Top 10 Employee Engagement Software Systems for 2020

Employee engagement is in vogue among HR this year - and for good reason. According to Gallup research, only 15% of employees worldwide feel engaged at work. The right employee engagement software can fix this.

Why is employee engagement so important? Engaged employees don't just turn up for the pay cheque. They feel a sense of purpose about their work, and are committed in the long-term for the company they work for.

Employee engagement is a multi-faceted area that takes in the combined efforts of employee satisfaction, employee experience and internal communications. Engagement is crucial to sustainable company cultures.

Benefits of improved employee engagement

• Reduce employee turnover
• Boost creativity and innovation
• Better communication and employee relations
• Better outcomes
• Lower absenteeism
• Improved employee wellbeing

Companies are beginning to see the benefits of software that specializes in boosting employee engagement. There is plenty of choice on the market. This blogpost will offer our view of the market leaders – those with the expertise and technology to improve engagement.

1. Peakon Engage

Peakon Engage specializes in employee engagement. They have a strong employee experience emphasis, and are one of the best offerings in the employee engagement space.

Its emphasis on EX sets it apart from competitors. Its software covers key drivers of employee engagement : the role of managers and Learning and Development. It provides micro-courses for people leaders and suggested actions to empower managers to improve engagement.

Peakon Engage’s dashboard is personalized for each employee, providing individual insights. Managers can be notified of ‘hotspots’ and areas for improvement in employee engagement, so that they can be proactive day-to-day in this area.

Peakon Engage Key Features

• Can translate surveys into multiple languages

• Intelligent Listening technology for ‘two-way conversations’

• Automates feedback process

• Personalized engagement dashboards

• Learning and Development micro-courses for managers

• Links EE to business KPIs to reveal problem areas

• Integration options

• Modern and easy to use system

• Natural language processing

2. Willis Towers Watson

Willis Towers Watson Employee Engagement Software brings together organizational psychology and innovative technology.

They have an extensive library of survey questions which showcase their expertise. Their software benchmarks your company against over 400 industry, performance or national norms.

They even use predictive analytics so people leaders can make projections about future performance.

Natural Language Processing software allows you to pinpoint underlying themes in survey responses.

Willis Towers Watson provides one of the more advanced forms of employee engagement software in this space. HR teams should weigh up the pros and cons of a more complex, yet more innovative, software system.

Willis Towers Watson Key Features

• Library of survey questions

• Predictive algorithm

• Natural Language Processing

• Benchmark company against industry or national norms

• Manager suggested actions

• Mobile-first surveys for ease of use

• Automated advice for survey users based on their responses

3. Waggl

Waggl is an employee voice platform that provides short pulse surveys for engagement insights. It uses Pairwise voting to allow employees to provide solutions to the issues that effect them. It automates data analysis for people leaders.

Waggl Key features

• Mobile optimized

• Easy to understand visual data analytics

• Team involvement in action planning

• Question sets for surveys

• Employees can vote on which of their peer’s answers they most agree with - collaborative

Waggl’s uniqueness lies in its ability to deliver action better than any other tool on the market by crowdsourcing information from employees. People know their work matters in shaping the future. This is the heart of Engagement 4.0. - Josh Bersin, HR Tech Global Analyst

4. Kazoo

Kazoo is an employee experience platform. It aims to improve employee engagement through recognition, feedback and goal alignment.

Kazoo rewards employees with incentives. Employee recognition is known to boost engagement, so this feature is a great addition.

The platform is great for goal setting and OKRs. Kazoo initiates updates for goal progress. Employees can request feedback via the platform, facilitating a culture of open communication. It’s 'Start, Stop, Continue feedback' feature is also a creative method for impactful feedback.

It’s an easy-to-use software that can add value by improving communication. It’s not as customizable as other employee engagement solutions, however.

Kazoo Product features

• Start, Stop, Continue feedback form

• Sync-Up, to facilitate one-on-ones

• Peer-to-peer Recognition forms

• Incentive/Voucher forms

• Rewards engine

5. Reward Gateway

Reward Gateway prioritizes recognition for employee engagement. Their product has been used by 5 million employees globally since its launch in 2006.

It generates employee benefits and discounts. Reward Gateway’s Employee Engagement Analytics feature assists HR in tracking how employees engage with their programs- through page views and daily logins.

Their employee benefits program brings benefits together in one customized hub. Reward Gateway's recognition scheme creates a fun way to inspire a culture of appreciation and recognition.

These dashboards provide visibility into employee engagement that we’ve never had before. It’s like seeing our culture in action. Going forward this data will help us identify where we can target specific programmes to improve employee engagement. - Ben Waterfield, Reward Manager at Dunelm

6. Kudos

Kudos is all about inspiring positive mindsets. It’s an employee recognition, feedback and company communication platform.

The software provides an upbeat way to create peer-to-peer recognition. For remote workers, recognition can be a video or written message. It also allows managers to create custom awards to recognize individual and team achievements. This includes a printable certificate- a great way to boost morale!

Kudos’ feedback platform helps managers and leaders adopt coaching management styles. Everyone on the platform is connected, so anyone can give feedback to a peer or manager at any time.

The platform is fun and easy-to-use, and likely to be a popular addition among employees!

Kudos Key Features

• Analytics

• Easy to manage Rewards

• Feedback in real-time

• Mobile/tablet friendly

• Great form of internal social media

• Recognition program

‘I recommend Kudos to all organizations as it is instant, on the go and a fun platform that is very much transparent’ Lunwabo Budaza, MTN, Recognition Specialist

7. Typeform

Typeform has a unique approach to surveys. It creates 'people-friendly forms' that aim for the highest possible response rate with appealing, fun surveys.

You can create forms easily, simply by typing! You can add images and different fonts for a creative, easy survey process.

It also integrates with MailChimp for quick follow-ups.

Typeform Key Features

• easy-to-use survey maker
• customizable survey design - for all occassions
• integrates with Canva, Mail Chimp, Hubspot and others
• analytics and reporting
• one-to-one conversations at scale VideoAsk software

Typeform helps me attract more responses and a higher response rate than I could with other tools. - Rand Fishkin, The Wizard of Moz

8. Culture Amp

Culture Amp's Employee retention solution can boost employee engagement. Its algorithm highlights problem areas and suggested actions.

Culture Amp's continuous feedback solution creates a culture of recognition and open communication that helps employees engage fully.

Culture Amp Key Features

• continuous feedback
• avoid bias with fair evaluations
• predictive algorithms for retention
• engagement scores to benchmark employee engagement
• clear reporting
• 360 reviews
• pulse surveys

I love the fact that the tool enables me to keep what we want to benchmark over time and pulls things in and out that I’m using across a range of people culture activities. - Dr. Amanda Green, General Manager of People, Culture & Performance, Richmond Football Club

9. Motivosity

Motivosity’s platform allows you to build community immediately. Their four products are named Connect, Recognize, Lead, and Listen: key aspects of great communication and engagement.

The Connect product provides an innovative solution to remote work isolation. Employees can take personality tests – a fun way to connect. Their simple recognition process means that no achievement will go unacknowledged.

The Lead product is a tool for managers and leaders. It helps them incorporate continuous feedback and one-on-ones into their schedules. The Listen feature is perhaps the most original of the products- their eNPS reports provide invaluable insights into employee sentiments.

Motivosity Key Features

• Fun and easy to use interface

• eNPS reports

• Pulse surveys

• Turnover data

• Scheduled reports

• Priorities setting for one-on-ones

• Appreciation page for achievements

• Recognition through Rewards and Bonuses

• Awards and Badges

I liked taking the quiz to see what kind of employee I am and who is like me within the company. I think it helped show us a better way to communicate with one another and see which employees are engaged. - LaDonna Zarrelli, Healogics

10. Betterworks Engage

Betterworks Engage emphasizes the need for continuous listening for employee engagement. It combines surveys and polls and employee voice in social channels to create real organizational change.

Their algorithms unpack key survey themes, helping HR to quickly respond to employee concerns.

Betterworks Engage's reporting also works well - enabling people leaders to create evidence-based action plans.

Betterworks Engage key features

• Analytics that visualize data
• Language analytics in surveys/ two-way channels
• Polls
• Surveys
• Action plans with advice for leaders

Ensuring that we keep our global team engaged while listening to them in real-time was always a challenge. Betterworks Engage has helped us change this from a challenge to a strength. - Phillip Vincent, Head of HR, Third Bridge

Looking for the right employee engagement software?

All of these products are stepping stones to employee engagement success.

PeopleGoal can help motivate teams through great communication, feedback and recognition. Our survey templates are an easy way to track employee engagement. To find out more, why not book a demo today?