In this highly competitive business environment where time is really prized, employee motivation and engagement has never been as important as it is now. Employee recognition software has become one of the effective ways organizations can use to develop a good work culture in the organization by making employees feel good about themselves. Such platforms allow managers and colleagues to recognize individual and group performance on a real basis, which contributes to the establishment of the culture of appreciation and constant feedback.
Recognition software forms a sense of belonging and value to employees through issuance of points-based rewards, through digital badges or even by way of shouting-out or celebrating their milestones automatically.
The organizations that spend money on such tools tend to enjoy increased productivity, lower turnover, and better relations with employees. The software does not just simplify the process of recognizing an employee but also delivers insightful analytics in measuring the engagement trends and finding best performers. With remote and hybrid working solutions continuously growing, the need to support this with a centralized location in which to share wins whether it be small or big, has been a critical tool to keep the team connected and on track.
Employee recognition tool is critical in the development of a motivated and loyal workforce regardless of whether it is a startup or a large enterprise. In this post, we are going to see what is the most effective employee recognition software solution that can assist your organization in celebrating success, collaboration and sustained performance.
What Is the Best Employee Recognition Software to Boost Workplace Engagement?
- Increases Employee Engagement: Helps to provide active participation and commitment through regular recognition of the efforts made.
- Increases Workplace Spirit– Motivates workplace through celebration of success and milestones.
- Decreases Turnover Rates-enhances the satisfaction and loyalty to employees hence reducing the propensity of attrition.
- Fosters Peer-to-Peer Recognition– Encourages a team member to reward their colleagues and not just the management.
- Increases Productivity– workers who are motivated work better and will contribute to the team targets effectively.
- Monitors and Reports Recognition patterns – Provides information on engagement rates and best performers.
- Helps Hybrid and Remote Teams –Keeps every employee connected and appreciated, wherever they are.
- Customizable and Scalable– Fast and easy customization and scalability based on any company size and culture, startups to big enterprises.
List of Best Employee Recognition Software
1. Bonusly
Bonusly is an employee appreciation tool to help you appreciate others in fun, easy, and effective ways. It enables the employees working as a team to reward one another with small cash incentives which can be exchanged with an extended list of appreciations. Bonusly is the culture of constant feedback and peer to peer recognition which makes employees feel heard and appreciated in real-time. Its social feed is one of its most notable functions with all the recognition presented, which means transparency is possible, and a good team atmosphere is created.
The platform is either integrated to such tools as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and HRIS systems so the use like in different workflows is very easy. The strong analytics dashboard enables managers to monitor trends of the engagement level and the most rewarding employees. Bonusly allows a points system to be used on rewards which can be accumulated and exchanged with gift cards, donations, or rewards of choice that can be created by the company.
It is scale-able, and applicable in small groups as well as huge organizations. Bonusly has real-time recognition, auto-sent celebrations on work anniversaries and birthdays and a massive amount of customizations, allowing companies to build a culture of appreciation as something that becomes a core of the everyday working routine.
Key Features:
- Peer-to-peer recognition
- Point benefit system
- The social recognition feed
- Slack, Teams etc. Integration.
- Real time analytics and reporting
- Automated milestones celebration
- Pick and choose reward options
Pricing:
- Custom pricing
2. ThanksBox
ThanksBox was developed by Reward gateway now using the solution as part of ThanksBox, the solution emphasizes instant reciprocation of appreciation, feedback, and free flow of communication. ThanksBox was initially conceived as an independent platform to send thank-you messages, promote success stories and provide public praise with only a few clicks. Its main functionalities survive today in Reward Gateway, where more tools to create a good workplace culture are presented.
Using such tools as social recognition walls, digital suggestion box, and endless feedback loops, ThanksBox assists organizations in spurring their peers to action and orienting recognition against company values. Employees are able to create personalized e-cards and share insight into a group recognition stream, and even join anon programs.
The tool is compatible with mobile phones, and it is convenient to keep the remote teams engaged and valued. It supports decision-making based on data through its analytics engine which gives the HR leaders an insight into the trend of recognition and employee morale. ThanksBox is particularly efficient at the companies that are interested in incorporating appreciation into their daily operations and getting the insightful feedback on their culture so it can be improved.
Key Features:
- Social recognition wall (real time)
- Personalized e-greetings and messaging
- Feeling able to give anonymous feedback and share ideas
- Mobile-friendly interface
- Tracking and analytics of draws and engagement
- Part of Reward Gateway ecosystem
Pricing
- Classic Thankbox – $5.99
- Premium Thankbox – $9.99
3. WorkTango
WorkTango (previously Kazoo & YouEarnedIt) is a recognition, survey, and goal-setting employee experience platform. The solution is a comprehensive one that consists of a performance-enabling platform, an appreciation engine, and essential HR management software capabilities. It enables organizations to identify employees in real time with a points-based reward system and also gather meaningful employee suggestions.
WorkTango promotes a transparent and values-based culture in which recognition is directly associated with the values of the company. This makes employees feel valued and aligned with the organizational mission. It also enables companies to calculate participation, monitor performance trajectories, and develop frequent two-way communication. Tools beneficial to both managers and employees include 1:1 conversations, ongoing performance feedback, and career planning.
The solution supports international teams through multi-currency awards, multi-language support, and personalized workflows. WorkTango, with thorough reporting features and integrations with tools such as Outlook, Slack, and Microsoft Teams, is well-suited for any organization looking to enhance employee recognition and engagement while also streamlining HR management.
Key Features:
- On the spot employee appreciation
- Reward system that uses values.
- Constantly monitoring performance
- Check-in and feedback 1:1 tools
- Global catalog of rewards
- On- surveys of employees
- Combination with workplace technologies
Pricing:
- Custom pricing
4. Nectar
Nectar is a contemporary, simple-to-use personnel appreciation tool that enhances a culture of reward and positive bolstering between groups, as well as remote, cross-country hybrid, or on-site ones. It enables managers and employees to give shout-outs linked to the business values along with the points that they can use to exchange in the gift cards, company swag, or even the specified perks.
The peer-to-peer recognition system created within Nectar makes recognition transparent and cryptic, which improves the morale and has the benefit of increasing cohesion in teams. It has an intuitive interface and low package prices that suit small and medium-sized organizations that want to adopt an efficient employee recognition software.
The platform is integratable with mainstream tools such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and single sign-on authentications, making workflow adoption easy. As one of the emerging workflow management platforms, Nectar streamlines internal operations while keeping teams engaged. Moreover, Nectar offers wellness challenges and personalized accomplishments, enabling HR teams to encourage health and activity simultaneously. Real-time activity feeds and analytics dashboards can be used by administrators to track engagement trends and recognize top-performing staff. With multilingual support and powerful customization options, Nectar helps organizations celebrate employee success in alignment with broader organizational objectives.
Key Features:
- Peer-to-peer system of recognition
- Gift cards and points awards
- Wellness and success struggle
- Activity stream currently shared on Public
- Slack and Integrations on Microsoft Teams
- Analytics and controls Admin
- Personal branding and incentives
Pricing:
- Custom pricing
5. Motivosity
Motivosity is a human-centered rewards and recognition system designed to reinforce an organization’s culture by being able to promote valued appreciation at all levels. Motivosity is an employee-to-employee and top-down appreciation software that enables workers to grant and acquire rewards in the type of small financial-based rewards and applause. The system revolves around four main products namely Recognize, Lead, Listen and Connect that majors on appreciation, leadership feedback, survey, and social connection.
Employees would be allowed to connect the recognitions with the values of the company, which would enhance alignment as well as motivation at a board level. Among the highlight features of Motivosity, there is a possibility to give the employees the so-called Thanks Matters card that they can employ to spend their available reward balances at a vast majority of stores accepting major cards.
The social wall of the platform is a place where all the recognitions, birthdays, work anniversaries and achievements are shown to create a positive and transparent organizational culture. Motivosity also has pulse surveys, one-on-one tracking devices, engagement dashboards that help to track team sentiment in real-time. It is seamlessly native with HRIS systems, Slack, Teams, Google Workspace. All in all, Motivosity is an all-inclusive and versatile way to enhance the satisfaction of the employees and create stronger teams.
Key Features:
- Peer and manager reward with rewards
- Tagging by recognition of value
- Social wall real time
- Leadership tools and 1:1s
- Pulse surveys and feedback loop
- HR and chat system integration
Pricing:
- Custom pricing
6. Awardco
Awardco is a multi-purpose employee recognition tool that works with Amazon Business to offer organizations the possibility to select millions of rewards without any markups and additional fees. Employees with this special relationship can cash in their recognition points on what they actually desire namely books, electronics, clothing and experiences. Awardco facilitates all types of awards such as awards between peers, manager recognition, service awards, spot awards, automatic birthday or anniversary awards.
It also provides the ability of setting up companies own reward catalogs, point systems and branded programs that fit within the company culture. It has an easy-to-understand platform, it is scalable which is best suited to any organization regardless of the size. HR leaders can understand how the recognition is being used, how the budget is being spent, and how employees are responding to all the engagement with detailed analytics and reporting tools.
Awardco is also integrated with HRIS, SSOs and communication such as Slack or Microsoft teams. The Awardco platform will enable a culture of appreciation and connectivity among your team whether physical or remote and ensure the integration of a high level of flexibility in the administration of rewards with the reduction of administrative effort.
Key Features:
- Amazon Business integration rewards
- Personal reward and rewards programs
- Manager and peer recognition
- Fully automated hoorays Automated milestones celebrations
- Deep reporting and analytics
- There are no penalties of markup fees of rewards
- HRIS and chat integrations
Pricing:
- Flexible pricing according to customer needs
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7. Assembly
Assembly is an efficient system of employee recognition and employee engagement that is meant to guide companies to cultivate an appreciation and connection culture. Assembly works perfectly with small groups and large companies, with the aim of making recognition friendly and accessible. It enables any of the team members to give shout-outs, celebrate achievements, and award points which can be exchanged into personalized rewards, gift cards, or organizational benefits.
It has a community feed of public acknowledgment of contributions, which contributes to enhancing openness and team spirit in the R&D organization. Among the strongest functionality, one can mention the flexibility of Assembly: companies have freedom to customize values, recognition programs, rewards, and even budget controls: companies can create absolutely customized programs without any limitations. It also includes the celebration of milestones on birthday and anniversary making teams recall important days.
With Slack and Microsoft Teams as well as HR integrations, Assembly can fit effortlessly into your current workflows. The usage, level of engagement, and employees sentiments are revealed through the core analytics. The distributed employees can build on the company relationships with their employees and increase their morale using Assembly with simple tools and cost-effective prices.
Key Features:
- Points based peer to peer recognition
- There is a public treasure trove of appreciation of beauty in life and nature in life and nature in life and nature
- Preferable rewards can be chosen Personalized reward choices
- Tracking of milestones and anniversaries
- Slack-Teams integration
- Real-time study of the engagement
- Customization of the budget and the programs
Pricing
- Celebrate – $2/user/month
- Empower (Most Popular) – $4/user/month
- Custom Plan – Contact for pricing
8. Fond
Fond is a complete employee recognition and rewards solution which assists companies to acknowledge employees, reinforce culture and improve retention. It will facilitate both peer-to-peer and manager recognition, making everyone at the organization have the capacity of recognizing one another.
Fond contains a points reward system that allows employees to trade their hard-earned points acquired through company activity on different merchandize, experiences, any type of gift card, and even a good cause. Among its most prominent features is the international list of rewards that it has, which is helpful in the context of recognition of companies of multinational character.
Through Fond, automation of service awards is also available and employee anniversaries and milestones are easily celebrated. The platform has extensive wall usage analytics, so HR leaders get to know patterns of engagement and adjust their approaches to employee rewards. Fond is compatible with common HR platforms, Slack, and communication platforms, which facilitates an easier process of implementation. It has a clean user interface and robust configurability so that companies can build recognition programs to support primary values and strategic objectives.
Key Features:
- Manager and peer to peer recognition
- Catalog of global rewards
- Machine-based rewarding of service members
- Reward points based system
- HR/communication integration
- Workforce analytics
- Custom branding, alignment of values
Pricing:
- Not available
9. Terryberry
Terryberry is an employee recognition company that provides a suite of platforms so that businesses can commemorate employees with rewards and increase engagement. Terryberry has been in the business of recognition programs since more than 100 years and integrates both conventional and contemporary methods of appreciation. The site is comprised of performance awards, peer to peer recognition, service awards and wellness incentives. It also has a 360 Recognition which enables social traffic, award nomination, custom certificates as well as reward game based on points.
With thousands of distributable rewards, such as merchandise, gift cards, travel and experiences, Terryberry can promote both online and offline rewards in its online catalog. It is highly customizable according to the requirements of an organization to make it operate customized recognition programs that are aligned with their culture and values. It provides mobile access as well so recognition can be done anywhere and anytime. HR leaders are able to measure employee engagement and trace ROI with real-time dashboarding and reporting tools. Terryberry is best suited to companies seeking mixed online and human resources, and is particularly appropriate when it comes to modernizing established recognition practices.
Key Features:
- 360 Recognition platform
- Performance and peer-to-peer awards
- lengthy reward catalog
- Milestone and custom rewards in service
- Marked certificates and trophies
- Mobile-friendly access
- Tracing the programs and analysis
Pricing
- Starting:$10/ month
10. Workstars
Workstars is an employee recognition software with a cloud basis which focuses on peer-based appreciation with real-time social recognition. Simple, friendly to use and engaging, Workstars enables recognition of every employee by the rest of the team with sincere messages and optional reward points at any level. People can be highly engaged via this platform by ensuring that their recognition is notable, with a public feed instrumenting clearance and belongingness at the workplace. An employee can be recognized directly linked to the values of the company, in a way of molding the employee behavior towards purposes of the organization.
Workstars facilitates international fulfilment of rewards by providing localized rewards and currency and multi-lingual support. It also automates the celebrations, birthdays, work anniversaries and individual milestones too. It has an in-app analytics dashboard that assists the HR departments and managers to track recognition patterns and top performers. It allows integrating with Slack, Microsoft Teams, and typical HR systems. With this lightweight design, customizable capabilities, and affordability, Workstars is particularly well suited to growing organizations that seek to make an impact with employee engagement and culture alignment but not complexity.
Key Features:
- Peer-to-peer recognition
- Value-based appreciation
- International rewards and localisation
- Automated birthday and anniversaries rewards
- Free publicity fodder
- Reporting/Analytics dashboard
- Integration of slack, Teams and HRIS
Pricing (per user / billed monthly):
- Entry: £1.50
- Pro: £3.00
- Global: £4.00
11. Guusto
Guusto is a simple and affordable employee reward system with the aims of rewarding with meaning, as well as ease of use. It enables businesses to reward workers using online gift cards without having complex point systems. Rewards may be sent immediately by managers and peers through email or SMS and the recipient has the opportunity to select their own reward of choice with many adoption of merchant selections. This decision-based system augments the value perceptions of rewards and assist in the creation of true value. Guusto is also able to provide shared team budgets, detailed tracking and also custom branding to organizations.
Its social responsibility can be viewed as one outstanding element and every reward delivered via Guusto can mean clean drinking water as the company collaborates with One Drop. The platform can favour milestone recognition, spot rewards and manager-led campaigns. It is incorporated into the workflow by integrating with Microsoft teams, Slack and HR tools. Guusto also features the right combination of simplicity, affordability and flexibility without undermining an effective recognition program, making it suitable for small and mid-sized businesses.
Key Features:
- No points system-direct digital gift cards
- Choice-based rewards
- Peers and Manager recognition
- The control of budgets at team level
- Per unit reward sent clean water donation
- Slack and Teams support
- Designing branding and tracking
Pricing (USD, per month):
- Free: $0/mo
- Lite: $125/mo
- Essential:
- • Peer-to-Peer: $2.50/seat
- • Top-Down: $5/seat
- Premium:
- • Peer-to-Peer: $3.50/seat
- • Top-Down: $7/seat
12. Reward Gateway
Reward Gateway is a fully integrated employee engagement solution that pools together recognition, rewards, communications and surveys into one integrated offering. It allows organisations to create a culture of appreciation by designing recognition programs to fit within organisations, incorporating practices such as peer-to-peer recognition, instant reward and milestone celebrations. The highly personalized rewards wall will be accessible to the employees and they can redeem the points on gifts cards, and experiences among others.
The advantage of Reward Gateway is the set of features, it includes tools an organization might need to communicate internally, wellbeing hubs, discount programs, and employee surveys all work within a single platform. The recognition feed helps make appreciation visible and more people will want to participate. Employers can also use Reward Gateway to create a leaderboard, reward the top performers, and align recognition to the core values.
It supports the local and international teams because it is available globally via reward support, and is multilingual. On-demand data analysis and descriptors assist HR departments in determining the success of the program and to streamline strategies. Reward Gateway can be trusted by such major brands as Samsung and McDonalds hence highly suited to large companies that are interested in business-wide engagement and a solution that can scale as they grow.
Key Features:
- Peer to peer and real time recognition
- Reward and discount portal that is customizable
- Nodal center of domestic communications
- That is wellbeing and benefit integration.
- Performance based and milestone rewards
- International and multilanguage assistance
- Real time analytics and reporting
Pricing (per employee):
- Monthly subscription: £8/month
- Annual subscription (billed monthly): From £6/month
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13. Achievers
Achievers is one of the most popular engagement and employee recognition software that contribute to the development of company culture and improve staff satisfaction ratings. It supports social and point-based recognition so that peers and managers can address performance, milestones and positive behaviors that perform in line with company values. The platform of Achievers contains the centralized feed in which the recognitions are clearly in view throughout the entire company and cause transparency and a stronger community feeling.
Recognition points can be redeemed by the employees on a vast selection of rewards, such as gift cards, gear, and experiences offered by an international marketplace of rewards. Achievers offers engagement surveys and pulse checks as well as actionable dimensions via elaborate analytics dashboards. The tool has a high degree of scalability, can easily connect with the existing HR systems and is compatible with Microsoft Teams and Slack.
It supports more than 120 countries and numerous languages, which makes it suitable to any major business that operates internationally. The platform is the most successful to raise engagement levels, turnover, and performance with appreciation being a daily part of the practice.
Key Features:
- Manager recognition and peer to peer recognition
- Global rewards on points-basis
- Newsfeed to the general public
- Personalizable company values integration
- Surveys of employee engagement
- Adventure intelligence and reporting
- Communication and HRIS tools integrations
Pricing:
- Custom pricing
14. Blueboard
Blueboard has a different take on employee recognition in that it does not target a standard, numerical value set of points and gift cards but instead opts to use experiential rewards. Blueboard allows managers to reward employees with specific experiences such as spa days, skydiving, cooking classes, weekend getaways, among many others instead of providing financial compensation.
The delivery of these experiences is in the form of a customized concierge service which does all the bookings and arrangements and leaves everything to run smoothly to both the employer and employee. Blueboard facilitates spot recognition, performance based rewards, anniversaries and wellness programs.
It connects to the mainstream HRIS and communications and can be tailored to be aligned with company values and brand. Equipped with real-time dashboards and engagement metrics, Blueboard allows companies to get a tangible gauge of the results of their recognition efforts. The sentimental and unforgettable rewarding strategy allows compromising employee loyalty even more, bringing up motivation, and improving company culture. Blueboard is most applicable when the company is seeking to use standout and personalized recognitions without going through the logistical setup challenges.
Key Features:
- Reward system using the experience.
- Concierge booking service Personalization
- Identification of spot and milestones
- Complete branded and personalised programmes
- Slack/Teams and HRIS integration
- Engagement and reward use analytics
- International access and assortment of experience
Pricing:
- Not available
15. Applauz Recognition
Applauz Recognition is an employee recognition tool that is completely free to start but aimed at small to mid- sized enterprises that are focused on an experience that is affordable but effective when it comes to increasing engagement and recognition. The platform provides social recognition between peers, manager to employee and automated milestone recognitions such as work anniversaries and birthdays.
Applauz follows a points approach that enables the employees to build points and redeem them on the vast catalog of rewards consisting of gift cards and branded goods. Its platform offers visibility and interactions with the whole social feed in the company where appreciation is shared and celebrated publicly. Besides recognition, Applauz also offers pulse surveys and feedback options aimed at assisting companies to track and detect employee attitudes and initiate their positive changes.
Additionally, HR admins can use reporting capabilities in order to trace activity, compensation, and the influence of the program as a whole. Applauz has multilingual support, flexible budget controls, and a simple process to get started and start maximizing the recognition program without having a steep learning curve or major investment.
Key Features:
- Peer and middle management rewards
- Reward-points catalog
- Automated anniversary parties
- Social recognition food
- Feedback tool and pulse surveys
- Budgeting and reporting
- Free small team plan
Pricing
- Recognition Starter: $3.75
- Engagement Essentials: $5.25
- Experience Pro: $6.50
Conclusion
Employee recognition software has been identified as a key ingredient in the making of environments of appreciation, honouring the spirits of employees and promoting participation in organisations, big or small. No matter whether you lead a remote office or a team at a large corporation, these platforms will allow you to commemorate success, tie up recognition to the business values and provide desired rewards.
Whether it is point-based systems, experiential rewards, milestone celebrations, or automotive, every tool offers particular strengths to the game. When the adequate recognition software is implemented, the companies can not only increase satisfaction and retention levels of the employees but also overall productivity and company culture. With the further prospective changes of the industry, it is no longer a choice on whether to invest into modern recognition solutions–it is a strategic need.
FAQs
Q. What is employee recognition software?.
It is an online platform where organizations can appreciate employees and reward good performance.
Q. What are the ways in which recognition software increases employee engagement?
It increases motivation and job satisfaction due to its provision of real-time appreciation and rewards.
Q. Can the small businesses apply employee recognition software?
Of course, several solutions are free or low-cost with plans that cater to small groups.
Q. Do these tools make peer-to-peer recognition possible?
Undoubtedly, the majority of the platforms facilitate peer and manager rewards.
Q. Does it help towards remote teams?
Yes, the majority is cloud-based, and available on remote and hybrid teams.
