for Slack and Microsoft Teams integrations.
- The customer support hours are limited to weekdays, 9 AM - 5 PM GMT.
Mo’s platform takes on employee engagement through meaningful rewards and recognition. At its core, you’ll find Moments and Boosts - which are simple yet effective features engineered to fuel morale. Managers can easily create Moments to praise team or individual accomplishments, pairing the shout-outs with gift cards or custom rewards. Boosts, on the other hand, are automations that ensure day-to-day kudos are never forgotten.
We appreciate Mo’s attention to different preferences through its varied and customizable reward options. We also like how straightforward their rewards program is; if a user puts in $5 to recognize someone, the recipient gets $5 to redeem. Having a clear dollar value to rewards is great for a few reasons: it’s simpler for users to understand (as opposed to confusing point-based systems), and it also makes budget tracking infinitely easier.
Mo also promotes inclusiveness in its peer-to-peer nomination features, which give employees the ability to actively recognize one another. This not only makes employees feel more empowered but also contributes to a positive and supportive company culture.
To complement its core offering, Mo recently introduced its AI-powered Assistant tool, which provides customized recommendations on actions leaders can take to boost engagement further. For example, it will automatically remind managers of upcoming employee milestones like birthdays and work anniversaries. Or if someone hasn’t given praise to a deserving co-worker in a while, the Assistant will gently prompt them to send some appreciation.
However, we were disappointed to learn that Slack and Microsoft Teams integrations may require additional implementation fees. HRIS integration isn’t included in the base plan either, which could be a blocker for teams looking to sync data automatically.
Customer support also comes with caveats: it’s only available during UK business hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. GMT, weekdays only). Take note, North American-based users, because that’s going to be a considerable gap for you guys, especially those who may need help outside of those windows.
Finally, Mo doesn’t currently offer a free plan or trial. That means you’ll need to commit before getting hands-on with the product—something to keep in mind if you’re comparing multiple tools.
Mo counts over 58,000 users using its platform, including SGN, The O2, NHS, Aspen, William Hill, and SHL.
Mo’s pricing starts at $2.25 per user per month. More specifically, the employee engagement tool offers 3 plans: Appreciate at $2.25/user/month for basic recognition, Engage at $4.5/user/month adding awards and advanced reporting, and Transform with custom pricing for large companies including full features, program design, and premium support.
Best For
Mo is suitable for companies of all sizes looking to drive employee engagement through rewards and recognition.
We use Mo every day across my remit which is back office Operations. We have roughly 1100/1200 people on the platform and an average of 1500 moments shared on it a month. The key processes we use it for are:
- P2P points scheme - We give everyone in the departments a small financial amount at the start of each month. They can't spend it on themselves, they can only give it to colleagues when sharing moments. It encourages them to recognize each other for things like training, help with a tricky problem or account, support as a friend/colleague, advice or generally being a good egg. This is the most popular activity we use Mo for and has the biggest impact on the shift in culture and engagement.
- All leadership groups have additional ad-hoc pots that they can reward from which focus more on performance-based recognition.
- We use the platform for our quarterly awards. The award categories are sent out and everyone nominates their colleagues for different awards. Last month we had 283 nominations from a department of 400. It's then easy to shortlist and pick winners there. The winners can then be celebrated through Moments on Mo, and rewarded at the same time. It's also 1 click of a button to then send out the nominations to every nominee for each award category.
- More recently we've started using Boosts which are automated triggers set once a week, in line with our agile sprint work. They prompt people to celebrate their weekly wins in a shared setting for everyone to engage with. This also makes it much easier for senior leadership to have a presence on the platform when their time is so limited. We also use it for the start of the week's focusses and goals to keep everyone connected on our objectives.
- As the budget master I then also use the platform for any additional ad-hoc activity I run such as monthly non-performance-based incentives to further build our culture and connect people.
- I don't know if I'm allowed to share how much has been cashed in by our colleagues at the inhouse store in Mo over the last 2 years but suffice to say it's an astounding figure and all of it is people saving up what they receive from various things and spending it on exactly what they want as the store is so extensive. It gives them autonomy and choice and makes it really easy which they love. It's been particularly appreciated during the cost of living crisis to go towards supermarket shops or school shoes from Clarks, house renovations from B&Q, as well as AirBnB staycations and so, so much more.
- 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.
As explained above, a traditional working organization that doesn't really want to modernize in how it treats its employees or thinks about things like culture and engagement.
Matter
Matter is unique in that its engagement tool works right inside Slack and Teams. For a plugin-type tool, it’s notable that it enables companies to automatically reward survey completions with coins, which employees can later redeem for gift cards, donations, and numerous other rewards.
PROS
- Option to reward survey completions with redeemable Matter coins.
- Pulse Survey delivered and responded to right in Slack or MS Teams.
- Pulse Surveys use real-time data from a library of 100 questions to provide insights on cultural categories.
- Survey recipients won't see the same question twice within 90 days.
- Real-time anonymous feedback with custom notifications.
- Affordable and transparent plans with discounts for non-profits and schools.
- Option to reward survey completions with redeemable Matter coins.
- Pulse Survey delivered and responded to right in Slack or MS Teams.
- Pulse Surveys use real-time data from a library of 100 questions to provide insights on cultural categories.
- Survey recipients won't see the same question twice within 90 days.
- Real-time anonymous feedback with custom notifications.
- Affordable and transparent plans with discounts for non-profits and schools.
CONS
- To use Matter, you must have either Slack or Teams installed.
- At this time, the vendor doesn't allow the Pulse Survey questions to be editable.
- Pulse surveys are only available on the highest-priced plan.
- To use Matter, you must have either Slack or Teams installed.
- At this time, the vendor doesn't allow the Pulse Survey questions to be editable.
- Pulse surveys are only available on the highest-priced plan.
If you’re eyeing a solution that effectively engages employees within Teams or Slack, you wouldn’t want to miss out on Matter. With this tool, you can deliver your Pulse Surveys right within Slack or Teams so your employees can finish them within either of these communications platforms—no need to log in to or learn a separate app.
But that’s only part of the reasons we love this employee engagement tool. Another reason is its unique approach to encouraging survey participation. Matter is the first solution we've found that rewards completed surveys with "Matter coins," which can be redeemed for gift cards, donations, or custom company rewards. We can imagine a notable difference in how team members engage with surveys with this feature contribution.
Another big plus we found was how it handled feedback and updates. We could choose who to give anonymous feedback right away, and there's a weekly digest of company stats shared privately through Slack or Teams, which is a great way to stay connected and informed.
Matter’s Pulse Surveys provides a library of 100 questions across multiple engagement categories; however, we're hoping for a bit more flexibility here. As of now, there’s no way to edit the questions. You’ll have to stick with what the system has built out instead.
Also, a word of caution for those considering the free plan of this engagement tool: the plan barely touches the survey element and focuses mostly on recognition. It also limits historical analytics data to only 30 days. To access Matter’s pulse surveys, you'll need to upgrade to the highest-priced plan.
4,700+ organizations, including SIEMENS, Microsoft, and Sephora.
Matter pricing ranges from $0 to $5 monthly, with a 30-day free trial (no credit card required).
Best For
Matter’s employee engagement software is best for SMBs seeking a solution to engage employees within Teams or Slack.
Profit.co
With Profit.co, you can quickly conduct anonymous pulse surveys using the built-in survey builder, review the results, and see how your team members feel about their workplace. To further boost engagement, the platform also facilitates one-on-one meetings, rewards, and recognition.
PROS
- The surveys on Profit.co are customizable, anonymous, and can be deployed in multiple languages.
- Their engagement model is enhanced with features for 1:1 meetings and employee recognition.
- The support team is available 24/7 via phone and chat.
- There’s a free 30-day trial anyone can sign up for.
- The platform has tutorials available that walk you through how to use the system and guide your team onto the platform. There are also examples of different types of goals, objectives and KPIs, so it's easy to see how they work in practice.
- Profit.co offers an intuitive interface that makes it easy for teams to set goals, collaborate and track progress. The tool allows users to set up OKRs for each team member, which can be done fairly fast with the help of step-by-step instructions.
- Users can choose from several pre-defined KPIs that range from sales to customer satisfaction, which helps them visualize their progress over time with just one glance at their dashboard.
CONS
- The employee engagement module is only offered as an add-on. To use it, you need to purchase either the OKR or performance management module.
- The pricing isn’t publicly available, which means you need to book a demo to get an estimate.
- Its comprehensive features require a significant learning investment.
- While Profit.co offers a free plan for up to five users, it has limited features. The only way to unlock more features is by upgrading to another plan.
- One complaint about Profit.co is that there are too many features in one platform. While this might sound like a good thing at first glance, it can actually be frustrating for users who want something simple and straightforward – especially if they’re new to OKRs and performance management.
- As an administrator, you can create and edit tasks and goals. However, there’s no way to edit or upload tasks or goals on a mass scale. For example, if you want to change the title or description for every task, then you’ll have to manually do it one by one.
Profit.co's employee engagement module is designed to complement their flagship offering for OKR and performance management. We’ve given it a go and liked how easy it was to create and run pulse surveys. You can have these surveys be in different languages and choose to make them anonymous so employees feel at ease giving honest feedback. Once submissions are in, the built-in dashboards help you get quick insights into the results, while the export functionality allows for deeper analysis in external tools.
Profit.co also emphasizes the importance of regular 1:1 meetings between managers and their direct reports to stay connected and course-correct as needed. The platform facilitates this by allowing managers to schedule and define an agenda framework and employees to plan discussion points, review their work and results, and openly discuss any roadblocks they're facing.
Recognition is well-integrated across the platform, especially with the Awards feature. Managers can celebrate wins tied directly to OKRs or milestones, and the new approval workflow ensures only vetted nominations show up in public feeds. This adds structure to what’s often a chaotic process in other tools. Plus, the leaderboard brings a bit of gamification to performance, which some teams may find motivating.
The tradeoff, though, is that you can't use the engagement features without buying into Profit.co's broader OKR or performance suite. And with no published pricing, it’s hard to gauge fit for smaller orgs without booking a demo. Additionally, the platform’s depth is a double-edged sword: it offers a lot but comes with a mild learning curve.
Over 1,000 businesses use Profit.co, including SunTec, Altheo, and CWB Financial Group.
Profit.co offers a 30-day free trial and pricing starts at $7 per user per month, billed annually.
Best For
Profit.co is suitable for mid-sized companies seeking an OKR and performance management platform with employee engagement features, rather than a standalone engagement solution.
Quantum Workplace
Quantum Workplace’s platform is expertly designed and comprehensive. Its validated survey, expansive benchmarks, and action-oriented tools make it a powerful solution for measuring and improving employee engagement.
PROS
- Easy to use and intuitive interface; you can find what you’re looking for and still see the most important items pinned on top.
- You can personalize surveys, make them from the best practices templates, or build them entirely from scratch.
- You can share, review recognition with your teammates in a social newsfeed format, and make it as detailed and scheduled or as succinct and impromptu as you please.
- Ever-present customer service team. Many users have complimented them on their responsiveness.
- Easy to use, the user interface is intuitive, you can find what you’re looking for and still see the most important items pinned on top.
- The option to personalize surveys, make them from the best practices templates, or build entirely from scratch.
- The ability to share and review recognition with your teammates in a social newsfeed format. What’s great is that you have the option to make it as detailed and scheduled or as succinct and impromptu as you please.
- An ever-present customer service team. Many users have complimented on their responsiveness.
CONS
- Navigation can be unintuitive, especially when trying to locate past goals or feedback.
- The recognition UI lacks the visual appeal found in more modern platforms.
- Customization is limited in areas like goal updates and feedback question templates.
- Many users have expressed their issues with canceling, rescheduling, and the inability to schedule 1-on-1s on short notice.
- Some users have found the goals feature to be a little confusing to understand because of its extensivity.
- This is a rather unprecedented one, but we found many users wishing for more vibrant colors for the platform.
Quantum Workplace’s employee engagement software is easy to navigate and is highly flexible in terms of customization. You can design surveys using the platform's library of validated, research-backed questions that employ a standardized Likert scale to ensure high-quality results. Open-ended questions are also integrated to gather examples of what employees think your company should start, stop, or continue doing.
Once survey data is collected, the built-in reporting and analytics provide insights into overall trends as well as breakdowns by team and demographic. Additionally, Quantum Workplace provides unparalleled benchmark data from over 10,000 organizations to add context to results.
Beyond measurement, the platform enables you to take action on engagement data through features like the action planning library, personalized employee engagement reports with recommendations, and lightweight one-on-one tools for managers. The platform also makes it easy to collect data through multiple access options like desktop, kiosk, and SMS text surveys. This allows you to reach every employee, including dispersed and deskless teams.
There are also lots of neat automation in place: the automated invitations and reminders significantly reduce survey administration work for HR teams, while the AI-powered Narrative Insights quickly analyzes employee comments to uncover themes, sentiments, and sensitive topics needing follow-up.
However, navigation can be confusing, especially when trying to retrieve past survey responses or track historical feedback. If you’ve had experience with platforms such as Matter and Mo, we think you’ll agree that Quantum Workplace’s recognition module feels like an afterthought, with a basic interface that isn’t exactly exciting. The level of customization is also not very impressive. Several users we surveyed noted they wanted more control over how goals and feedback workflows are set up, especially in larger enterprises.
Quantum Workplace is used by over 10,000 companies, including Fossil Group, DSW, BKD, and Getty Images.
Quantum Workplace pricing is on an annual basis and starts at $7,500 per year.
Best For
Quantum Workplace's employee engagement platform is designed for medium to large businesses that require advanced engagement and analytics capabilities.
I use Quantum Workplace to create comprehensive engagement surveys that give me a clear view of my team's perception of our organizational culture. When I need real-time feedback on specific topics, I can quickly launch pulse surveys to gather insights.
Additionally, the lifecycle surveys are automated, which enables me to generate valuable feedback at key moments, such as onboarding and exit interviews. This helps me understand employee experiences throughout their time with the company. Overall, Quantum Workplace makes it easy for me to engage with my team and act on their feedback effectively.
- Quantum Workplace is easy to use, featuring an intuitive interface that allows users to find what they need quickly, with important items pinned at the top for easy access.
- Users can personalize surveys, use best-practice templates, or create surveys from scratch based on their needs.
- The platform enables teammates to share and review recognition in a social newsfeed format, with flexibility to make posts as detailed and scheduled as desired.
We chose to purchase Quantum Workplace to enhance our employee experience and build a culture that attracts and retains top talent. We've used it for one year. The platform allows us to streamline our tools, providing ongoing insights and motivating our teams to take action.
With Quantum Workplace, we aimed to boost engagement, maximize performance, and cultivate a dynamic workplace culture. Overall, it has been instrumental in helping us create a winning environment for our organization.
- We encountered challenges with canceling, rescheduling, and the inability to schedule one-on-one meetings on short notice.
- The goals feature was somewhat confusing due to its complexity and extensive options.
- The platform’s appearance is not visually appealing; it would be great to customize it to at least display the company's name.
Quantum Workplace offers three solid core products—tools for employee engagement, performance management, and people analytics—which is unique.
People should consider whether Quantum Workplace meets all their needs and if the price aligns with their long-term goals for the company or team.
Quantum Workplace has improved over time; their performance management tool enables employees to set and track goals, hold one-on-one meetings with managers, and receive recognition for contributions. They continue to make meaningful improvements.
Quantum Workplace is best for mid-sized and large companies and is a solid option for organizations across all industries.
This platform would not be suitable for small companies or for those with limited need for engagement tools.
Bonusly
Bonusly helps you engage employees, celebrate their wins, and hear their thoughts on improving company culture. It does this through peer recognition, integration with team communication tools, analytics, and more.
PROS
- Modern, easy-to-use UI that’s available in multiple languages.
- Employees can recognize one another with GIFs, points, and more.
- Its social-media-style spreads recognition across teams/departments.
- Employees can redeem points for gift cards and other tangible rewards.
- There’s a 14-day free trial you can use to test the waters.
- 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 analytics and reporting functionality is limited in customization and scope.
- The rewards catalog lacks experiential options and is focused on gift cards instead.
- Employees outside the U.S. have reward caps and fewer options.
- Some technical issues like downtime, user imports, and redemption bugs may be experienced from time to time.
- 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.
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Bonusly aims to improve employee engagement through frequent, meaningful peer-to-peer recognition and rewards. Employees can choose from over 1,200 gift cards across popular vendors, redeemable in over 200 countries. There are abundant options for apparel, food and beverage, travel, and more to match individual preferences. Bonusly also enables companies to offer unique branded swag using an AXOMO integration. Employees can browse and order items right from the Bonusly platform.
For those who prefer cash rewards, Bonusly points are redeemable for PayPal, Visa gift cards, and prepaid Mastercards. You can also create customized experiential rewards like lunch with the CEO, tickets to local sports games, additional PTO, and more. For employees passionate about certain causes, rewards can be redeemed as donations to over 50 integrated charities.
Beyond rewards redemption, Bonusly helps you put appreciation on auto-pilot through features like automated awards for milestones and integrations with HRIS platforms for automated birthday and anniversary recognitions.
Peer recognition is also simplified through Bonusly. There’s only a few steps to do it: employees receive a monthly allotment of points valued from $10-$20 to recognize fellow team members, then it’s as simple as choosing the recipient, points amount, reason, and optional hashtags or GIFs. To top it all off, all recognition shared around is showcased on a public feed, spreading and amplifying the positive vibes further.
Among Bonusly’s 3000+ customers are Hulu, InVision, SurveyMonkey, Headspace, and more.
Bonusly's Core plan costs $2.70/user/month (up to 50 users) and suits small businesses. The Pro plan ($4.50/user/month) offers more features for larger teams. The Custom plan, with premium support, is priced based on user count and feature needs.
Best For
Bonusly is best for companies between 50-5,000 employees.
I use Bonusly as an end user to give and receive recognition from my coworkers. I try to provide on-the-spot feedback when someone has helped me with a task or project. Bonusly also recognizes employees on their birthdays and work anniversaries, allowing others to add recognition and points to those posts. Employees can save up their Bonusly points and redeem them for gift cards, donations to charity, or other rewards.
Additionally, I was involved in setting up the integration between our HRIS (Workday) and Bonusly to ensure seamless data synchronization.
- I like recognition platforms in general because they add an element of fun and reward beyond what employees receive from their managers, annual raises, or bonuses.
- Bonusly's interface is very intuitive. When starting a recognition post, it prompts you with "@" to tag a coworker, "$" to add points, and "#" to include a company value/hashtag.
- The Slack integration is particularly useful. Not only is the recognition feed available in Slack, but users receive direct Slack notifications when recognized and can also send recognition without leaving Slack.
I'm not sure when my company started using Bonusly, but I’ve been using it as an employee since joining about six months ago. Bonusly is our company's chosen recognition platform, allowing employees to acknowledge and reward each other for contributions.
It provides an easy way to give real-time recognition, fostering a culture of appreciation across teams. Employees can accumulate points through recognition and redeem them for rewards. Overall, it has helped encourage peer-to-peer engagement and recognition within the company.
- While I like that Bonusly offers GIFs to include in recognition posts, the selection is somewhat limited.
- The setup process was smooth, but Bonusly does not offer a non-production instance, which made testing the Workday integration a bit riskier since we had to connect directly to our production environment.
- Aside from that, it's difficult to find something I dislike, as even the integration instructions were clear, and the support team was responsive and helpful.
It's hard to say, as many recognition platforms function similarly. Bonusly is easy to use, like most competitors, and offers a variety of redemption options for points. One standout feature is its strong Slack integration, which enhances engagement for companies that rely on Slack. Otherwise, it operates similarly to other recognition platforms.
Consider how employees will interact with the platform. If your company relies heavily on Slack or Microsoft Teams, integration with those tools is important. It's also crucial to understand how the platform charges for points—some systems require companies to pay for all allocated points, whether they are used or not. (I don’t have visibility into Bonusly’s billing structure.)
Also, having a variety of redemption options is valuable, including gift cards, company swag, and charitable donations, to ensure broad employee engagement.
I can’t speak to long-term changes, as I’ve only used Bonusly for about six months. However, the fact that they offer a pre-built Workday integration template suggests they are keeping up with evolving HR technologies and ensuring compatibility with widely used systems.
Bonusly is a good fit for any organization looking to foster a culture of recognition. Because it is designed for peer-to-peer engagement, it benefits companies of all sizes by encouraging employees to acknowledge each other’s contributions.
A very small company may not see as much value in Bonusly since recognition is often more informal in smaller teams. The platform is more engaging when there are enough employees to distribute and receive points frequently. Otherwise, it seems like a solution that could benefit a wide range of organizations.
Reward Gateway
Reward Gateway stands out for combining employee engagement surveys, recognition features, reward options, communication tools, wellness guidance, analytics, and more in a single solution.
PROS
- Easy to use for both the employees and the admin users.
- Remarkably good customer support thanks to their 24/7 help desk team and multiple communication channels.
- Varied rewards, including products from Amazon, customizable ecards, and experiences.
- You can purchase modules separately if you prefer.
- Integration includes HRIS, directory, authentication apps, and collaboration tools. There’s also an open API.
- Remarkably good customer support due to their 24/7 help desk team and multiple communication channels
- Varied rewards including products from Amazon, customizable ecards, and experiences
- You can purchase modules separately if you prefer it
CONS
- The “Reward Gateway for Small Business” version is only available for companies in the UK, Australia, and Ireland.
- The platform’s free trial is only available for the Reward Gateway for Small Business version.
- The reporting feature isn’t very easy to navigate, according to some users.
- Several users noted they had poor experiences using the mobile app to access discounts provided by employers.
- Users are unable to change employee profiles or create new recognition themselves but have to rely on customer support.
- No free trial
- The “Reward Gateway for Small Business” version is only available for companies in the UK and Australia
Reward Gateway provides a robust yet user-friendly employee engagement solution that can help you boost morale, retention, and productivity. It centers on employee surveys, including its proprietary four-question Engaged Index that benchmarks engagement. You can use this Index to identify at-risk areas for turnover and presenteeism, then conduct follow-up surveys on specific topics to dig deeper. Surveys can be created from existing templates or customized as needed.
A major advantage of Reward Gateway is how effectively it turns survey insights into impact. The platform makes acting on feedback easy with digestible analytics tied to engagement drivers. Leadership teams can clearly see potential areas for investment and how interventions may influence key metrics like retention. This proves the ROI on employee engagement spend and lends credibility when proposing new programs.
That said, we ran into a few issues that are worth flagging. For starters, the reporting feature isn’t the most intuitive. While the data is there, the layout requires extra clicks and filters to get to meaningful visualizations, which may frustrate less tech-savvy users.
Also, some functionality gaps show up in day-to-day admin work. Employees can’t edit their own profiles or create new recognition entries. They have to rely on customer support, which slows things down unnecessarily.
Another limitation is around availability. Reward Gateway for Small Business (a more streamlined and budget-friendly version) is only offered in the UK, Australia, and Ireland. U.S. small businesses looking for a lightweight entry point won’t be able to use it. To make things trickier, the free trial is only available for that small business version, so enterprise teams must go through a full sales process before getting hands-on with the product.
Reward Gateway has over 4000 customers, including Ikea, McDonald's, Unilever, and Heineken.
Reward Gateway costs £6 (around $7.5) per employee per month for an annual subscription for companies under 100 employees. Larger teams receive custom quotes.
Best For
Rewards Gateway is best for organizations based in the U.S., UK, Ireland, and Australia.
I am the HR consultant for Ryan Nelson London and was in charge of selecting a rewards platform. I set up the initial demo and recommended the company adopt Reward Gateway. My main responsibilities included setting up and customizing the platform for our company. I consulted with the team to determine the best ways to utilize the platform and coached them on how to use it. Now, I follow up and assess the team's satisfaction with the platform and the impact of these benefits on job satisfaction.
I like that the team can log on to the SmartSpending app and manage everything through their phones, which is ideal since our jewelry workshop team doesn't have access to desktops or laptops during the day. The system doesn't require a company email address, which we don't have. It is intuitive and versatile, offering exciting options for the team. The team loves it!
Our founder wanted a self-service reward system for the employees, allowing the rewards to run smoothly without day-to-day involvement. We were looking for an alternative to PerkBox, which we used briefly but found unsuitable for a small company. We then considered Reward Gateway. We have been using it for several months and it has met our needs for a more effective rewards system.
The discounts can sometimes be difficult to claim and don’t always work. We have had situations where we had to claim a refund. The customer service, while responsive, doesn't always have a solution for every problem. Additionally, there are occasional technical issues like long loading times and bugs on the platform.
Reward Gateway allows peer-to-peer recognition, which positively impacts company culture. The analytics provide factual insights into platform usage, enabling us to customize rewards for the team more effectively. The platform offers wellbeing options, which support a healthy work-life balance.
Check how the system integrates with your current HR system to ensure a smooth transition. Make sure you can transfer the existing perks that employees value. Consider the scalability and robustness of the platform. While managing rewards for a small team is easy manually, an all-in-one platform can save headaches for growing companies. Finally, consider which analytics you may find valuable.
We have just started using Reward Gateway some months ago, so the changes and evolution are still to be determined. However, it looks promising.
Reward Gateway is ideal for scale-ups and companies that need to connect employees across different teams. It suits companies that prioritize a healthy culture and employee wellbeing, especially those with a younger workforce.
Reward Gateway may not be suitable for companies that don't require high engagement and prefer simple rewards systems. Smaller companies and startups might find more cost-efficient alternatives.
Culture Amp
Culture Amp boosts engagement through dozens of ready-made and customizable surveys, powerful analytics, and integration capabilities. To top it all off, the platform is supported by a group of data experts focused on everything relating to engagement.
PROS
- Culture Amp has an intuitive, easy-to-navigate interface.
- You can choose from multiple survey templates or create your own.
- Upon survey completion, the platform gives you insights into employee sentiment via heatmaps, trendlines, and benchmarks.
- You can set goals and track their progress seamlessly.
- You get useful reminders about different things like tasks, reviews, and 1:1s.
- People science team
- Tons of engagement surveys
CONS
- Customization options for reviews and ratings are limited.
- It takes time to understand the platform’s full capabilities.
- The pricing isn’t publicly disclosed and can only be obtained after booking a demo.
- Their people science plus offering is not available for very small companies
- Enterprise clients might find that they lack some of the integrations and customizations a bigger team needs.
Culture Amp provides organizations with an effective system to regularly pulse their workforce, dig into key drivers of engagement, and take proven steps to create a thriving culture.
One of Culture Amp's greatest strengths is its library of 40+ customizable survey templates designed by experts in organizational psychology. You can leverage these prescriptive questionnaires to glean actionable insights around engagement, inclusion, onboarding, company events, and more. The software also benchmarks results against over 1 billion survey responses, allowing you to understand your engagement levels compared to top-performing companies.
Another feature worth highlighting is Culture Amp’s Retention Insights, which gives you early warning signs around employee flight risks. It doesn’t stop there, though, Retention Insights also gives you suggestions on what you can do to bring these employees around.
The insights Culture Amp gives you aren't just comprehensive for leadership - they empower each employee to feel heard while driving change at an individual level. Both managers and employees appreciate the customized reporting and focused recommendations that translate feedback into clear steps forward. The platform is thoughtfully designed for each stakeholder, providing leaders with a bird's-eye view of engagement while giving teams and individual employees visibility into areas requiring their input. This connectivity fosters a culture of accountability at all levels.
A tradeoff we noticed, however, is in customization. While the survey templates are strong, customization of reviews and ratings, especially within performance modules, is somewhat limited. You can tailor some workflows, but compared to more modular platforms, the flexibility isn’t quite there.
We also found that getting fully up to speed takes time. Culture Amp is a feature-rich platform, and it took us a few sessions to understand where everything lived and how all the pieces connected, from lifecycle surveys to team dashboards to action plans. It’s not hard to use, but it is deep, and that learning curve is worth factoring into rollout plans.
One final point: pricing isn’t disclosed publicly. To get a quote, you’ll need to book a demo and speak with a rep. While that’s not unusual at the enterprise level, it can make early comparison shopping harder for smaller or mid-market teams.
Culture Amp is used by over 6,500 companies, including SoulCycle, Canva, McDonalds, Etsy, and Bombas.
The annual subscription for Culture Amp starts at $4,500, and they only accept yearly billing.
Best For
Culture Amp is designed for growing and large companies, regardless of industry and location.
We used the engagement survey functionality of CultureAmp. We conducted two rounds of annual engagement surveys. This included integrating the platform with company data so that employee demographics could be tied to survey responses. The survey was delivered virtually to all employees, and the results were analyzed directly on the CultureAmp platform. The tool helped us easily visualize trends and areas for improvement within the organization.
- The setup of the platform was very easy.
- The questions were formulated and validated by people scientists.
- The engagement survey results report was easy to read and distribute to managers.
The company I was working for was looking to conduct an employee engagement survey. We needed a tool that was easy to use, accessible on both PC and mobile devices, and had survey items backed by science that could be benchmarked. The CultureAmp tool met all of these requirements, and we used the platform for two years. It allowed us to gain insights into employee engagement efficiently. Personally, I used the tool throughout that two-year period to manage survey deployment and analyze results.
- It was challenging not having access to the raw data for internal analysis.
- The pricing tiers prevented us from accessing specific services without exceeding our budget.
- Although easy to use and distribute, the platform offered limited customization options for the results reports.
I feel that CultureAmp is similarly useful when compared to other products, such as Qualtrics. What I find unique about CultureAmp is the support provided by their people scientists when setting up surveys and interpreting the results. It is also very easy to set up and integrate into an organization. I would consider using CultureAmp again for similar tasks.
People should consider how they plan to use the tool and who will be using the platform. Addressing these questions will help determine how much the company should invest and which features are necessary for their initiatives.
I understand that CultureAmp has added more features to cover other areas of HR activities and the employee experience, such as onboarding and exit surveys.
I feel CultureAmp is great for organizations looking to scale a solution quickly and that do not have many in-house resources for extensive research and analysis of survey results.
I don't think CultureAmp would be a good fit for an organization that prefers to own its survey data and maintain full control over data analysis and reporting.
Kudos
Though it primarily focuses on employee rewards and recognition, Kudos has expanded its platform with features for understanding and driving engagement, including sentiment surveys, detailed analytics, incentive campaigns, and more.
PROS
- Kudos’ interface is quite intuitive, making recognizing coworkers very easy.
- Employees like the ability to reward and appreciate peers.
- Employees can earn points to redeem for gift cards and prizes.
- 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
- The monthly point limits to award others can be restrictive.
- The system can be buggy at times, especially when redeeming points for rewards.
- The gift card options are somewhat limited, especially for local brands.
- There is no free plan or free trial.
- 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’ platform packs several modules aimed at improving employee experience. For starters, it lets you create and deploy anonymous Sentiment Surveys, enabling employees to safely provide feedback and giving you reliable insights to identify issues within the current workplace culture. All of these insights, along with trend analysis, are neatly displayed in the Kudos Dashboard.
Going beyond surveys, Kudos can help you create a culture of appreciation through its user-friendly peer recognition tools. Employees can send customizable Kudos cards to colleagues to highlight appreciated actions, from individual contributions to team efforts.
You can also use the platform to delight employees with all sorts of rewards, including merchandise, events, travel, charities, gift cards, and even custom rewards. Kudos’ rewards system is point-based, which means you give employees points as incentives, and they get to choose to redeem their accumulated points for. For the most part, we’ve found the point value assigned to rewards fair, without added fees.
Another stand-out module you’ll find within Kudos is its Culture Accelerator. Through it, you can create specialized campaigns to incentivize behaviors aligned with your company’s values and objectives. All of these campaigns can be customized to reflect your company brand and messaging, and if you need any help, you can work with a Kudos Program Designer to ensure your campaigns hit the mark.
If you’re a mid-to-large company looking to elevate employee engagement through data-backed insights and values-driven recognition strategies, we think Kudos checks all the boxes and is highly worth checking out.
We also want to flag a few structural limitations, though. First, the monthly point allowances for giving recognition can feel tight, depending on how often your team engages. A few HR users we spoke to shared that they had to be selective with their recognition budget, which they found to be limited over time.
Additionally, although our overall experience was smooth, the system was glitchy in isolated instances, reported some enterprise company users.
Kudos is used in over 80 countries. Some of their customers include KidsPeace, Kronos, DHL, Chewy.com, and Make A Wish.
Kudos pricing starts at $3.25 per user per month with a minimum requirement of 500 employees.
Best For
Kudos is best for companies with 500 to thousands of users in practically any country and industry.
As an HR professional, I frequently use Kudos to keep everyone motivated and engaged. I use Kudos a few times a week to recognize good performance, highlight career milestones like work anniversaries or project completions, and showcase teamwork achievements.
A key workflow involves reviewing and approving kudos sent across different teams to ensure alignment with our organizational values. I also generate reports and analytics to track recognition trends and monitor employee morale. I recommend managers and team leaders use Kudos regularly to integrate recognition into our workplace culture.
Kudos has become an integral part of our HR strategy, improving employee satisfaction, retention, and fostering a cohesive and supportive work environment.
Kudos boosts employee motivation by providing real-time recognition for achievements, creating a friendly and motivated work environment. It encourages peer-to-peer recognition, improving teamwork across departments. Kudos offers a visible platform for appreciation, fostering a culture of recognition and thankfulness.
Our organization invested in the Kudos platform to address several challenges. One significant issue was the lack of formal recognition and appreciation within teams, which negatively affected morale and employee engagement. Employees often felt unrecognized for their efforts, leading to potential disengagement and decreased productivity. Kudos provided a structured solution, allowing employees to easily recognize each other's efforts and contributions. This boost in morale has made our workplace more dynamic and appreciative.
Kudos also helps track recognition trends, identify top performers, and gauge employee sentiment through its analytics and reporting features. I've been using Kudos for the last two years, and it has significantly impacted our corporate culture, enhancing recognition and reinforcing our commitment to valuing employee contributions.
Kudos can sometimes lead to favoritism, where some employees are recognized frequently while others are overlooked. Overuse of Kudos can devalue its significance, making recognition feel routine rather than special. The informal nature of kudos can result in subjective appraisals based more on personal relationships than actual performance.
Kudos stands out with its extremely intuitive user interface, making recognition easy for all employees. It offers seamless integration with multiple platforms and features a robust analytics dashboard to track recognition trends and employee engagement. Additionally, Kudos supports both public and private recognition, catering to individual preferences and making the platform highly versatile.
Ensure the tool is easy and intuitive to use for all employees to promote higher adoption rates and consistent usage. Look for strong integration capabilities with your existing platforms, including HR systems and communication tools, to streamline operations. Consider customization options to tailor the recognition process to your corporate culture and values. Evaluate the analytics and reporting capabilities to track recognition trends, quantify employee engagement, and understand the impact on organizational culture.
Kudos has improved integration capabilities, now supporting leading workplace platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams. The user interface has become more intuitive and user-friendly, making it accessible to employees at all levels. Kudos has enhanced its analytics and reporting features to provide in-depth insights into recognition trends and employee engagement. The development of mobile applications allows staff to give and receive recognition from anywhere, offering greater flexibility.
Kudos is well-suited for large organizations and those with remote or geographically dispersed teams. It helps maintain cultural cohesiveness and encourages collaboration among team members, regardless of distance.
Small businesses with tight budgets and limited HR infrastructure might find the cost and implementation of Kudos challenging. Organizations in highly regulated industries with stringent security and data privacy policies may encounter compliance issues with an external recognition platform.
Assembly
Assembly’s platform helps companies automate a host of employee engagement and recognition processes through customizable templates and workflows - eliminating manual effort and ensuring consistency.
PROS
- The platform is easy to use and customize.
- The pricing is transparent and affordable. There’s also a free plan you can sign up for without a demo.
- Make your own rewards and even set up a points system with automated incentives.
- Explore the platform for free, no need for a credit card or demo
- Great set of features for the price point
- Make your own rewards and even set up a points system with automated incentives
- You have the option to go with a month-to-month plan or a long-term contract. For the latter, you can reach out to their team for a custom deal if it’s a larger team. However, keep in mind that the minimum agreement is 12 months.
CONS
- A few users noted needing more control over their notifications to avoid notification overload.
- Coins and points do expire, so sometimes they’ll expire by the end of the month before you can use them, although you get more the next period.
- SSO is only included with some plans. For others, it can be purchased as an add-on.
- Coins and points do expire, so sometimes they’ll expire by the end of the month before you can use them, although you get more the next period.
- SSO is only included with some plans. For others, it can be purchased as an add-on.
Assembly originally started as an employee rewards product but rapidly evolved into a comprehensive platform that facilitates employee listening, recognition, and collaboration. With the help of its customizable workflows and templates, companies large and small are able to celebrate their employees’ achievements, drive engagement among their teams, and streamline their daily operations.
Among the key workflows Assembly offers is one dedicated to engagement surveys. Designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of employee sentiments, this workflow lets you craft concise surveys, collect actionable feedback, and establish a consistent benchmark for measuring engagement over time. Another valuable workflow is centered around employee recognition. Whether it's acknowledging exceptional work, celebrating milestones, or simply expressing gratitude, the Recognition workflow can help you convey heartfelt recognition effortlessly.
Assembly also facilitates transparency and open communication through its Executive Updates and News Feed workflows. These features allow executives to share strategic decisions, company milestones, and important announcements, keeping employees informed and fostering a sense of connection to the organization's goals and successes.
There’s a lot to like about Assembly’s platform; it is user-friendly, customizable and affordable. There’s lots of other workflows you can customize and deploy within as well. If you’re an SMB looking for a flexible and budget-friendly employee engagement platform, we think Assembly is worth checking out.
Over 4,000 companies use Assembly’s solutions, including Coca-Cola, Quest Nutrition, Nesco Resource, HelloTech, and Amazon.
Assembly has four plans that are priced as follows:
- Recognition: Packs all the employee rewards and recognition features for $2 per user per month, billed annually.
- Engagement: For $4 per member per month, billed annually, this plan is designed for teams that want to maximize their employee engagement.
- Digital HQ: For $6 per member per month, billed annually, this plan packs all the necessary features for businesses to amplify cross-functional engagement, without any limits on the number of members on board.
- Custom: Designed for large organizations that need a custom and unique program, the Custom plan can accommodate unlimited members. Contact Assembly’s Sales team for a price quote.
Best For
Small and mid-size businesses across different verticals can benefit from Assembly’s solutions.
We use assembly on a daily basis for employee recognition and engagement, and team announcements such as birthdays. We use assembly messenger every week amongst our HR team to share ideas. In addition to a quick way to retrieve company policies, one of the key workflows we use it for is onboarding.
I love the ability to recognize and reward employees in multiple ways. We love digital gift cards, peer nominations, and culture rewards. We are able to reward employees based on their motivation style. We also enjoy the survey feature.
Our company recently expanded and we wanted a centralized platform to assist us with employee recognition and engagement. Preferably one that was automated.
At this time there isn’t anything we dislike.
Assembly is very affordable and scalable for small businesses. The platform is easy to navigate and we enjoy the integrated training. Other platforms we demoed required us to call an account manager for most inquiries or training. It is also very user-friendly and was easy to roll out to our staff.
They should first have an internal employee recognition and performance management process in mind. This will help them determine which system is best for them. The next thing they should look for is if the tool aligns with their business needs and goals. Lastly, the level of complexity requires to implement and use the system on a daily basis. It needs to be user-friendly to drive employee use.
Assembly has evolved with the the level of integrations it offers. They have also created RecognitionGPT to help create professional recognition responses and announcements.
I think assembly is great for all-size companies. The ideal user is someone in operations such as Supervisors and HR. The best part is the user doesn’t have to be tech-savvy.
A person who is unfamiliar with social engagement platforms and unwilling to learn the technology.
WorkTango
WorkTango helps you measure engagement and collect actionable feedback easily and confidentially. You can leverage its real-time dashboards and analytics to understand employee sentiment, empower managers to act, and drive positive organizational change.
PROS
- You can run unlimited surveys, available in over 20 languages including English, Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Korean.
- You can use WorkTango’s research-backed and statistically validated assessments, or create your own.
- Anonymous Conversations enable managers to acknowledge and respond to open-text survey comments while protecting employee anonymity.
- You can compare your engagement survey results to internal and external benchmarks.
- Open-text responses can be summarized with Natural Language Processing (NLP). It can also bring the most used terms front and center in a word cloud.
- 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 isn’t a monthly billing option. You have to pay by year.
- All plans require a minimum commitment of 12 months.
- Free trials aren't available at this time.
- 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 Surveys & Insights module is all about helping businesses measure and improve employee engagement. We like that users can customize and deploy an unlimited number of surveys to gather feedback across the entire employee lifecycle. Survey creation is made even easier with WorkTango’s library of expert-designed questions, ready to be used as needed.
Once responses are collected, WorkTango's dashboards and reporting features kick in. The sophisticated analytics help identify key themes and trends from both quantitative data and open-ended comments. Features like the Sentiment Cloud summarize the overall positive and negative sentiment within employee feedback, while easy benchmarking shows how your company compares to other players in your industry. These insights are presented through highly visual, easy-to-grasp dashboards tailored to different roles.
But WorkTango isn't just about measuring engagement. The software offers predictive recommendations and suggested actions based on survey results. Leaders can then turn these recommendations into accountable action plans with progress tracking. For developing leaders' capabilities, WorkTango even suggests relevant learning resources to build skills in areas needing improvement.
However, we must admit that the employee engagement software’s interface can feel like a lot at first, especially for teams new to analytics-heavy platforms. And buyers should know upfront: all plans require a 12-month commitment, billed annually. There’s no monthly billing or free trial. That makes it harder for smaller companies to test-drive before making the leap.
Over 1,000 companies use Worktango’s solutions, including Kia Motors, HUB International, Rexall, and Accruent.
WorkTango starts at about $8,000 per year with an annual commitment.
Best For
WorkTango is best for mid-sized to large companies.
Several times a year, I utilize Worktango to collect employee engagement data. This platform offers fantastic features enabling me to gauge employee sentiments regarding the company, their roles, and their managers. Once the data is gathered, it's meticulously organized to furnish leadership with insights into employee perceptions of the company's dynamics.
The standout features of Worktango that I appreciate are its robust analytics capabilities, particularly how it provides breakdowns for each demographic, department, and manager. The customer service is exceptional; they consistently demonstrate eagerness to assist me in optimizing tool usage, introducing new features, and ensuring I maximize the value of my subscription. I also find the points system for recognizing team members appealing, as it offers opportunities to earn gift cards and other rewards.
Our team has relied on Worktango for approximately a year, finding its points system particularly commendable. These points can be redeemed for various rewards, such as gift cards, fostering motivation and engagement. Additionally, Worktango's software has proven instrumental in enhancing decision-making processes, driving innovation, strengthening supplier or partner relationships, bolstering customer relations and service, and fostering internal operational efficiencies. Notable features include its robust role-based access mechanism and intuitive drag-and-drop platform for crafting tailored employee recognition campaigns. The platform also offers an excellent recognition and rewards tool, boasting easy implementation and AI-driven data analytics.
The system's export functionality is somewhat restricted and could benefit from additional options. While it's a modern platform, it's quite narrowly tailored to its own methodology. Integration between Worktango and Microsoft Teams lacks the intuitive ease required for seamless collaboration. While raw data is accessible, visualizing and leveraging it in its current form can be time-consuming, especially concerning usage data and the quality of feedback provided to employees. Certain navigational aspects could also be more user-friendly.
Among employee recognition and engagement systems, Worktango consistently secures a spot in the top two rankings. It offers competitive pricing and holds the second position for customer service responsiveness and ease of use.
When evaluating software options, businesses should prioritize factors such as ease of use, analytics capabilities, and cost-effectiveness. Additionally, companies should emphasize feedback mechanisms, goal alignment, people analytics, and lifecycle surveys in their decision-making process.
I’m unsure of how WorkTango changed or evolved over time.
WorkTango is ideal for small to medium-sized companies.
I cannot think of any companies for which WorkTango can’t be a good fit.
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Deel
While Deel isn’t specialized in employee engagement, the global payroll vendor has expanded into a multiskilled system covering simple yet promising tools for managing and engaging international employees and contractors.
PROS
- You can offer employee benefits through Deel, as well as other perks such as discounts at known service providers.
- The Slack integration allows the creation and deployment of pulse surveys to increase engagement.
- Deel's interface has a modern design and is fairly easy to navigate.
- Users praised Deel's customer support for being responsive and quick to resolve issues.
- Existing customers gain free access to Deel’s HR offering.
- Excellent 24/7 customer service with fast onboarding (2-3 days) and local payroll experts in each jurisdiction.
- Deel HR is free for companies of all sizes.
- Seamless integration with platforms like QuickBooks, BambooHR, and Greenhouse, plus custom integration options.
- User-friendly, self-service features enable quick setup; identity verification often takes under 24 hours.
- Automated invoices simplify payments, provided they're in English.
CONS
- Pulse surveys are offered through the Slack plug-in and aren’t built into Deel.
- Deel recently expanded into engagement, so its features are limited compared to established platforms.
- No mobile application available.
- Key features like onboarding automation are add-ons, which may increase costs.
- Limited flexibility in modifying contracts or service agreements; changes often require an addendum.
- Invoices cannot be generated in languages other than English.
While Deel is best known for its global payroll capabilities, the platform has recently expanded into employee experience, adding tools that support engagement, connection, and community across time zones. After testing these features, we found that they aren’t as advanced as what you’d get from established platforms like Motivosity or Leapsome, but they’re quite promising, with a gentle and meaningful touch.
One of the standout features is Connections. If you’re a remote-first organization like ours, you’ll see what we mean. With this tool, you can help employees form relationships through structured 1:1s, group chats, and shared interest spaces. You can even use Connections to introduce new hires, spark mentor pairings, or create virtual watercooler moments.
Deel also integrates tightly with Slack to deliver pulse surveys and engagement nudges in the flow of work. Surveys launched via Slack tend to yield higher response rates, and Deel uses the results to suggest curated interest groups, bringing together like-minded colleagues around shared hobbies, which we found pretty cool.
Obviously, Deel’s engagement functionality is still relatively new, so when compared to established platforms in the space, its feature set is fairly limited. For example, there’s no standalone engagement dashboard, no in-app survey creation outside of Slack, and no mobile app for recognition or survey feedback on the go. As a result, teams who want deeper analytics, advanced feedback workflows, or in-app engagement tools may find the current capabilities too lightweight.
Over 15,000 businesses use Deel, including Nike, Shopify, Redbull, and Zapier.
Deel’s employee engagement tool starts at $20 per employee per month.
Best For
For companies already using Deel to manage global employment, the new employee engagement tools add valuable ways to foster connection and inclusion without layering in another point solution.
We use Deel on a weekly basis to hire, manage, and pay international employees for clients. Once a candidate has accepted our verbal offer, we use Deel to send the offer letter, new hire documentation, and collect information for payroll. Deel stores all of our new hire information such as employee benefits selections, tax information, and signed offer letters. We also use Deel to coordinate with our outside payroll vendor to ensure everyone is paid correctly and the proper withholdings are implemented.
The first thing that we love is Deel HR is free! Not only is it free, it still offers all the bells and whistles of your typical paid platforms. I like that you can use Deel as the employer of record for international employees. Deel ensures we are compliant with local labor laws. Deel HR has replaced our need to purchase an HRIS system to serve as our employee management system.
We purchased Deel because we were seeking an affordable HR tool for our startup company. We were experiencing pain in the areas of documentation management, managing employee files on multiple databases, and wanted to streamline our operations. We were also seeking an onboarding solution that could integrate with our recruitment process. Deel has helped us centralize our HR functions and improve our efficiency in managing employee data and onboarding new hires.
The cost for the employer of record is very high for a startup company. This is an amazing solution to offer for a growing company, but I wish the price was lower or split into two payments across the month. Although it is easy to navigate, the UI could be nicer.
Deel is a one-stop shop for domestic and international hires. They have a built-in background check and visa and EOR in one platform. Other platforms require the use of multiple tools to accomplish these tasks.
First, they need to consider their hiring needs. Determine how many international hires annually to be able to do a cost-benefit analysis. They also need to have a defined hiring workflow to determine if Deel has everything they need to enhance their existing workflow.
Deel has done a great job with API and adding new integrations as the market evolves.
Global and domestic organizations of all sizes.
Deel is great for all companies and industries, especially if they want an all-around tool to take care of all HR needs including global payroll and EOR.
Terryberry
Terryberry offers a comprehensive employee engagement solution that integrates recognition, wellness, and engagement measurement into one platform. With over a century of experience, their all-in-one approach helps mid-market organizations streamline their engagement initiatives while providing powerful analytics and insights, making them an excellent choice for companies looking to consolidate their employee experience programs.
PROS
- Advanced analytics toolkit featuring custom pulse surveys, template library, and demographic filtering for data-driven decision-making
- Comprehensive well-being features, including mental health resources, physical activity tracking, and social challenges tied to rewards
- Strategic measurement tools tracking engagement impact on retention, satisfaction, and organizational performance
- Complete integration between engagement initiatives, recognition moments, and reward fulfillment
- Mobile-first design with an intuitive interface
- They recently added Amazon Business to their rewards catalog— now U.S. users can redeem points for a massive variety of items.
- 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
- No open API is currently available, though it's on the development roadmap
- Limited free trial options for testing the platform
- It may be complex for smaller organizations with basic engagement needs
- Interface design could benefit from modernization to match competitor offerings
- 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's engagement platform stands out for its cohesive and well-rounded approach to employee experience, combining recognition, rewards, and wellness initiatives in one system. During our recent 2024 demo, we observed how the platform effectively unites multiple engagement tools while maintaining clear visibility into program participation and cultural impact.
The platform's survey capabilities for gathering employee feedback impressed us during our evaluation. The manager dashboards provide comprehensive insights into recognition program adoption and value alignment, a feature that particularly resonated with HR leaders we consulted. We found the built-in wellbeing features effectively support both physical and mental health through team challenges and activity tracking, complemented by flexible reward options that can be tied to wellness achievements.
In our conversation with their product team, they highlighted how the platform's analytics suite has evolved to provide deeper insights into engagement metrics. We observed how organizations can track the correlation between recognition activities and employee satisfaction, providing actionable data for program optimization. The pulse survey functionality, complete with template libraries and demographic filtering, enables companies to gather targeted feedback and measure engagement trends over time.
We were also particularly impressed by how the platform integrates milestone programs with broader engagement initiatives. The system automatically triggers communications and recognition moments while maintaining personalization through configurable workflows. Lastly, while the interface could be modernized, the mobile-first design facilitates engagement across hybrid and remote workforces.
Terryberry serves over 40,000 clients worldwide, including notable names like Tesco, Epsilon, General Motors, and Trilogy Health.
Terryberry’s basic subscription plans start at approximately $3 per employee receiving an award.
Best For
Terryberry's engagement platform is optimized for mid-market organizations wanting to consolidate their recognition and engagement programs into a single, measurable solution.
AdvantageClub.ai
If you need a mobile-friendly, feature-rich solution that goes beyond basic surveys to actively measure and improve employee sentiment, AdvantageClub.ai is worth considering—just be prepared for some hands-on vendor support and a potentially higher price point.
PROS
- Full-featured web platform with a mobile app covering benefits, wellness, and more.
- Smooth integrations with HRIS, LMS, Slack, Teams, and other workplace tools.
- Real-time sentiment tracking with Mood-O-Meter and Polls for instant feedback.
- Advanced survey and quiz tools with branching logic and AI-driven personalization.
- AI-powered engagement nudges to encourage participation and feedback.
- AI-powered messaging feature streamlines the process of giving and receiving recognition.
- Extensive global rewards marketplace with 10,000+ brands across 100+ countries.
- Flex-Benefits program allows employees to customize how they use perks.
- AI-driven engagement assistant (ADVA) nudges employees to stay active in recognition programs.
- Seamless integrations with HRMS, Slack, Teams, and Outlook for workflow automation.
CONS
- Undisclosed pricing, no free trial.
- Can be expensive for budget-conscious teams.
- Analytics and reporting tools require vendor support for full customization.
- No public pricing. No self-service free trial.
- Instead of self-configuration, users may require additional support to leverage the power of analytics and dashboard features fully.
We tested AdvantageClub.ai’s employee engagement product, and it quickly became clear that it offers a robust suite of features designed to enhance employee participation, well-being, and feedback collection.
Our experiences with the web and mobile apps were both enjoyable. While the former offers a full range of features, the latter holds its own, covering everything from corporate benefits and wellness to dining, education, gyms, entertainment, and more. We especially liked how we could filter savings and offers based on relevance and location right in the app. This made it so convenient to access key benefits on the go.
Another thing we always prioritize when assessing staff engagement tools is integration capabilities, and on this front, AdvantageClub.ai didn’t disappoint. It integrates with nearly every HRIS, LMS, and communication app we’ve known, which is a nice touch to ensure employee participation and easy data sharing across your company’s existing tools.
For those curious about this software’s real-time employee sentiment features, it has plenty to offer. The Mood-O-Meter instantly gauges employee well-being, while Polls provide an open and transparent way to gather feedback.
And we loved that for more structured engagement, there are interactive quizzes and survey tools, which support various question types, randomized answer choices (to reduce bias), and even branching logic for personalized survey experiences. This AI-driven approach allows each participant to follow a tailored survey path based on their responses, which truly sets AdvantageClub.ai apart from competitors.
However, despite its abundant features, AdvantageClub.ai isn’t very affordable, especially for teams on a budget. We’re also not fans of its pricing approach: it’s undisclosed with no free trial offered.
Additionally, while the analytics and reporting tools are robust, we found that fully leveraging them often requires extra support from the vendor. Customizing dashboards and interpreting engagement trends might take some learning, especially for teams that aren’t as data-savvy.
1,000+ companies, including TARGET, EY, Concentrix, and BCG.
AdvantageClub.ai has custom pricing only, and no free trial is offered.
Best For
AdvantageClub.ai is best for large enterprises and mid-sized companies, especially those with a global workforce, looking for a highly customizable employee recognition platform with a vast rewards marketplace and AI-driven automation to boost engagement.
Lattice
Throughout our tech tests, the platform stood out as a flexible employee engagement platform that had a good balance between robust survey design and actionable analytics. The recent addition of an AI-driven action planning tool is also a nice touch, making it a strong option for companies serious about turning employee feedback into meaningful change.
PROS
- Fully customizable engagement surveys with skip logic and tailored anonymity settings.
- Extensive question banks validated with academic and real-world data.
- Advanced anonymity protection options, including group-level threshold enforcement.
- AI-powered comment summarization and key driver analysis (requires eNPS).
- Historical data uploads allow continuity with past engagement tools.
- Rich segmentation and filtering, including custom fields like tenure or parental status.
- Strong post-survey workflows with built-in action plan tracking and pulse survey follow-ups.
- Lattice allows managers to record their 1:1 meetings with employees in real time. That way, both parties can go back later and revisit what was discussed during the meeting – as well as make sure nothing gets lost in translation!
- The platform has a host of tools supporting employee development and performance-based compensation setting, which isn’t common for the average performance management product.
- Review templates and survey questions are among several things that can be customized to ensure you’re getting relevant data.
CONS
- No free trial, and the minimum annual spend is $4,000.
- Survey end dates must be closed manually by admins.
- Mobile apps haven’t been updated since Q1 2024 and lack functionality for admins
- Reporting exports (e.g., PPT) are limited to agree/disagree questions only.
- Custom reports sometimes require external manipulation for large datasets.
- Starting at $11 per person per month, Lattice’s pricing is on the expensive side compared to competitors.
- The platform is feature-rich, which is great but also means that it takes some time for the average user to get acclimated with it.
- The available selection of third-party integrations is rather limited, with a few users complaining that their HRIS isn’t covered. That said, Lattice does have an open API that allows users to plug-in other third party tools.
Lattice’s engagement suite lets you build everything from onboarding to engagement to exit surveys using their validated templates or your own fully customized question sets.
You can tweak anonymity settings, apply skip logic, and automate recurring surveys, making Lattice a versatile tool for HR teams ready to get serious about feedback. If you’ve used platforms like Leapsome or Culture Amp, you’ll find Lattice offers similar survey-building control, but with added options for importing historical survey data and configuring group-level anonymity thresholds.
One nice feature is Lattice’s analytics engine. With this feature, you can filter data by tenure, location, department, or custom fields, such as manager or parental status. The heatmap view helps you visualize engagement trends across the org, while the AI Insights tool summarizes open-text feedback into common themes (think sentiment scores around “leadership,” “growth,” or “workload.”) It’s a feature we’ve seen work well in ThriveSparrow and Leapsome, but in Lattice’s case, you’ll need to have eNPS enabled to unlock the complete driver analysis.
Where Lattice lags is the user experience. The HR admin app is surprisingly limited, with key tasks like managing surveys or reviewing dashboards still desktop-only. Compared to mobile-first tools we’ve evaluated like Connecteam or Mo, Lattice feels somewhat dated in this regard.
We also noticed that survey exports to PowerPoint are restricted to agree/disagree formats only, which may frustrate teams that rely on more complex reporting. And unlike Motivosity or Workleap, there’s no self-serve free trial, meaning you’ll need to book a demo to get started.
Although we appreciate that the action plan tool helps turn insights into accountability by assigning follow-ups and pulse check-ins, some managers we surveyed find the UI clunky when toggling between survey data, goals, and performance reviews. For example, a few have requested a side-by-side comparison view for self versus manager feedback—something other platforms, such as Leapsome, already include.
5,000+ companies, including Olo, Strike Graph, Cutover, and Sendle.
Lattice’s Engagement module is available as an add-on for $4 per user per month, billed annually. It requires the core Talent Management suite ($11 per user per month), totaling $15 monthly. There are no setup fees, but a $4,000 annual contract minimum applies.
Best For
Mid-sized to enterprise organizations (75+ employees) seeking a unified and scalable solution for surveys, performance, growth, compensation, and HRIS.
Benefits of Employee Engagement Tools
Employee engagement software delivers several strategic advantages: it provides employees with a safe space to share feedback, simplifies the launch of expert-backed surveys, delivers real-time sentiment insights, enables ongoing culture monitoring, and integrates tools for recognition and performance.
- Give Employees a Voice with Anonymous Feedback Tools: Employee engagement software provides an outlet for employees to anonymously share their honest opinions, voice out any concerns about the workplace and work culture, and propose suggestions for improvement. When employees feel heard and their feedback is taken into account, it leads to less turnover and higher productivity.
- Launch Expert-Designed Engagement Surveys in Minutes: There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. The best employee engagement platforms are built on solid research, which often includes input from industrial-organizational (IO) psychology experts. They also often come with a host of ready-made survey templates you can deploy in minutes, with recommendations on what to ask, when to ask it, and how often.
- Turn Feedback into Insights with Real-Time Sentiment Analysis: One problem with traditional employee engagement surveys is that they can take a long time to analyze all the feedback gathered. A lot of what is uncovered relates broadly to the employee experience but lacks actionable next steps. The best employee engagement tools can analyze feedback as it comes and give you a comprehensive understanding of employee sentiments, preferences, and areas for improvement.
- Monitor Workplace Culture Health with Continuous Pulse Checks: Most employee engagement platforms use pulse surveys to gather small amounts of data in frequent intervals. These surveys ask only one or two questions, keeping the pressure low and the response rate high. By establishing a consistent feedback loop, you can identify trends, address concerns before they grow into systemic problems, and adapt strategies to maintain a psychologically safe working environment.
- Go Beyond Feedback: Oftentimes, employee engagement platforms bundle up their offerings with other solutions in the employee experience tech space, such as employee recognition and performance management software. Having all of these tools integrated into one platform reduces tech fatigue for your team and is easy on your budget, too.
Common Mistakes When Buying and Using Employee Engagement Platforms
Organizations often make the mistake of relying on employee engagement software to address their deep cultural issues, assuming instant employee buy-in, underestimating setup needs, or rushing the rollout.
- Expecting Software to Solve Cultural Problems: To be effective, the platform must work alongside a distinctive, authentic, and appreciative work culture. The software can supplement your efforts, but it won't “fix” company-wide problems with engagement. Employee engagement experts Mallory Herrin and Tracie Marie agree here, and Marie's experience has borne this out. She reminds us in no uncertain terms that engagement software cannot replace the power of a human connection.
- Assuming Quick Employee Buy-In: Affecting a company-wide change will take time. Simply put, inspiring behavioral change is difficult. After working in an environment that could have been more attentive to their engagement, employees are sometimes distrustful of initiatives that promise brighter days. The process of winning over the skeptics can’t happen overnight, but it can happen. The right time to start, whether with engagement software or other means, is now.
- Overlooking Integration and Setup Time: Like the plodding, uphill struggle of behavior change, implementing a new HR tool can also be painfully sluggish. To make it as easy as possible, choose a platform with an open API and/or partnerships with tools you already use. Consider your HR tech stack and daily communication tools: Both must be seamlessly connected to your new tool to ensure a seamless transition.
- Rolling Out Too Much Too Soon: Be conservative and methodical about your rollout game plan. Some vendors offer assistance with this process, but if yours doesn't (or you choose not to follow it), you can orchestrate a successful rollout with good planning and reasonable expectations. From our experience, creating a schedule with a regular cadence that introduces features slowly is best. We’ve also found it helpful to take feedback from departments across the organization about the rollout order: the insight of your leadership and individual contributors is a massive asset.
The Business Case Behind Employee Engagement Platforms
Employee engagement platforms provide organizations with measurable visibility into employee sentiment, cultural health, and areas that need improvement, enabling proactive decision-making. For HR and People teams, the return is clear: higher productivity, lower attrition costs, and a workplace culture that retains top talent.
- Identify Problems Before They Escalate: Engagement tools allow you to continuously monitor employee sentiment through pulse surveys, feedback loops, and trend analysis. This early visibility enables HR leaders to identify issues such as burnout, team misalignment, or poor management practices before they turn into resignations or disengagement.
- Improve Productivity Through Data-Driven Action: When employees feel heard and supported, performance improves. Platforms that connect feedback with initiatives, such as recognition or development programs, create a loop where insights directly inform action, leading to higher engagement and improved outcomes.
We’ve designed this Excel-based calculator to help you calculate the basic return on investment (ROI) from using the best employee engagement solutions. Also, check out our HR Tech ROI calculators page for deeper analysis and benchmarking tools.
Key Features of Employee Engagement Software
Employee engagement software comes packed with features designed to help HR leaders capture meaningful feedback, monitor organizational health, and drive data-informed action. These tools streamline the measurement, analysis, and action taken on engagement, making it easier to build a thriving workplace.
- Meaningful, Customizable Employee Surveys: Employee surveys are a fundamental capability of employee engagement software. These include pulse surveys for regular sentiment check-ins, eNPS (Employee Net Promoter Score) surveys to measure loyalty and satisfaction, and more in-depth annual or quarterly surveys. Sophisticated survey builders make it easy for HR teams to craft customized question sets while choosing from preset expert-validated templates.
- Anonymity Settings: The best employee engagement platforms allow admins to configure anonymity settings on a per-survey basis. For example, demographic data collection can be toggled on or off. Respondents can also opt to submit written commentary anonymously with no identifying details. Setting the right anonymity parameters helps drive survey participation and enable tracking of trends for different subgroups.
- Automated Survey Distribution and Reminders: Employee engagement tools allow you to configure surveys to be sent out either via email or other internal communication apps to pre-defined audience segments at the time and frequency of your choosing. There are often automated nudges and reminders, too, which further alleviate manual intervention, freeing admins and HR teams to focus on reviewing results and implementing ideas to enhance employee engagement.
- Real-time Analytics: With the help of artificial intelligence and user-friendly dashboards, employee engagement software helps you analyze employee feedback and visualize key engagement metrics like eNPS and satisfaction scores. Trends can be segmented across teams, locations, or any custom attributes captured, allowing HR professionals and leaders to respond promptly to emerging trends or critical issues.
- Reporting and Sharing Tools: Employee engagement software typically offers robust reporting tools. You can auto-generate and share reports for stakeholder audiences that showcase response rates, trends, and insights over time. You can also tailor reports by including or excluding sensitive groups and exporting results into various formats, such as PDF and CSV, for broader use.
Questions to Ask in Demos with Employee Engagement Software Vendors
- How does your platform measure and track employee engagement? What metrics and analytics does it provide?
- How customizable are the surveys and feedback tools? Can I tailor questions and flows to my organization's specific needs?
- What methods does the platform use to gather employee feedback (e.g., surveys, pulse polls, open text, etc.)?
- Does your system integrate with our current HRIS, payroll, or other platforms?
- What types of participation tracking does it offer (e.g., survey response rates, event attendance, etc.)?
- What kinds of real-time feedback capabilities does it have? Can employees provide input anytime?
- What types of employee segmentation and filtering options are available? Can I analyze data by role, team, location, etc.?
- How are the results and data visualized? What dashboards, reports, and insights can I access as an administrator?
- Does your platform provide employee engagement action plan templates and tools and follow-up workflows based on feedback results?
- How do you ensure data security and compliance with regulations? What is your security and privacy protocol?
- What type of support, training, and account management do you provide?
- Can you explain the implementation process? How long does rollout typically take?
- What are the pricing models available? Are there options to scale up or down as needed?
- Can I see a demo tailored to our specific use cases and needs?
Employee Engagement Software FAQs
What is employee engagement software?
Employee engagement software is a tool that helps organizations collect employee feedback, monitor engagement metrics, and take action to improve workplace satisfaction, retention, and performance. It typically includes surveys, real-time analytics, and communication features to drive continuous improvement in employee experience.
What is the difference between employee engagement and employee recognition?
Employee engagement refers to how committed and motivated employees feel toward their work and the organization. Employee recognition, on the other hand, is how employers acknowledge and reward employees’ contributions, often as a way to boost engagement.
How do companies use employee engagement software?
Companies use employee engagement software to run surveys, track engagement trends, and gather feedback. HR teams use it to identify issues and improve retention, while managers use it for check-ins, coaching, and recognition. It also supports internal communication and peer connection.
When is the best time to use employee engagement software?
The best time to implement employee engagement software is when you notice signs of disengagement, such as lower productivity or increased absenteeism. As our community expert, Christina Moran, advises, it’s less about company size and more about need: “The right time is when the software can clearly enhance performance, simplify HR efforts, and improve the employee experience.”
What is a good measure of employee engagement?
A good measure of employee engagement combines survey feedback, participation rates, turnover data, and productivity trends. Strong engagement is reflected in high morale, alignment with company goals, consistent discretionary effort, and is often measured through both qualitative feedback and quantitative performance indicators.
Final Advice on Buying Employee Engagement Software
There are no silver bullets when it comes to tackling disengaged employees and understanding what's really happening in your business. However, having an employee engagement platform in place can help you engage your remote workers as well as your in-office ones.
Given that companies using employee engagement gamification are seven times more profitable than those that don't, you may also want to figure out ways to add gamification to your employee engagement programs.
Last but not least, providing proper training for your managers and teams is crucial for creating a culture of appreciation in your workplace. This list of the best employee engagement training courses can be a great starting point.
About the Author
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