In reality, many organisations find it difficult to create the right kind of workplace culture that fosters engagement and motivation among employees. This is where employee engagement tools come in. These powerful tools can help organisations create a culture of engagement, drive productivity and innovation, and ultimately, create a more fulfilling work environment for employees.

Whether it's through communication and collaboration tools, recognition and rewards programs, or team-building activities, the best employee engagement tools can help your organisation unlock its full potential and thrive in today's competitive business environment.

Let’s explore some of the best employee engagement tools in 2023 that can potentially revolutionise the way organisations interact with their employees.

What is an employee engagement tool?

An employee engagement tool is used as a means to engage employees through a series of activities and tasks at the workplace to foster a positive work culture. These could be typically done through digital tools for employee engagement that include regular surveys, rewards and recognition programs, or health and wellness initiatives to ensure that employees stay happy and productive.

What are the types of employee engagement tools?

Employee engagement tools for communication

Effective communication and collaboration are the mainstays of any effective workforce especially if you have distributed or remote teams. Employee engagement tools designed for communications are specifically designed to help employees communicate more easily, share updates, collaborate on projects seamlessly and also help managers monitor and keep track of work timelines and provide support where necessary.

These tools can include from messaging apps like Slack or Microsoft Teams, to project management software like Trello or Asana and are a great way to improve employee morale and productivity.

Employee engagement tools for project management

While every employee or team may have their own ways to stay productive and organised, employee engagement tools for project management can be a great way to keep everyone on the same page and working towards a common goal. Tools include Trello, Asana, and Monday.com have great features that can help in task management, progress tracking, and team communication, all at the same place. With these tools, both employees and managers get a more clear picture of their project tasks, deadlines, progress or any potential gaps that need to be covered. This promotes more accountability and productivity and better outcomes for the project as a whole.

Employee engagement tools for recognition

Employee engagement tools for recognition are software or apps that are used to appreciate and reward employees for their hard work and achievements. Platforms like Bonusly or Kudos combine great features like work milestones, recognition updates and more that promote a positive work culture within the organisation. By celebrating successes, offering feedback, and recognizing the employee contributions. you can create an environment that fosters growth, development, and ultimately, success.

Employee engagement tools for feedback/survey

For employees to be positively engaged and productive, giving them regular or consistent feedback is essential. This is where employee engagement tools such as software or apps like Google Forms or SurveyMonkey or feedback platforms like Culture Amp or Qualtrics can be of great help.

Companies can use these tools to collect information and opinions on all kinds of employee-centric areas of the workplace and gather valuable insights about employee engagement levels, satisfaction, and areas for improvement. By making data-driven decisions at the right time, you can provide support and relevant resources to make sure your employees feel valued and heard. This in turn helps foster a spirit of unity, growth and development.

Employee engagement tools for team building

When you work in groups with different kinds of individuals towards a common goal, it’s important that everyone is aligned at the same level. This call for team bonding and engagement. Companies can make the best of employee engagement tools for team building to help their employees feel more connected as a team using such software or apps that include virtual team building activities and games like Kahoot and QuizBreaker or video conferencing platforms like Zoom or Microsoft Teams to connect remote workers as well. .

Such tools for employee engagement can go a long way in honing their skills in communication and collaboration, building trust and rapport, and ultimately higher levels of engagement and job satisfaction.

What are the benefits of using employee engagement tools

Increased productivity

One of the key benefits of employee engagement tools is that they can help to increase productivity in the workplace. When employees are motivated, they tend to engage more and take ownership of their work. They are also willing to push the bar and also inspire others around to go that extra mile. This helps improve productivity and the quality of work as well.

Lower risk of burnout

The timely use of employee engagement tools is a sure-fire way to prevent or lower the risk of burnout among employees. Tools for team building and recognition can help them take time-off when needed to rejuvenate and also celebrate milestones. Another instance is the use of project management tools so employees have access to resources that can help organise their workloads and reduce stress.

Better team performance

Employee engagement tools can have a positive impact on team performance. When employees are engaged, they are more likely to be invested in their work and committed to achieving the goals of their team and organisation. This can lead to better collaboration, communication, and productivity among team members. Engaged employees are also more likely to be motivated to learn and grow, which can lead to increased innovation and creativity within the team, leading to favourable results for the organisation.

Higher employee retention

Employee engagement tools can have a positive impact on employee retention. When employees are engaged, they are more likely to be satisfied with their work and committed to their organisation, which can reduce turnover rates and help to retain top talent.When employees are engaged, they are also more likely to have positive relationships with their colleagues and managers, which can further increase their commitment to the organisation and reduce the likelihood of turnover. By providing opportunities for feedback, recognition, and professional development, these tools can help to keep employees engaged and motivated, which can lead to higher retention rates.In addition, engaged employees are more likely to be advocates for their organisation, which can help to attract and retain other top talent.

15 Best Employee Engagement Tools For A Better Workplace Experience

1. Employee Engagement Tools For Team Building

1. Loumee

We might be biased but we think that Loumee stands out when it comes to employee engagement tools for team building with a unique combination of experiences and learning and development tools for team leaders and their teams. It offers a comprehensive suite of experiences and reflective tools to build a more connected and productive team. From virtual icebreakers to team-building challenges, Loumee provides everything you need to boost engagement, foster creativity, and inject a bit of fun into the workplace. If you like the idea of experiential learning and having ongoing rather than one-off team building interactions to improve your team’s engagement, Loumee is definitely worth considering.

The platform does an excellent job of plugging in learning and development tools with a range of online games to boost employee performance and engagement. The games are designed to be both entertaining and educational, helping teams to improve their problem-solving skills, communication, and teamwork, as well as foster a positive work culture and seed creativity.

Loumee is also unique in the team building space in that they offer self-managed and hosted experiences, as well as blended packages for organisations who would like to outsource the facilitation component of team engagement on an ongoing basis. Loumee has three price models that are Engage at $199 per year, Develop at $499 per year and Excel at $2499 per year.

2. Outback team building

Backed by testimonials from over a huge number of companies in North America, Outback Team Building is a company that specialises in providing unique and engaging team-building experiences for businesses of all sizes to build stronger relationships, improve communication, and have funs. We were impressed with the extensive range of activities they offer from outdoor adventures, such as wilderness survival and orienteering, to indoor challenges like escape rooms and cooking competitions.These activities can also be customised to suit the specific needs and goals of each team, ensuring that every experience is both relevant and impactful.

Outback Team Building also specialises in organising team-building events and activities that are designed to enhance teamwork, communication, and overall productivity in the workplace. Typically, when conducting team building, they organize in-person events that are fun and entertaining.

3. The Go game

The Go Game is a unique and engaging team-building experience that combines mobile technology, creativity, adventure and gamification to create a fun and memorable experience for participants. One of the most innovative aspects of The Go Game is their virtual platform, WEVE that we think has the perfect mix of features that can be used to host virtual events for any organisation looking to improve teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills.

Unlike other team-building companies that focus on using these events as a tool for ongoing employee engagement, GoGame's main focus is to create an environment that is fun and exciting. Their virtual games can be tailored to suit the specific needs and goals of each team, whether it's to improve communication, build trust, or just indulge in some much-needed rest and rejuvenation.

2. Employee Engagement Tools For Communication

4. Slack

Just as the core messaging goes, Slack wants you to be less busy and it does a great job of helping out in that. As one of the most popular and best employee engagement tools for team collaboration, we found it so easy to keep a track of notifications and updates through its centralised platform. You can create multiple channels and organise all your communication easily. Exchange messages, share files, and collaborate easily with remote and distributed team members on different projects across time zones.

For enhanced functionality, the platform has a wide range of integrations with other tools and apps including project management tools, CRM systems, and other apps that teams use on a daily basis. The platform provides three-tier pricing models per user per month, that include Standard Plan for $6.67, Plus Plan for $12.50 and $15.00 billed annually.

5. Zoom

With a 4.5/5 rating on G2 and voted as one of the top 50 Collaboration Products under Software, Zoom still delivers on all counts. This staple must-have has a unified platform for cloud video conferencing, group messaging and collaboration through features like Zoom Meetings, Zoom Team Chat, Zoom Phone and Zoom Whiteboard. While it is primarily known as a video conferencing tool, tools like Zoomshift that we tested, give managers capabilities to schedule team activities, training and engage them. Zoom Events is a great platform to host hybrid and virtual experiences as well.

Zoom’s flexible pricing model includes a free Basic plan, Pro, Business and Enterprise plans and the options to boost these plans with Zoom Plan Add-ons.

6. Teams

Another top-rated choice on our list of the best employee engagement tools is Microsoft Teams. a powerhouse platform that enables teams to communicate, collaborate, and work together remotely. It’s hard to choose one from their suite of communication features such as internal messaging, discussions, surveys and whiteboarding. What we found helpful is the Integration with Microsoft Outlook that automatically synchronises accepted workplace meeting invitations with Microsoft Teams for easy viewing

Its integration with Microsoft and third-party tools, including Office 365, OneDrive, SharePoint, and more helps to effectively automate and streamline workflows. Teams is a widely available tool that is free to use for most users, which can help make it accessible to small teams or teams with limited budgets. It also has a mobile app that allows users to stay connected and work on the go.

3. Employee Engagement Tools For Project Management

7. Proofhub

ProofHub brings together all the necessary project management tools you need at a single point so you can easily collaborate on a wide range of projects. We find it quick and easy to plan, ideate, organise documents, share files, streamline work processes and deliver projects of all types and sizes. What’s great is that you can customise this efficient management tool, set your own task schedules, due dates and monitor progress so everyone stays in the loop. Don’t miss the Kanban feature that lets you visualise your project step-by-step so teams have clarity of their workflows. To ensure deadlines are met and progress can be evaluated, the tool’s Gannt charts helps you set timelines so you can track their time spent on various tasks and projects.

Use its reporting and analytics features to gain insights into team performance, productivity, and project status and make the right data-driven decisions. To facilitate smooth work on the go, the tool also has a mobile app that allows remote workers and teams that travel frequently stay engaged and productive. This is one tool that’s a definite value for money buy for large-sized companies that need monitoring at individual levels.

The flat pricing for Ultimate Plan is $99 per month or annually at $89 billed per month. An Essential Plan is also available for a smaller cost at $50, per month, and annually at $45 billed per month. It also offers a free plan and a 14-day trial window, post which you can subscribe to any of its pay-as-you-go services.

8. Monday.com

Right on top of the G2’s Best Global Software Companies of 2023 is Monday.com, one of the most popular employee engagement tools. We were mighty impressed with its suite of features. It provides a visual and intuitive platform that allows teams to track and manage their work, while the project and portfolio management feature is a great resource for planning and implementing processes with notifications and integrations. My Work area gave us clear visibility of all tasks for the project and a range of customizable templates to create clear roadmaps.

Touted as an all-in-one virtual office based on Gartner ratings with its range of collaboration features, customization options, and automation capabilities, Monday.com is a popular choice for teams of all sizes and industries.

As for pricing individuals looking for their own project tracking can try it for free and we did, while the Basic plan will cost a total of $24 per month, their popular Standard is at $30 per month, Pro plan costs $48 per month and you can contact Sales for Enterprise plans.

9. Asana

Asana is a web-based project management tool that ensures you collaborate easily and spend less time tracking emails, scheduling meetings or keeping track of updates. They walk the talk as we experienced and help you take complete control of your projects with their comprehensive collaboration tool set right from file-sharing, work tracking and team communication.

We did not have to add project meeting updates and notifications twice to different calendars as the Asana calendar can be synced with Google, Outlook or Apple calendars. Their team-specific project management tools make it easy for cross collaboration so you can avoid bottlenecks. With templates that can be customised to suit your project goals or team needs, you can transition all your planning into actionable workflows that can be tracked and reported as well.

The employee engagement software can be integrated with a range of third-party tools, such as Google Drive, Slack, and Trello for enhanced functionality. Based on user objectives, Asana offers a free basic plan, Premium for US$ 13.49 billed monthly and Business for US$ 30.49 billed monthly.

4. Employee Engagement Tools For Recognition

10. Bonusly

Bonusly makes recognition and rewards a fun experience through its easy and intuitive platform that’s all about peer-to-peer recognition. The platform helps promote social recognition by allowing employees to publicly recognize and celebrate their colleagues' achievements. This helps to create a positive and collaborative work environment. We enjoyed viewing their extensive digital rewards catalogue that includes branded gift cards, cash, and charitable donations across a wide range of categories so employees have plenty to choose from.

An interactive dashboard lets you monitor team and individual performances, reward and awards shared and more to measure overall success besides a range of other analytical and reporting features. The tool integrates with popular names such as Slack, Teams, Zappier, and Office 365 to streamline existing workflows and recognition milestones. The tool offers two price tiers that include Core ar $2.70 per user per month if paid annually and; $3 per user per month if paid monthly while the Pro plan costs $4.50 per user per month if paid annually and $5 per user per month if paid monthly

11. Awardco

When it comes to creating personalised recognition programs, Awardco is one of the best employee engagement tools out there. The platform has an extensive rewards marketplace including gift cards, merchandise, and experiences that can be tailored to their employees' preferences. A notable mention on the platform are the interactive digital MemoryBooks that cover all important milestones for their service anniversary programs. For a more personalised experience, you can send over curated boxes or custom care packages for significant occasions such as training, appreciation days, and work anniversaries.

Awardco also plugs in employee incentives as a form of rewards and recognition through the Earns program that can be tailored based on goals and OKRs at the individual or team level. With a gamification angle to it that we loved, accrued Awardco points can be redeemed from Amazon Business platform to make purchases of different kinds. The employee engagement software is simple to use and integrates into popular communication tools such as Slack, or Teams for more visibility and automated updates. Their plans include one for $5 per user per month for a minimum of 500+ employees, which is $2.70 per employee/month if billed annually and another for $3 per employee/month if billed monthly.

12. Fond

Fond is another addition to our list of the best employee engagement tools due to its easy and simple point-based rewards program. The platform promotes peer-to-peer recognition and lets employees redeem collected points across a wide range of company perks and rewards that include charity donations, branded swag and gift cards. We especially loved scrolling through their global social feed where you can view, like and leave comments on posted recognitions in a bid to create a sense of community within the organisation.

You can use the programs to customise rewards based on goals or company values, service milestones, wellness milestones, spot bonuses and for awards. Their Rewards dashboard lets you evaluate the success of the program through measurable metrics. Fond has a wide range of integrations with HRIS systems such as Workday, Namely and social tools that include Gmail, Outlook, Salesforce, and Slack. The platform follows a fair pricing structure so you can reach out and request for a tailored quote based on the needs of your business.

5. Employee Engagement Tools For Feedback/Survey

13. Culture Amp

One of the key areas that makes Culture Amp stand out as one the top-rated employee engagement tools is its primary focus on employee feedback and data-driven insights. The platform provides a range of survey templates and design tools that can be customised to align with your company’s unique needs and goals. Organisations can collect and analyse employee feedback, which allows them to make informed decisions and take relevant steps when designing comprehensive employee engagement programs.

Culture Amp can be integrated with a range of third-party tools, such as Slack and Google Sheets, to provide employees with additional feature enhancements. The tool has three different packages including Engage, Perform and Develop with tailored services that start at $7 per person, $16 per person, and $6 per person on a monthly basis respectively. If you want the entire employee experience platform, prices start from $23 per person per month. They also offer custom pricing for Enterprise and you can reach out to their sales team.

14. Worktango

As one of the best cloud-based employee engagement survey platforms, Worktango runs on the premise of garnering employee feedback through surveys and real-time reporting to provide actionable insights. The platform provides a range of powerful survey tools to improve engagement, productivity, and retention. You can build specifically targeted surveys with its customizable survey builder and a range of survey templates.

The employee engagement platform provides users with real-time access to survey results, enabling them to quickly identify any gaps or patterns and trends. We found their heat maps and scatter plots were especially helpful in visually representing data and making it easy to interpret survey results for reporting. Their intuitive role-based dashboards offer real-time metrics for analysis. Another feature is the unique Sentiment cloud that lets you evaluate positive and negative user comments..

WorkTango can be integrated with ADP Workforce Now® and ADP TotalSource® to easily sync employee data along with other popular HRIS Human Resource Information System (HRIS) and Human Capital Management (HCM) systems. Pricing is on request.

15. TinyPulse

On our list is yet another topper among the best employee engagement survey tools for employee insights, TinyPulse. It comes with a suite of tools and features to measure and improve employee satisfaction, feedback, and retention. What sets the platform apart from other employee engagement platforms is its focus on continuous improvement. The platform uses pulse surveys to gather real-time feedback from employees on a variety of topics, on a regular basis, allowing managers to track employee satisfaction and engagement over time, and make data-driven decisions to improve the employee experience.

One of the key features of this employee engagement software is its unique "Cheers for Peers" tool, which allows employees to recognize and thank their team members and coworkers for their contributions or achievements. The platform also has a wide range of recognition and rewards options that include digital badges and points systems, to motivate and engage employees.

TinyPulse provides users with advanced analytics and reporting tools, which allow managers to track and analyse survey data over time, identify trends, and take relevant action to sort issues and enhance engagement. Pricing is on request so you can get customizable plans to fit your business needs.

FAQs

What are the latest trends in employee engagement?

Some of the latest trends include focus on flexibility, employee surveys to get employee feedback and a people-first culture.

What is the KPI for engagement?

Some of the KPIs that can be used for engagement includes Employee net promoter score (eNPS), Employee satisfaction index (ESI), and Turnover rate.

What are employee engagement platforms?

Employee engagement platforms are software tools designed to help organizations engage and communicate with their employees more effectively. These platforms typically include a range of features and tools such as surveys, polls, messaging, and recognition and reward programs and more.

15 Best Employee Engagement Tools to Use In 2023