Please note that the options presented in this blog are based on market research and are not intended as endorsements or recommendations.
Since 2020,
employee engagement rates have declined as more Americans express discontent with their roles and work environments. Left unaddressed, these feelings can threaten morale, reduce productivity, and
increase turnover. For organizations striving to build high-performing teams, fostering collaboration and commitment has never been more critical.
Fortunately, digital tools can help leaders understand what’s impacting engagement and create a more engaging employee experience. This guide explains what employee engagement software is and highlights tools that help employers drive commitment, connection, and performance across teams. They were selected because they’re widely used and consistently applauded by businesses and industry experts.
Employee engagement tools help employers understand how teams feel about their work and provide resources that can increase motivation and satisfaction. Companies that integrate employee engagement software gain valuable insights and establish communication channels for recognition and feedback.
Some tools offer a comprehensive suite in one platform, whereas others target a specific element of the employee experience. Regardless of their focus, they all share the same goals: increasing morale and aligning individual performance with broader business objectives.
Digital employee engagement tools can help support the following benefits for employers:
Enhanced productivity. When employees feel engaged, they may be more motivated and efficient, which can contribute to improved performance and output.
Stronger retention. These tools can reinforce company culture and facilitate stronger employee connections, which may help reduce turnover and hiring costs over time.
These tools can reinforce company culture and facilitate stronger employee connections, which may help reduce turnover and hiring costs over time.
Improved communication. Many platforms streamline internal communication, helping to enable better alignment and more timely feedback across teams.
Data-driven insights. Employers may gain access to real-time engagement metrics, supporting more informed decisions and targeted improvement efforts.
Growing awareness of low employee engagement rates has contributed to the rise of new tools. These applications may assist with various HR functions, and many integrate with companies’ existing tech stacks. Here are a few noteworthy solutions.
Motivosity
Motivosity’s employee engagement platform helps build a culture of appreciation through employee rewards and peer-to-peer recognition. One of Motivosity’s signature features is its social-media-like interface that encourages regular public recognition among colleagues. Plus, HR teams can easily monitor morale and identify areas for improvement using the tool’s analytics dashboard.
Reward Gateway
Reward Gateway supports manager-led and peer-to-peer recognition in one unified suite through four key approaches: rewards, well-being, discounts, and communications. One of the tool’s strengths is its customizable and centralized SmartHub, which includes easy access to recognition messages, rewards and benefits catalogs, and company updates. Businesses using Reward Gateway can also analyze current engagement levels via internal surveys and directly communicate with team members.
Workday
Workday has become a leading enterprise cloud platform known for its robust human capital management (HCM) capabilities, which include employee engagement tools. Alongside other business functions, Workday offers features to improve the employee experience, such as continuous feedback, goal tracking, and personalized learning paths. The intuitive interface and AI-powered analytics through Workday give leaders valuable real-time insights into employee sentiment and performance.
SurveyMonkey
SurveyMonkey is one of the most enduring and widely used online survey platforms. It isn’t exclusively an employee engagement tool, but it’s valuable for helping HR teams measure employee satisfaction and engagement trends over time.
Beyond engagement surveys, companies using SurveyMonkey can access numerous survey templates that track everything from event feedback to 360-degree employee evaluations. SurveyMonkey’s established history, ease of integration, and customizability make it one of the leading choices for collecting survey data.
Workvivo
Now a part of Zoom’s video chat platform, Workvivo describes itself as an Employee Experience Platform (EXP) that blends social media with internal communications to keep employees informed and engaged. This mobile-friendly application offers multiple features, each tailored to one of four pillars: communication, engagement, digital workplace, and analytics. Workvivo’s services include collaborative community spaces, badges, and competition analytics, as well as seamless integrations with dozens of other work-friendly tools like Slack and Zoom.
Bonusly
Bonusly’s employee engagement platform uses a points-based system to share real-time recognition. The company-wide feed publicly celebrates accomplishments across departments, and customizable employee rewards — like gift cards and company swag — offer incentives for positive behavior. Bonusly also encourages team communication and collaboration through automated milestones, nominations, and announcements.
Culture Amp
Culture Amp initially focused on employee surveys, but it has evolved into an all-in-one solution with multiple tools for performance management and employee engagement. The software distinguishes itself from other survey tools by utilizing a peer-reviewed “People Science” methodology to craft impactful engagement surveys. Culture Amp’s performance management suite supports goal tracking, one-on-one meetings, and skills coaching for constant conversation and ongoing development.
Betterworks
Betterworks started as a tool to track objectives and key results (OKRs) but now positions itself as a comprehensive employee performance enablement platform. In addition to its signature enterprise OKR-setting feature, Betterworks provides a secure and anonymous portal for team members to collect and review survey data. Structured check-ins, one-on-ones, and AI-powered HR analytics help team leaders take the most effective actions to engage employees.
Officevibe
Now part of Workleap, Officevibe focuses on simplifying employee engagement through continuous feedback and recognition. To help create a culture of appreciation, Officevibe users can send customizable “Good Vibes” cards to commemorate accomplishments and highlight
core company values. HR and team leaders can easily export data from these Good Vibes trends — as well as onboarding surveys, periodic surveys, and pulse surveys — to glean insights and address issues as they arise.
QuizBreaker
QuizBreaker helps remote and hybrid teams foster engagement with asynchronous activities — trivia, games, and icebreaker questions — that encourage employees to connect. Team members can also write detailed reports on their work style to help employers and HR better understand their preferences and create the optimal work environment.
It can feel overwhelming to review the numerous employee engagement tools available. To streamline the decision-making process, research the features and reputation of potential engagement solutions, keeping a few core considerations in mind.
Ease-of-use and adoption. Prioritize platforms with an intuitive interface and useful integrations. Even if a tool has premium features, employees won’t adopt it if it’s difficult to use or time-consuming.
Align with employee needs and workflows. The tool should have features that address key concerns (e.g. employee communication gaps, lack of recognition, or limited feedback loops) to ensure engagement and long-term usage. Conduct internal surveys to identify current challenges and choose a tool that targets these areas of concern.
Look for robust analytics and insights. To develop effective, targeted improvement strategies, employers need meaningful data on engagement levels and workplace trends. The right tools should support robust feedback systems and deliver clear, actionable reporting.
Evaluate cost and return on investment (ROI). Consider the potential value in terms of improved morale, retention, and productivity, then compare it against solution costs. Monitor outcomes throughout the year to see if the tool provides measurable benefits that justify the investment.
What else can companies do to foster engagement?
Although technology plays a key role, software alone isn’t enough to drive engagement. Companies should adopt multiple strategies to create a supportive workplace culture where everyone feels valued and heard.
Encourage career growth and development. Employees who see opportunities for advancement are more likely to stay engaged and committed. Provide avenues for growth, including skill-building, mentorship, and internal mobility, to help employees envision a long-term future with the company.
Foster open communication and trust. Creating a safe space for honest dialogue is essential for a healthy workplace culture. Implement feedback systems that encourage transparency, strengthen team trust, and enable leaders to make more informed, responsive decisions.
Offer competitive compensation and benefits. Employees are more likely to engage at the workplace when they feel valued and supported. Routinely review
cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) policies and performance-based incentives to ensure competitive compensation. In addition, robust benefits like financial wellness tools and comprehensive healthcare help them handle unexpected issues.
Prioritize employee well-being. Support health and well-being through employee wellness programs with services like mental health support, wellness reimbursements, and financial education. Innovative tools like EarnIn help employees achieve greater financial flexibility, limiting stress so they can focus at work.
Support employee engagement with EarnIn
Employee engagement technology offers many ways to improve morale and productivity, but it’s most effective when used alongside larger engagement initiatives. Employers can show their commitment to supporting their team by implementing programs that tackle common sources of anxiety. For example, personal finances are often a root cause of stress and disengagement that prevents employees from focusing at work.
That’s why EarnIn offers a suite of financial wellness benefits that help encourage financial flexibility and support employee engagement. Starting with
on-demand pay, employees can access their
earned wages (up to $150 per day, with a max of $750 per pay period)
to cover everyday expenses like gas and groceries and unexpected costs and get paid the same day they work, starting at $3.99 per transfer.
Additional tools include
Credit Monitoring,
which lets employees track their credit score for free, and Balance Shield,
which helps protect them against overdrafts.
Best of all, EarnIn’s services are available with no integration and at no cost to employers. Learn how
EarnIn can help elevate your engagement strategy.
Please note, the material collected in this post is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be relied upon as or construed as advice regarding any specific circumstances. Nor is it an endorsement of any organization or services.
This Blog was sponsored by EarnIn. While the author received compensation, the information shared is grounded in independent research and intended to provide helpful and accurate guidance to readers.
EarnIn is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services are provided by our bank partners on certain products other than Cash Out.
A pay period is the time between your paychecks, such as weekly, biweekly, or monthly. EarnIn determines your daily and pay period limits (“Daily Max” and “Pay Period Max”) based on your income and financial risk factors as outlined in the Cash Out Maxes section of our Cash Out User Agreement. EarnIn reserves the right to adjust the Daily Max and Pay Period Max at its discretion. Your actual Daily Max will be displayed in your EarnIn account before each Cash Out. EarnIn does not charge interest on Cash Outs or mandatory fees for standard transfers, which usually take 1–2 business days. For faster transfers, you can choose the Lightning Speed option and pay a fee to receive funds within 30 minutes. Lightning Speed is not available in all states. Restrictions and terms apply; see the
Lightning Speed Fee Table and
Cash Out User Agreement for details and eligibility requirements. Tips are optional and do not affect the quality or availability of services.
Lightning Speed is an optional service that allows you to expedite the transfer of funds for a fee. Depending on the product, the fee may be charged by EarnIn or its banking partner. Lightning Speed is not available in all states. Restrictions and terms apply. See the
Lightning Speed Fee Table and
Cash Out User Agreement for details.
Calculated on the VantageScore® 3.0 model. Your VantageScore 3.0 from Experian® indicates your credit risk level and is not used by all lenders, so don’t be surprised if your lender uses a score that’s different from your VantageScore 3.0.
Learn more.
Balance Shield provides free alerts when your bank account balance drops below the threshold you set in your EarnIn account. You can also enable automatic transfers (up to $100/day -subject to your available earnings- with a limit of $750/pay period), if your bank account balance falls below your set threshold. You choose the speed of these automatic transfers. Standard speed is available at no cost and the transfer typically takes 1-2 business days. Lightning Speed is available for a fee [see LS Fee Table] and the transfer typically takes less than 30 minutes. You will also have the option to set a tip for automatic transfers. Tips are optional and can be $0; however, if you choose to set a tip, it will be applied to each automatic transfer. Whether you tip, how much, and how often you tip does not impact the quality and availability of services. You can cancel the alerts and/or transfers at any time in your EarnIn account settings. See the
Cash Out User Agreement for more details. While Balance Shield can help you avoid overdrafts, it does not guarantee protection from third-party fees, and its effectiveness depends on your usage and bank activity.
