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What is an employee engagement tool?
Benefits of employee engagement software
Best employee engagement tools for internal communication
Best employee engagement tools for project management
Best employee engagement tools for internal feedback
Today, employee engagement tools are needed more than ever. According to Gallup, just 36% of U.S. employees currently report feeling engaged at work. Plus, the job market remains wildly competitive even in 2023 — and if employees aren’t engaged, they’re less likely to stay at their companies.
Besides employee retention, engagement can have a direct impact on an organization’s bottom line — engaged employees are more productive and put out better results. That, in turn, improves a company's profitability over time.
The good news? Employee engagement tools can improve employee experience and company culture. They can even provide real-time feedback on how your employees are feeling, allowing you to make improvements before they start searching for a new job.
First, let’s establish what an employee engagement tool is. Employee engagement tools are software, apps, or tactics that a company uses to improve employee satisfaction and engagement. For example, a company that wants to break down barriers in communication might introduce an internal chat tool, like Slack.
Most of the time, human resources lead the introduction of an employee engagement platform. They can help push the adoption of a new tool or software. Plus, they can make it an integral part of new employee onboarding. Ultimately, the right tools can become a core part of an organization, boosting engagement, satisfaction, and morale.
Not convinced yet? There are limitless benefits to using an employee engagement platform at your company. If you introduce the right tool, it can transform your company culture and the employee experience. Here are some of the main advantages of using the best employee engagement tools:
This list is based on choosing the right employee engagement solution. We’re here to help you gain all these benefits and more with a comprehensive list of the best employee engagement tools of 2023. Let’s get started!
Ready to learn how employee engagement tools can help your organization thrive? Let’s dive in.
We all know communication is everything when it comes to the workplace. If you can’t reach your manager to get approval on a project, it can slow down your entire team. If your video calls crash every time you try to have a meeting, it will be hard to stay engaged with your work.
Having the best tools for internal communication will help solve these issues, allowing for greater teamwork and collaboration — not to mention, fewer tech-related headaches.
Slack is undeniably one of the most popular employee engagement platforms available. You know how tough it can be to send email after email, only to never get a response from a team member. With Slack, you can ping your coworkers in real-time — helping you collaborate more often and get things done faster.
Here are a few things that people love about Slack:
Capterra Rating: 4.7 (21,319 reviews)
If your team uses Google for work, Google Meet could be the ideal team meeting tool. There’s no need for employees to install any new software. They can just jump onto any meeting link right from their browser. This makes it that much simpler to stay connected with employees around the world — and that’s a great way to improve engagement.
Here’s what employees love about Google Meet:
Capterra Rating: 4.5 (10,566 reviews)
Zoom is a comprehensive video conferencing and meeting platform. It allows individuals and large companies to host team meetings, live webinars, and more. With plans for every business size, you can easily find the perfect fit for your organization.
Here are a few things to love about Zoom:
Capterra Rating: 4.6 (12,152 reviews)
It seems like every organization has its own method of project management these days. Maybe you’re used to using sticky notes on the office wall, or an Excel sheet that you review during team meetings. The problem is that in today’s remote-first world, companies need reliable and engaging project management solutions.
That’s where the best employee engagement software for project management comes in. These three platforms are shining stars among what can be an overwhelming selection of tools. With the right project management software, you can boost productivity, collaboration, and even employee performance.
According to Capterra, Asana is an emerging favorite for remote work. This is no surprise since Asana is a powerful tool for managing everything from small daily tasks to larger strategic plans.
Here’s what users love about Asana:
Capterra Rating: 4.5 (10,935 reviews)
Monday.com is an established player when it comes to project management software. Within the platform, there are limitless opportunities to customize features according to your needs. You can also easily collaborate with coworkers across the organization.
Here’s what users love about Monday.com:
Capterra Rating: 4.6 (2,485 reviews)
ClickUp has also been named an emerging favorite by Capterra. With its aspirational goal to be the “one app to replace them all,” it makes sense. ClickUp offers teams the ability to manage their goals, documents, schedules, calendars, and even their inbox all in one place.
Here’s what users love about ClickUp:
Capterra Rating: 4.7 (2,851 reviews)
Employee burnout has become so common that the World Health Organization has even classified it as an “occupational phenomenon.” Chronic stress, a lack of resources, and out-of-touch leadership can all contribute to this problem. That’s why having an employee engagement tool for internal feedback is so important.
Employee engagement surveys can help HR teams understand exactly what workers are going through. Maybe they hate the in-office snacks. Or maybe there’s a certain manager with a bad attitude that’s negatively impacting employee wellness.
Survey tools provide actionable insights that can help you solve these problems. Then, organizations can make changes before they start to lose employees in droves. That means happier employees, increased performance, and higher retention rates.
Here are the best survey tools for gathering employee feedback.
With Culture Amp, organizations can create and deliver employee engagement and performance management programs. Their science-backed surveys provide actionable insights on everything from engagement to DEI to well-being. Culture Amp partners have seen innovation, profitability, and even customer satisfaction go up as a result.
What users love about Culture Amp:
Capterra Rating: 4.7 (66 reviews)
OfficeVibe is a comprehensive employee engagement software that helps companies improve the employee experience. The platform lets you get a pulse on how your employees are feeling through surveys and anonymous feedback.
Here’s what users love about OfficeVibe:
Capterra Rating: 4.6 (46 reviews)
Qualtrics CoreXM is a highly rated and diverse survey tool. With this software, you can collect, analyze, and take action on employee engagement data. You can also use Qualtrics’ powerful tools to survey your customers, partners, and anyone else important to your business.
Here’s more of what users love about Qualtrics CoreXM:
Capterra Rating: 4.8 (372 reviews)
15five helps keep the lines of communication open between managers, direct reports, and peers. The tool provides engagement insights to see where your company is flourishing and areas of opportunity. This employee engagement tool also houses interactive features to support employee development and career growth. Managers and their direct reports can access and build out performance reviews, role expectations, goals, and individual career paths.
This information can be used to amplify weekly check-ins or 1:1 meetings. It can also help manager communicate how each individual’s goals ladder up into team and company goals and OKRs.
Top benefits users love about 15five:
Capterra Rating: 4.7 (868 reviews)
Annual performance reviews aren’t enough to keep your employees engaged. They need continuous feedback to stay motivated on the job and keep growing in their roles. So how can you accomplish this? An engagement tool focused on employee recognition could be the answer.
With the right tool, you can recognize employee anniversaries and publicly applaud high performance from your team. You can even enable peer recognition, which will improve employee camaraderie and teamwork. Let’s dive into the best tools for employee recognition.
Kudos is an employee engagement software that helps companies build positive cultures and prioritize open communication. Besides enabling peer-to-peer recognition, Kudos provides actionable insights into employee performance and workplace culture.
What users love about Kudos:
Capterra Rating: 4.8 (696 reviews)
TinyPulse is an employee engagement platform that enables employee recognition, in addition to engagement surveys. If you’re looking to do both in one place, TinyPulse could be a great solution. With this software, you can build a culture of appreciation while improving employee performance at the same time.
More of what we love about TinyPulse:
Capterra Rating: 4.7 (44 reviews)
Reward Gateway is a straightforward employee engagement solution. With Reward Gateway, you can boost morale with employee recognition, discounts, and connection. You can celebrate daily achievements and team successes while highlighting the performance that drives the company closer to its business goals.
Here are a few things we love about Reward Gateway:
Capterra Rating: 4.9 (22 reviews)
Goody is an all-in-one gifting platform that lets managers show their appreciation through unique gifts, sent straight from door-to-door. In addition to being simple for gift givers to use, gift recipients also get a custom experience including virtual unwrapping and status updates.
Here are some additional features users love about Goody:
Sometimes employee engagement software isn’t enough. If you want to take your employee engagement strategy to the next level, we’re here to help. These employee engagement tactics can help workers feel more connected, motivated, and satisfied with their jobs. Let’s dive in.
Having a company-wide meeting to start or end the week can be a great opportunity for everyone to get together and share useful feedback. For example, employees can share what’s going well or what they need some extra help with. This will create a culture of open communication and keep employees engaged if they're struggling with obstacles in their work.
Employee engagement software is a great way to encourage employees to give each other kudos. However, instilling this practice at team meetings can be even more effective. During an all-hands meeting or team call, ask individuals if they have any “shoutouts.” Employees can go around and publicly thank or congratulate each other for great work.
If you’re back in the office, this can be a great engagement tactic. Switching desks for a day can be a welcome change for employees who are feeling bored. It can also strengthen bonds between team members who are usually on opposite sides of the office.
If your organization is remote or hybrid, you can still switch things up. One day a week, assign random "coffee chats" so that people spend 30-minutes talking with someone they don't currently interact with. Both versions of this tactic can create new opportunities for collaboration between colleagues, which is always a good thing for an organization.
Introducing the right employee engagement tool can be a powerful and effective way to ensure your team’s success. They’ll keep workers engaged, happy, and thriving. These tools will also help HR teams and leadership see problems as they arise instead of addressing them too late.
The most important thing? Prioritize picking your favorite employee engagement tool and rolling it out to your team. You’ll be amazed by all the benefits you’ll see — and trust us, your employees will thank you.