11 Best Employee Engagement Platforms [Ranked & Rated]

When looking for your next employee engagement platform you’ll be hit with a lot of choices and many platforms – each with its own pros and cons.

To help cut through the noise and decide which is best for you we’ve done a deep dive on each platform introducing the most important features and distinguishing factors.

But before we get into the details here’s an overview of the best employee engagement platforms on the market right now.

See something you like the sound of?

Now it’s time to break down exactly where each platform excels and see if we can find the right match for you.

1. Workvivo - The overall best employee engagement platform

Key features

• News feeds: To keep every employee up to date with happenings in your business
• Digital hub: Brings peers together in a social media-like environment
• Extensive analytics: Report on usage adoption and employee feedback
• Employee recognition: Peer and manager-level gratitude for a job well done
• Live streaming: For company all-hands in remote and hybrid environments

Why companies choose Workvivo

Workvivo puts what employees genuinely need at the heart of its solution. At least that’s what financial services company AIB Group said following its onboarding of over 10000 employees.

Its new employee engagement platform Workvivo has seen over 190000 likes since launching in June 2021 averaging at over 180 likes a day.

It’s not just the social aspect teams love about Workvivo either.

Workvivo stood out as its mobile and desktop features could enable us to provide real-time relevant information that could reach the right employees at the right time with the added option of a live broadcast functionality.

Roísín Byrne Employee Communications Manager at AIB

There’s also the focus on digital change. Kindred a European gambling company now has 98% of its employees signed up to Workvivo enabling a more connected hybrid workforce.

Rather than waiting for team members to attend site, users can collaborate and catch up with colleagues managers and staff in other locations through their new employee engagement platform.

They now lean on video content rather than saving project updates for in-person meetings. The CEO’s posts have reached 100,000 impressions alone!

Pros

• Simple intuitive interface: Users love that they can just start using the app. Users score Workvivo a mega 4.8 out of 5 on G2
• Employee-first: Features are built with real people in mind. What you genuinely need is what you’re given access to be it at your desk or on your mobile
• Packed with innovation: Boasts unique features like digital signage and podcast creation
• Acquired by Zoom: In 2023, Zoom purchased Workvivo with the goal of putting people at the heart of work

Cons

• Potential for feature overload: If you’re looking for a basic social or survey platform Workvivo’s wealth of functionality may be a step too far
• Unfair comparison: Users may love the platform so much they question why the rest of their workplace apps aren’t this easy to use

Pricing

Pricing depends on how many licenses you need and your organization’s specific needs.

The Business plan is suitable for 250 to 2000 employees and typically starts at $20000. For enterprises with over 2000 staff we’ll work together to build the most cost-effective solution for you.

Want to delight employees and boost engagement? Check out the Workvivo pricing.

2. Officevibe - Best for team management and employee feedback

Officevibe offers tools designed to improve employee engagement levels and gather feedback in real time. It’s trusted by 8000 businesses worldwide including WeTransfer Trivago OneSignal and Dyson.

The platform operates a two-way transparency system where all meeting notes agendas and action items are accessible to managers and team members to review their performance and follow up on progress.

Key features

• Pulse surveys: Open-ended questions to provide insights into employee sentiment in the workplace. These surveys are anonymous so employees feel safe sharing their opinions
• Other survey types: Onboarding surveys custom employee surveys and DEIB surveys
• One-on-one meeting tools: Templates to help you set the stage for a conversation between managers and employees—for example talking points or meeting agendas

Pros

• Easy integration: Integrates with tools like Slack Microsoft Teams Office 365 Google Workspace and a growing list of human resources information system (HRIS) tools including BambooHR Breathe HR Cloud and AlexisHR
• Subscription management: Turn on/off users or upgrade/downgrade plans via the help center
• Onboarding library: Publicly accessible instructions and tutorials for getting set up

Cons

• Limited customization: Officevibe pulls surveys from a bank of 122 questions restricting managers from customizing to fit their specific needs
• Poor reporting capabilities: Some users mention wanting more in-depth reporting and analysis capabilities
• No advanced features with the lower pricing plans: You get what you’re given

Pricing

Officevibe offers a free trial with access to basic features. Premium plans start at $5 per user per month.

3. Trakstar - Best for employee performance management

Trakstar is a purpose-built performance management platform that helps organizations align goals and survey employee engagement levels with increasing performance employee retention and accountability.

The platform offers a suite of employee engagement tools that help managers understand areas where certain employees are excelling and failing so they can take necessary actions.

You also get beautifully designed reports that include employee response rates engagement scores comments and trends that make it easy to tie employee engagement to performance.

Key features

• Real-time 360-degree feedback: Allows peers subordinates and managers to provide comprehensive feedback eliminating bias
• Reporting and analytics: Lets you view real-time dashboards and segment groups and time periods based on your needs
• Online goal setting: Managers and employees can view and track monthly and annual goals in a dedicated portal

Pros

• Multiple third-party integrations: Integrates with tools like Google Workspace Okta Shopify Slack Microsoft Teams Zoom BambooHR SFTP Namely and Ramco
• Easy to create training courses: Adds coaching element to goal setting so users can work on skill sets and tasks
• Acquired by Miratech: In 2023 Trakstar received the backing of a global IT services and consulting company

Cons

• Poor user interface and onboarding process: Getting into Trakstar’s system can confuse new users and the training videos offer little to no help
• Lack of detailed reporting: Users crave more granular and usable data
• You can’t attach large files to emails: A big issue for HR professionals who send out many files daily

Pricing

Trakstar suggests its the best value on the market. Yet it doesn’t publish any fees on its website. You must reach out to Trakstar for customized pricing.

4. Empuls - Best for holistic employee engagement

Empuls is a social interaction solution that enhances different types of employee engagements from communication and collaboration to recognition and rewards.

It stands as an all-rounder serving everyone in the workplace including staff leaders and HR— all to create a people-first culture.

Key features

• Social intranet: A place where your employees can communicate with everyone and access crucial news events updates and events
• Goal-based recognition: Reward engaged employees who meet and exceed goals with gift cards or points that don’t expire
• Real-time actionable insights: Lets you assess employees sentiment using eNPS and employee engagement surveys. You also get detailed insights into cross-linkages between engagement performance and culture

Pros

• Easy access: Employees can take part in conversations and surveys across their mobile and desktop devices
• Responsive customer support: Empuls resolves 9 out of 10 support tickets within 24 hours
• Automatic encouragement: An AI-powered engagement bot actively interacts with employees to encourage participation

Cons

• Poor mobile app: Users repeatedly report issues
• Sudden removal of key features: Bonus points and gift cards got removed but are back (for now)
• Challenging onboarding: A not-so-straightforward interface leads to adoption delays

Pricing

Empuls offers four plans and is calculated based on your organization’s number of active users.

• Reward and recognize: $3 per employee/month billed annually
• Surveys: $3 per employee/month billed annually
• Social intranet: $1 per employee/month billed annually
• Perks and benefits: $2 per employee/month billed annually
• Employee gifting: 5% fees on employee rewards issued

5. WorkTango - Best for employee voice and people analytics

WorkTango is an engagement platform that combines employee recognition rewards surveys insights goals and feedback into a single system.

With 1000+ global teams WorkTango’s platform utilizes peer-to-peer bottom-up and top-down recognition that earns employees redeemable points and tokens based on their contribution to the company. You can exchange these points for tickets gift cards and charitable donations.

WorkTango protects your data using NIST and SOC 2. It also complies with all data protection laws ensuring that all employee communication on the platform remains encrypted.

Key features

• Unlimited surveys: Choose from pulse eNPS feedback or create your own
• Employee recognition and rewards: With zero markup on purchases
• Budgeting and compliance tools: With HRIS integration

Pros

• Accurate insights on employee lifecycle: Customizable survey templates for onboarding off-boarding DE&I engagement and employee development
• Automated survey insights: Helps with action planning and developing an engagement strategy that addresses areas of concern with minimal effort
• Various goal-setting options: Use OKR SMART FAST to create goals and add measurable results. Then view goals by status and favorites to get the complete picture

Cons

• Rigid reporting: Lacks customization and some are hard to digest
• Poor points redeeming process: Challenging to execute and lacks reward options
• Poor mobile app: Users repeatedly report bugs and issues

Pricing

WorkTango has three plans:

• Employee survey and insights
• Recognition and rewards
• Full employee engagement program

But you must request a quote from its sales team for an idea on costs.

6. Motivosity - Best for peer-to-peer employee recognition and rewards

Motivosity is a platform designed to encourage employee-to-employee connection appreciation interaction and recognition in an organization.

Motivosity breaks down its approach to employee engagement into four distinctive pillars:

• Community & connection: A tight-knit community that encourages connections in and away from the workplace
• Manager development: Helping managers create good habits so they’re adding to the employee experience
• Recognition & rewards: Making it easy to say thank you to fellow employees
• Employee insights: To help visualize important people metrics executive leaders want to see

Key features

• Leaderboards: Publicly viewable dashboards of how employees are performing and engaging
• eNPS scoring: Internal feedback and measurement systems to gauge employee happiness
• Award systems: Ability to recognize peers for outstanding work

Pros

• Unpretentious peer recognition: Lets employees appreciate and reward each other for their performance at work. Managers and teammates can celebrate day-to-day wins in real time
• Flexible reward system: Employees can give or receive monetary rewards that can be redeemed for gift cards tickets or converted to cash
• Customizable engagement surveys: Help you gauge the overall sentiment among employees in the organization

Cons

• What you post is final: You can’t edit your social posts once you publish
• Poor Slack integration: Users report it’s a hindrance more than a help
• Mobile app lacks features: Motivosity is yet to reach feature parity between desktop and mobile

Pricing

Motivosity has four plans based on its features.

• Community & connection: $2 per employee/month
• Recognition and rewards: $2 per employee/month
• Manager development: $2 per employee/month
• Employee insights: $2 per employee/month

7. PerformYard - Best for employee engagement tracking

PerformYard offers a suite of tools for employee engagement designed to simplify the conducting of performance reviews and goal setting.

The platform offers features like rankings performance trends satisfaction factor analysis and collaborative goal-setting to keep employees motivated and engaged.

PerformYard also makes it easy to customize the platform to suit your needs including semi-annual reviews 360 peer reviews competency reviews quarterly conversations and goal check-ins.

Key features

• Project-based reviews: Staff check-ins per project completed
• Employee appraisals: Two-way reviews of how the job/year/project is going
• Continuous feedback: Asynchronous loops so HR teams don’t have to wait until year end for staff to learn how they’re performing and where they can improve

Pros

• Simple goal setting and tracking: Managers and employees can easily set track and align individual goals with team and organizational objectives
• Less reliance on milestone feedback: Managers and peers can give real-time meaningful feedback insights and opinions
• Integration with HRIS tools: Gusto BambooHR ADP UKG Workday Paylocity and SFTP

Cons

• Unavoidable repetition: Preset questions appear multiple times for multiple employees
• Lack of automation: Users report lots of manual searching for important information
• Clunky user interface: Many users complain of having to go through multiple steps just to locate a function they need

Pricing

PerformYard has two core packages:

• Employee engagement: $1-3 per employee/month
• Performance management: $5-10 per employee/month

8. Culture Amp - Best for building workplace culture

Culture Amp is an all-in-one platform that delivers insightful analytics and actions for improving employee engagement performance and retention.

One of the core functions of Culture Amp is helping employees teams and companies create a culture of clear accountability and transparency.

The platform is highly customizable and boasts impressive features to align and empower your workforce.

Key features

• Industry benchmarking: Helps you build a better work culture by allowing you to compare your survey results with others in your industry and region
• Continuous feedback tool: Allowing for real-time two-way feedback between managers and employees
• Predictive workforce analytics: Uses deep data and generative AI to help make critical decisions

Pros

• Survey flexibility: Enables highly customizable engagement onboarding and exit surveys helping you to track the employee experience from start to finish
• In-depth analytics: Provides actionable findings through heatmaps trends correlation analysis and impact analysis that allows you to focus on the areas that will most impact engagement and employee retention
• Performance management: Allows for continuous feedback goal setting and performance tracking. This holistic approach aids in aligning individual performance with company objectives

Cons

• Complexity: Due to its wide array of features some users have complained of the platform being overwhelming
• High price point: Given its comprehensive feature set Culture Amp is on the higher end of the price scale which may not be suitable for smaller businesses or those with limited budgets
• Limited integration: Users report certain HRIS integration is not as smooth or comprehensive as others

Pricing

Culture Amp offers three pricing tiers:

• Engage
• Perform
• Develop

But you must contact its sales team to tailor your quote based on the number of users and which services you need.

9. Nectar - Best for cultivating a positive company culture

Nectar focuses on peer-to-peer recognition and rewards to cultivate a positive company culture.

The platform uses a framework built on six pillars called ‘C-R-E-A-T-E’ to help companies build a great culture.

• Connection
• Recognition
• Empathy
• Alignment
• Trust
• Elevation

Key features

• Extensive rewards catalog: Employees earn Nectar points that they can redeem for various rewards ranging from gift cards to customer experiences and products
• Automated milestones: Never miss an employee’s work anniversary promotion or birthday
• Social recognition: Shout-outs and personalized messages for colleagues who’ve gone the extra mile

Pros

• Peer recognition: Allows employees to recognize their colleagues’ hard work and achievements publicly
• User-friendly interface: Customers report quick onboarding and helpful guides
• Customizable rewards: Create your own packages for company swag and completion of goals

Cons

• Limited advanced features: Lacks many advanced features (like performance management or in-depth analytics) compared to other platforms
• Glitchy reward fulfillment: Some users report the reward fulfillment process can be somewhat slow although this may vary depending on the specific reward and location
• Limited reporting: Admins crave more detail on employee engagement levels and trends

Pricing

• Plus plan: $5 per employee/month billed annually
• Premium plan: $6 per employee/month billed annually
• Custom quotes available
• No markup on reward redemption

10. Bonusly - Best for employee recognition and rewards

Bonusly is a peer-to-peer recognition platform that employs a fun way to gamify employee engagement. Namely letting employees reward each other with points.

To achieve this Bonusly offers a feature for employees to express their appreciation for their peers instantly. Managers also benefit from Bonusly’s dashboard as its people analytics function makes it easy to identify trends.

When employees have enough points they can claim a reward from the catalog.

Key features

• Peer-to-peer recognition: Celebrate achievements and team wins
• Automated milestones: Configure once and never miss important dates
• Incentive programs: Customize behaviors that encourage camaraderie and productivity

Pros

• Rapid sign-in process: Bonusly integrates multiple SSO platforms like Google Okta One login Open ID and Office 365 to make it easy for employees to sign in quickly
• Detailed engagement analytics: Get complete insights into top employees participation metrics recognition breakdown organization graphs and top words used by employees
• Social media feel: Using hashtags likes posts and comments gives you the dopamine hit of a social media platform

Cons

• Poor user experience: Users report that Bonusly can be challenging to navigate especially for new hires — and the onboarding experience isn’t helpful
• Reward variety: There are questions around appropriateness for employees outside core locations like USA Canada and UK
• Changing pricing structure: Packages have changed on a regular basis recently

Pricing

• Appreciate: $2 per employee/month billed yearly
• Connect: $5 per employee/month billed yearly
• Achieve: $7 per employee/month billed yearly
• Face value redemption on rewards

11. Mo - Best for building workplace communities

Mo is a culture and employee engagement software that encourages employees to build a workplace community.

Some of its core features like Boosts create prompts and workflows that enable high-performing teams to share appreciation and wins. In addition Mo’s Assistant feature will ensure team leaders emulate the behaviors they want to see in their employees.

Key features

• Boosts: Automated prompts to encourage team activity
• Native integration: Embed Mo in Slack or Microsoft Teams
• Simplified tax reporting: Making rewards admin easy for global teams

Pros

• Moments: Social posts that help shape employee experience and engagement while showcasing your culture
• Multilingual support: Users can access Mo in 12 languages
• Mobile support: Mo is available on Android & iOS

Cons

• Limited integrations: Mo only supports Slack and Microsoft Teams
• Poor customer support: Only available weekdays from 9 AM to 5 PM GMT
• Questionable focus: Do employees need more GIFs and pet pictures in their work life?

Pricing

Mo comes with three different pricing tiers:

• Appreciate: $2.25 per user per month billed annually
• Engage: $4.50 per user per month billed annually
• Transform: Needs custom quote

Workvivo - The best employee engagement software

Sure there’s some stiff competition. If you’re after one specific element to boost your employee perks and recognition program a standalone app may help.

Take Bonusly. If your goal is to build a culture of picking each other up and rewarding good deeds the awarding of points between colleagues is a great idea. And some of the rewards in the catalog are great; Sephora Apple and Airbnb gift cards get our seal of approval.

But if you’re after a holistic employee engagement solution to improve the wider remit of employee engagement you need Workvivo.

You get the traditional features we’ve come to expect from employee engagement software like:

• News feeds
• Discussion forums
• Targeted announcements
• Analytics and performance measurement
• Social networking functionalities like popular social media platforms

But you also get employee-first features like:

• Pulse surveys
• Employee recognition tools
• Support for mobile devices to keep field and remote employees connected

What’s more, there’s a host of interactive features that make checking and using your employee engagement software a more enjoyable experience. After all if it’s hard or annoying to use adoption figures are going to plummet.

Want to boost employee engagement improve internal communication and build a strong company culture?

Employee engagement platform FAQs

What is an employee engagement platform?

An employee engagement platform is a centralized online space where staff and managers come together for the purpose of recognition motivation and productivity. It acts as a tool for feedback communication recognition learning and social interaction among employees in an organization.

Key features of employee engagement platforms

• Feedback and survey tools: Aid employees in sharing their opinions suggestions and concerns about their work experience. Employers use these to gather insights on employee satisfaction understand areas for improvement and make necessary changes.
• Recognition and rewards systems: Allows employees to get recognized for their work. Rewards range from points that can be exchanged for gifts or simply public communication within the organization.
• Communication tools: Integrated chat video conferencing email and social networking enables teams to host virtual meetings share files securely and create group or private chats.
• Well-being programs: Promotes a healthy mental and physical lifestyle among employees contributing to their overall well-being and job satisfaction. This can include wellness challenges virtual fitness challenges and meditation classes.
• Performance tracking and management: Helps employers gather data on various aspects of employee engagement and productivity and analyze the results to identify trends and potential areas of concern.

Benefits of an employee engagement platform

• Enhances employee engagement: Facilitate regular interactions between employees and management. This can be done through chat forums video meetings and team collaboration spaces. By facilitating these interactions employees can be active participants within their teams and the company not just recipients of company policies and decisions.
• Streamline internal communication: Features like instant messaging discussion forums and announcement boards help reduce email clutter ensuring more efficient communication.
• Facilitates peer recognition: Allows employees to appreciate and acknowledge their colleagues’ efforts. This could be as simple as a thumbs up or a more elaborate system of badges points or awards. Whatever the format the intent is the same — to make it simple and enjoyable for employees to show appreciation for each other’s efforts.
• Offers valuable insights: Advanced analytics and reporting tools provide data and trends that show your team’s engagement levels areas of improvement and overall performance.
• Encourages transparency and trust: By facilitating an open line of communication there’s a free flow of information. This enables a centralized place where management can share company updates and plans openly and involves employees in the decision-making process eliminating barriers between different hierarchies in the organization.
• Saves time and resources: Routine and mundane tasks get automated freeing up human resources for the things that matter the most.

How do employee engagement platforms work?

Employee engagement platforms create a centralized space where both staff and managers can collaborate.

Accessible via the internet but only by those with a company login users can send messages check notifications create engagement initiatives and check in on progress of projects employee evaluations and internal surveys.

Some employee engagement platforms integrate with other core collaboration platforms like Zoom Slack and Microsoft Teams.

Are employee engagement platforms important?

Yes employee engagement platforms are extremely important. If you plan to create a work environment where employees and managers get on have continuous feedback and an open line of communication the addition of an employee engagement platform is paramount.

Are employee engagement platforms suitable for remote teams?

Yes employee engagement platforms are suitable for remote teams. In fact some would argue that they are the most vital tool to have in your technology stack.

When staff don’t have the spontaneous in-person moments in hallways canteens and car parks it removes some of the emotion and camaraderie of being work colleagues. Having a central hub to come together becomes vital for employee morale in remote teams.

Can you integrate employee engagement software with other systems?

Yes the best employee engagement software comes with out-of-the-box integrations with line of business apps. For example Workvivo integrates with the following:

• Zoom
• Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft OneDrive
• OBS
• Wirecast
• ServiceNow
• Box
• Drupal
• Slack
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Weibo
• Microsoft Active Directory
• OneLogin
• Okta
• Ping
• Google G Suite