An introduction to employee engagement software
Employee engagement software are digital tools that are designed to track and manage the level of engagement of employees. These solutions are essential for businesses as employee engagement has become a focus and an influencing factor for business success.
What are employee engagement software?
Employee engagement software are typically implemented in human resources departments. They aim to replace or supplement the existing performance management review systems. Employee engagement tools are used to collect, track and analyse employee feedback. They extract actionable insight based on employee sentiment. Typically, employee engagement software collects employee feedback through short surveys that are launched on a regular basis and created to gauge the employee experience. These systems also promote recognition programmes, health benefits and employee well-being.
Essential features of employee engagement software
Employee engagement software play a role in the employee experience and the overall company environment and culture. The solution is composed of multiple features including the following:
Employee satisfaction survey
Employee satisfaction surveys are great tools to understand employee morale. They should be conducted on a regular basis as they help gauge employee sentiment. The feedback collected should be analysed and actions should be taken accordingly. Employers can use this feedback tool to pinpoint necessary areas of improvement.
Employee recognition and rewards
Recognition plays a big part in employee engagement and motivation. With this feature, employee engagement software provides businesses with a solution to reward employees. This can be achieved through points that are exchangeable for gifts, but it could also be a simple communication within the organisation. Milestones, achievements and work anniversaries can be celebrated automatically, thus bringing consistency and low maintenance.
Read more: Creating an employee recognition programme – the ultimate guide
Communication solutions
Depending on the organisation’s communication methods, company-wide communication may be a challenge. A holistic employee engagement platform typically includes capabilities such as video conferencing, email, social networking and chat features. These features make communication instant and straightforward.
Employee wellness programmes
Employee well-being is paramount. With employee engagement software, businesses can promote mental health to their employees. For example, the solution may propose recommendations on physical lifestyle, well-being practices such as meditation and much more.
Read more: Six simple steps to create your employee wellness programme
Performance management
Performance tracking and management can be time consuming for leaders. The tools gather employee data and consolidate the performance management process, making it easier for leaders to understand where their team members stand when it comes to performance.
Why employee engagement software is important
There are many reasons why employee engagement software is important for organisations. Among the most important are that it helps maintain employee morale, ensures business productivity and boosts employee experience. If these elements are unmanaged, the business will in the long term lose out and see its productivity decline. To shed more light on the importance of employee engagement software, here are the key benefits of the solution:
- Ensures employee well-being across the organisation
- Collects data to gauge employee sentiment
- Automates employee recognition
- Streamlines processes
- Saves resource time
- Brings automation
- Tracks employee performance
- Enhances the onboarding process
- Increases employee motivation and productivity
Top employee engagement software in 2024
There are many players in the employee engagement software market. It is worth analysing your business needs and understanding what the essential features are for the organisation. To give you an idea of what is available on the market, we present five employee engagement software below:
Workvivo
Workvivo’s strength resides in its communication features that have a direct impact on engagement. It empowers employees through employee voice. The design of this solution is simple and easy to navigate. The platform also has a modern employee app.
Officevibe
Officevibe is a software that focusses on team management and employee feedback. The solution has a two-way transparency system that allows meeting notes, action items and much more to be accessible by all. It includes features such as pulse surveys, meeting tools and can be easily integrated.
Trackstar
The Trackstar system is ideal for performance management. The software incorporates a purpose-built performance management system and offers a wide range of tools for managers. The solution provides reports on employee response rates, engagement scores, qualitative feedback and overall trends.
WorkTango
If your focus is employee voice and people analytics, this software is for you. The platform gives access to a wide range of recognition systems and makes feedback easy. Another plus for this tool is that data is well protected and complies with data protection laws.
Motivosity
This software is ideal to boost employee connection. It is formed around the following pillars: community and connection, management development, employee insight and recognition.
This selection of employee engagement software gives a glimpse of what is available on the market but is by no means exhaustive.
How to choose the best employee engagement software that meets your needs
Selecting the most appropriate employee engagement software is paramount to ensure that it answers your business needs. Here are a few points to consider when it comes selecting your solution:
Understand your internal needs
This first step is essential as it forms the baseline for the selection process. Conduct a needs assessment for employee engagement. Through this process, you can get an understanding of your key priorities and therefore the features that you should look for in the selected software.
Ensure that the implementation is straightforward
The success of the implementation has an impact on the adoption of the solution. Beyond the integration, the team in charge will need to deploy a change management plan and put it in action. This is necessary for any change in an organisation and requires a good level of planning.
Validate the integration with existing systems
If the solution is easy to use, it will be adopted smoothly. This is why it is essential that the tool integrates well with existing systems as well as answers the organisation’s needs. For example, if your organisation uses MS Teams or Slack, it will be important that the employee engagement software is able to connect with these tools. By accessing the employees’ preferred communication means, you will increase the response rate and get more honest feedback.
Focus on data protection and anonymity
Data leaks can damage the reputation of an organisation. In this instance, the risk is a negative impact on employees’ trust towards the organisation. Data protection should be a criterion at the top of the list when selecting your preferred supplier.
Assess reporting and analytical capabilities
A lot of meaningful data can be extracted from employee engagement software. Some solutions are more agile than others at creating reports and data visualisation more generally. This is an important factor as it increases awareness and facilitates decision making. Use the data to measure progress, identify any pain points and extract meaningful trends.
Focus on process automation
Employee engagement tools streamline processes that are in place to collect employee feedback. This automation needs to be aligned with the desired feedback collection cadence and needs to be smooth. Automating the process means that human resource teams have more time to dedicate to added-value tasks. They can focus on continuous development and actions in relation to the feedback rather than more administrative tasks.
Employee engagement platforms play a big part in employee engagement, motivation and in building meaningful connections. These solutions also streamline the effort from HR teams through automation and data analysis. They are essential to increasing the productivity of the organisation. For more on this topic, take a look at how to measure productivity in employees.
Please note that none of the companies, institutions or organisations mentioned in this article are affiliated with Indeed.
