best employee recognition software

10 Best Employee Recognition Software Platforms in 2024

8 min read
Lynsey May Sutherland
Author
Lynsey Sutherland

Compensation is no longer the only factor employees consider when deciding where to work. Employee recognition software transforms company culture when it comes to hiring, engagement and retention. The balance has shifted; companies must keep up with growing employee expectations.

What comes to mind when you picture a positive company culture? As experts in employee experience, we know that recognition, flexibility and connection are the pillars of a great work culture. 

But according to a recent survey, 82% of employees don’t feel recognised enough, and 40% say they would work harder if recognition increased. This has little to do with compensation and a lot to do with company values. It might be surprising, but lack of appreciation is one of the top reasons why employees leave. That’s why we’ve designed a configurable employee recognition platform called Mo that is easy to incorporate into your company structure. 

Employee recognition software is a quick and convenient way for companies to appreciate and often systematically reward their employees. Why is it important to recognise employees? Remote working means that workers are receiving less feedback; rewards and recognition improve productivity by making feedback loops faster, empowering employees to achieve their career goals.

This article will help you through the decision-making process, such as understanding the importance of employee engagement surveys, and empowering you to take action with the right employee recognition software for your unique needs.

What should I look for in employee recognition software?

As Forbes reports, employee recognition is key to driving business growth. Make sure the software you’re investing in will work for your business. Here are some of the things we suggest looking out for during your research phase: 

  • Ease of use: If you’re looking for a solution to use company-wide, then look for software that is easy to use and access (check that it’s available on the web, iOS and Android). Tech-loving Millennials and Gen-Z now dominate the workforce, so ensure your chosen software is user-friendly to increase participation. 
  • Integrations: If your employees are accustomed to workplace apps and would benefit from integration with Slack or Microsoft Teams, then check if your chosen solution offers that. 
  • Usage drivers: Look for the different prompts and triggers associated with the solution that can drive engagement to minimise the time spent campaigning to drive engagement and adoption of your recognition program. 
  • Flexibility: Flexible employee recognition platforms allow you to tailor access to the tools you need. For example, there’s no point in having access to a rewards store if you don’t have a huge rewards budget and only wish to use the platform for recognition. 
  • Rewards: If you’re planning to implement a solution with rewards, ask for more information about the rewards catalogue available, which countries rewards are available in and what kind of gifts are available – such as physical gifts. 
  • Strategic support: Check whether the platform offers implementation and ongoing support in best practices, can help with new feature launches and also help tie your recognition program to business goals. 
  • Security: As your chosen software will be dealing with employee data, it needs to be protected. Look for solutions with the best possible security and compliance protocols. 

10 Best Employee Recognition Software Platforms in 2024

To help you get started on your search, we’ve pulled together a selection of our favourite employee recognition platforms. 

best employee recognition software

1. Mo 

We think that our recognition platform is something special. Here’s why: with Mo, it’s easy to improve collaboration and morale, reduce employee churn and drive change. Our platform creates a vibrant culture by developing team habits, encouraging people to celebrate success, recognise results and appreciate colleagues. Mo can be accessed via web or mobile app and integrated with the communication tools you already know and love, like Slack and Microsoft Teams. 

Key Features

Moments: Mo is short for Moments. Anyone, whether that’s manager-to-peer or peer-to-peer, can share a Moment (recognition post) to appreciate a colleague, celebrate a win, share a key result and lots more. Teams can share posts publicly or privately with specific people or the whole company. You can also pin special moments to a work highlights reel on your profile. 

Boosts: We all know we should take the time to celebrate wins, appreciate one another and share results, but unless we form new habits, it often doesn’t happen. Mo’s unique Boosts feature helps nudge teams to share and celebrate Moments that align with your goals, forming game-changing new habits over time. 

Rewards: Elevate Moments of recognition with rewards and gifts. The platform enables you to make an empowerment framework for your people with reward pots, simply issue and redeem rewards at the click of a button. You can also seamlessly report on the rewards received by your people, keeping the finance team happy. 

Company Awards: Mo makes automating, scheduling and sending out your company award nomination requests effortless. You can view results as colleagues nominate in real-time and issue the winners’ rewards from the results page. Great for any monthly, quarterly or annual awards in your organisation. 

Insights: Understand usage stats and employee behaviours across the organisation. Segment by location, department and characteristics to more effectively partner with the business areas. Mo intelligently uses behavioural insights to drive changes through targeted prompts to increase employee adoption without the need for you to campaign to drive usage.

Occasions: The best way to never miss a moment that matters to a colleague. Mo provides leaders and teams with subtle nudges and prompts to celebrate important occasions such as their first day, birthday, or work anniversary.

Pricing: Starting from £2.55 per user per month.

2. Vantage Rewards

Vantage Rewards by Vantage Circle is a reward and recognition program that uses AI and machine learning to deliver easy-to-use and effective recognition solutions. The platform has been designed to enhance productivity and simplify and automate organisations’ recognition processes.

Notable features: Rewards redemption, rewards catalogue, experiential rewards, budget management and allocation, peer-to-peer recognition, manager-to-peer recognition, instant recognition, dashboard and analytics. 

Pricing: Contact provider. Free trial available. 

Bonusly

3. Bonusly

Bonusly is an employee reward and recognition software that offers a wide range of rewards catalogs and analytics to help you drive employee engagement. The platform has been designed with both users and admins in mind and encourages and simplifies the peer-to-peer recognition process. Bonusly allows you to automate celebrations and provides customisable reward options. 

Notable features: Value-based recognition, point-based rewards, peer-to-peer recognition, rewards catalogue, social feed, analytics and reporting, digital signage, integrations with Slack and Microsoft Teams, and manager-to-peer recognition. 

Pricing: £2.40 per user, per month. Free version available. Free trial available. 

4. Nectar HR

Nectar is a 360 recognition and rewards platform which helps organisations with frequent, meaningful and timely recognition. The platform also supports manager-to-peer and peer-to-peer recognition. In Nectar, your organisation can bring together various employee rewards such as discounts, swag management and social recognition to create a positive environment. 

Notable features: 360 rewards and recognition, on-demand swag, integrations with Slack and Microsoft teams, rewards catalogue, gift cards, point-based rewards, customised rewards, and wellness initiatives. 

Pricing: Starting from £2.20, per user per month based on usage. Free version available. Free trial available. 

Kudos

5. Kudos

Kudos is an employee recognition platform designed to build meaningful employee relationships and improve company culture. This tool offers multiple recognition levels to support employee performance and appreciation. The dashboard also provides you with an accurate standing on your rewards process. Best suited to larger organisations. 

Notable features: Peer-to-peer recognition, manager-to-peer recognition, customisable awards, team wall, record video recognition, digital gift cards, third-party rewards, and value-based recognition. 

Pricing: Contact provider. Free trial available. 

Guusto

6. Guusto

Guusto is a gift-based recognition platform that offers flexible redemption options to employees, allowing them to choose gifts. Additionally, it allows employees to pass their gift forward to someone else. This platform has a point-based redemption system, allowing you to claim full credit for unclaimed gifts. 

Notable features: Pay forward option, budget reports, value-based recognition, nominations, social recognition, peer-to-peer recognition, rewards catalogue, and manager-to-peer recognition. 

Pricing: Starting from £3.19 per user, per month. Free version available.

7. WorkHuman

WorkHuman is a social recognition platform aiming to create a culture of excellence within organisations. Managers and employees can participate in recognition, and it contains a social feed where everyone across the company can instantly join in on the celebrations. Finally, the tool also has powerful analytics and reporting functions.

Notable features:

Social recognition, community celebrations, life events, service milestones, data analytics and insights, point-based rewarding, manager-to-peer and peer-to-peer recognition. 

Pricing: Contact provider. Free trial available. 

8. Achievers

Achievers’ dynamic employee recognition software aims to empower every employee as an owner of organisational engagement and culture. The tool allows you to bring all your employee engagement programs to a single core culture and communications hub. It facilitates both reward-based recognition and social recognition. 

Notables features: Social and monetary recognition, workflow integrations, mobile-first experience and social feed. 

Pricing: Contact provider. 

9. Perkbox

Perkbox is a global benefits and reward platform that helps connect companies to their employees. Their employee recognition program lets businesses care for their employees and celebrate them. The tool also offers a personalised recognition experience for companies to show how much they value employees’ personal and professional interests. 

Notable features: Mobile app, value-based recognition, peer-to-peer recognition, manager-to-peer recognition, polls and voting, and custom rewards. 

Pricing: Contact provider.

10. WorkTango

Known formerly as Kazoo, WorkTango is an employee experience platform that enables meaningful recognition and rewards; it offers actionable insights through employee surveys and supports alignment through goal setting and feedback. The tool allows priorities to become clear, achievements to be celebrated, and gives employees a voice. 

Notable features: Employee surveys, insights and reporting, employee experience programs, recognition in a social activity feed, nominations, integrations with Slack or teams and HRIS tools, and awards. 

Pricing: Contact provider.

Engagement Survey Graphic 2

How to choose the best employee recognition software for you 

Before engaging with employee recognition software, utilise an employee engagement survey. Without metrics against which you can measure, it is hard to integrate and understand the success of recognition initiatives. Mo uses analytics to support leadership between their engagement surveys.

Once you have your engagement survey results, you should envision your ideal employee culture. What are the key values of your company?

  • Community
  • Skill development
  • Innovation
  • Efficiency

Mo is proven to increase productivity by motivating your teams to perform better. Additionally, it fosters connections between employees through peer-to-peer recognition, ensuring that your company culture flourishes. We have worked with numerous survey providers to provide our customers with a guaranteed uplift in employee engagement.

We recommend establishing your budget and expectations early on. That way, your employee recognition software can provide you with the right configurations and features. Finally, some platforms specialise in larger organisations, while others will benefit smaller companies.

Employee Recognition Software: Key Takeaways

  • Use an engagement survey to establish your goals.
  • Set realistic expectations and align your employee recognition software with your company’s size.
  • Many companies hide their prices behind a sales consultant. It might be worth checking reviews to determine if participating in a demo is worth your time.

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