The best tools and software for employee engagement

Employee engagement should be a priority for every organization. As we’ve explored throughout our ongoing engagement blog series, there are many ways to improve employee engagement. If you’re not already caught up, check out the previous posts in this series: 

• The role of employee engagement in a culture of learning
• Top ways to improve employee engagement in learning programs
• How to improve employee engagement in remote workplaces
• How to measure employee engagement 

However, the question remains: what are the best tools and software to improve employee engagement?

In this post, we’ll explore some of the best employee engagement tools and the software your business can use to increase engagement and have a more productive, efficient, and happy workforce.

For a deeper dive, check out our whitepaper, Employee engagement strategies to build successful L&D programs.

Types of employee engagement tools and software

From survey and communication tools to software that helps with project management and recognition, there are plenty of resources designed to boost engagement in your organization.

Below, we’ll analyze the best employee engagement software to help you get the most out of your workforce.

Best employee engagement survey tools

10 of the best employee engagement survey tools are:

1. Survey Monkey – Possibly the most well-known survey tool, it’s comprehensive and easy to use.
2. Trakstar – A great retention tool with a comprehensive employee survey feature.
3. Jotform – Mobile friendly, so great for hybrid or remote teams.
4. Lattice – Offers science-backed templates and real-time feedback.
5. ThriveSparrow – User-friendly with plenty of retention tools, including employee surveys.
6. Leapsome – Useful for linking employee development and retention, plus great survey features.
7. Deel – Perfect for medium and small businesses, as a free version is available for businesses with fewer than 200 employees.
8. Sogolytics – Comprehensive survey tool with useful analytics features.
9. Culture Amp – Simple to use and produces actionable insights.
10. Connecteam – Has a great range of features, including sending auto-reminders to employees who are yet to complete a survey.

Best employee engagement tools for project management

10 of the best employee engagement tools for project management are:

1. Asana – Allows for simplified workflow management and offers plenty of integrations.
2. Trello – Simple and stylish, using a unique sticky note interface.
3. ProofHub – Offers a ton of customization and is easy to navigate.
4. ClickUp – A place to centralize project management which is customizable and affordable.
5. Monday.com – Potentially the most well-known project management tool on this list, it ticks a lot of boxes a business of any size would need.
6. Wrike – Perfect for large organizations with plenty of functionality and features.
7. Podio – Super user-friendly with lots of integrations available.
8. Workzone – Everything is streamlined and has fantastic reporting capabilities.
9. Teamwork – A one-stop shop with plenty of customizations available.
10. MeisterTask – No-nonsense and integrates with other popular tools such as Slack.

Best employee engagement tools for recognition

10 of the best employee engagement tools for recognition are:

1. Bonusly – Focus on peer-to-peer recognition with useful analytics.
2. Blueboard – Instead of monetary rewards, employees can choose rewards from categories related to health, fitness, wellbeing, travel, and more.
3. Kudos – A great all-around recognition tool with fantastic analytics features.
4. Awardco – Affordable and easy to use, it offers an offline reward option too.
5. Assembly – Offers business-wide recognition and can automate special occasions like anniversaries and birthdays.
6. Fond – Provides a large selection of rewards to help businesses build a culture of recognition.
7. WorkTango – Use the platform to set goals and automatically reward employees when goals are achieved.
8. Nectar – Great for peer-to-peer and manager-to-peer recognition and integrates with other popular software like Slack and Microsoft Teams.
9. Motivosity – Provides a huge range of customizable reward options.
10. Reward Gateway – Offers plenty of customization and integrates with Amazon Business, which ensures a wide range of rewards.

Best employee engagement tools for communication

10 of the best employee engagement tools for communication are:

1. Slack – An extremely popular tool that provides one-to-one and channel-based communication as well as video and voice calls.
2. Zoom – Simple and reliable video conferencing.
3. Microsoft Teams – Offers video chat, file sharing, and instant messaging.
4. Tettra – A great knowledge-sharing platform with an AI feature that can help you find answers quickly.
5. Twist – Provides a balance between effective communication and fewer distractions.
6. Notion – Lots of functionality to allow for collaborative working.
7. SharePoint – Fantastic for working collaboratively, especially in remote or hybrid work environments.
8. Confluence – Useful for collaboration and knowledge sharing.
9. Guru – Makes collaboration and accountability simple, plus it can integrate with tools like Microsoft Teams and Slack.
10. StackOverflow – Offers a lot of functionality to make knowledge sharing and brainstorming simple.

How to choose the right employee engagement tool for your business

With more and more businesses offering employees greater flexibility, including hybrid and remote working, knowing which engagement tools are right for you can be challenging. 

The first thing you need to do is assess the areas where your employees are disengaged. To do this, you can send employees surveys and analyze data, such as by pulling a report if your business uses a learning management system. This should tell you whether tools could help increase engagement. For example, if employees say they don’t feel recognized for their achievements, you know one tool to consider would relate to recognition.

Next, outline the specific features you need from a tool. It’s vital to get input from employees and stakeholders, so you know your entire workforce will benefit from the implementation.

When browsing for tools, ensure you schedule product demos. During these, make sure you get answers to all your key questions, including those related to:

• User-friendliness
• Compatibility and integrations
• Scalability
• Features and functionality
• Customization
• Mobile accessibility
• Security and data privacy
• Support and training
• Budget and costs

You should also utilize product trials, so you and your workforce can get hands-on with software and ensure it meets your needs. You may also gauge whether there has been an increase in engagement during that trial period.

For more information, read our blog post on why employee engagement is important for improving customer retention.

Final thoughts

Employee engagement is critical. It can be the difference between a top-performing business and one that struggles. When employees aren’t engaged, they won’t deliver their best work. When that happens, quality will slip, meaning deadlines get missed.

While employees are partially responsible for their engagement, so are managers and senior leaders. Leaders can help by providing the right tools so employees can collaborate, be productive, and – ultimately – engage.

Inspired to boost engagement? Download our whitepaper, Employee engagement strategies to build successful L&D programs, to get started! Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.