Best employee engagement tools for HR in 2024

One of the perks of being a modern-day HR director or manager is that you no longer have to rely on paper surveys, printed memos, or notice boards to manage tasks like employee engagement.

Today, you have a wide range of HR tools to choose from to build a better company culture.

However, with so many options available, choosing the right tool for your organization and staff can be a bit overwhelming, especially if you don’t know what to look for.

We’re here to help you out by explaining some features you should pay attention to, as well as giving you three different employee engagement tools for real-time feedback, employee development, and performance management you can look at.

What are employee engagement tools?

Employee engagement tools include software and platforms that aid HR professionals in monitoring and improving employee morale, sentiment, satisfaction, and well-being.

These tools range from survey platforms that measure engagement to rewards & recognition tools that reward excellent performance.

When comparing these tools, it’s crucial to consider the organization’s specific needs. These could target a single element of engagement like team collaboration, culture, or employee performance, or they can be an all-in-one employee experience platform.

Key benefits of employee engagement tools

Each platform can cater to different employee engagement aspects, so their benefits will vary. Still, here are some employee engagement software benefits that you’ll find more often:

Boost employee engagement

Employees can only be heard with a clear communication channel with management. That’s why employee engagement tools include 360-degree feedback, real-time pulse check surveys, and other features that help make employees feel more connected and included.

This also helps the company, as it now has an ear to the ground regarding employee concerns and needs and can address issues faster.

Greater retention

Employee retention is everything an organization does to lower employee turnover.

One of the benefits of employee engagement software is that it improves retention by better connecting employees with the company culture and enabling them to feel more valued.

Enhanced feedback and performance

Clear and timely feedback and objectives help employees better understand what is expected of them. That’s why many engagement platforms include features that help managers track employee performance, provide feedback, and set goals.

Better teamwork and collaboration

Communication barriers can often occur within the team, between employees and managers, or between different departments. Ineffective communication can seriously damage company culture, productivity, and overall performance.

Employee engagement tools can bridge this gap and help employees work more effectively as a team by incorporating features that promote communication and collaboration.

Improved business outcomes

The ultimate goal is to improve business outcomes or profits. You can’t have amazing profitability if your employees are not productive, and they won’t be productive if they’re not engaged. 

Engagement tools provide valuable data that gives insight into employee engagement and allows HR professionals and managers to make data-backed decisions.

The most common features of employee engagement tools

Employee engagement tools provide different features to help HR professionals monitor and improve employee satisfaction, loyalty, well-being, performance, and overall productivity. Here are the most common features and a quick breakdown:

1. Onboarding center – Helps integrate a new employee and provides training material.
2. Real-time reporting – Enables tracking engagement metrics in real-time (“live”) and timely action.
3. Analytics – Identifies current engagement trends and helps forecast future potential issues.
4. Notifications – Helps to keep employees informed.
5. Communication tools – Facilitates uninterrupted team collaboration and idea-sharing.
6. Mobile support – Ensures that employees are engaged regardless of their location, including remotely.
7. Customer service – Helps resolve customer technical issues quickly.
8. Feedback mechanism – Allows employees to provide input and voice their concerns.
9. Rewards & recognition – Provides stimulation for employees for exceptional performance through incentives and acknowledgement.
10. Performance tracking – Measures employee performance toward individual and company goals.
11. Goal setting – Aligns employee activities with company objectives.
12. Team collaboration – Improves teamwork.
13. Well-being programs – Promotes employee physical and mental well-being and health.
14.  Employee advocacy – Entrusts employees to become the company’s voice and promote it externally.

Best 3 employee engagement tools for building a better company culture

Depending on the purpose and what you want to use it for, there are employee engagement platforms for different needs, company sizes, budgets, etc.

Here are three platforms to help you gather real-time feedback, improve employee development, and track and manage employee performance.

Best tool for real-time feedback and peer recognition – HeartCount

Who can use it?

HeartCount is an ideal employee engagement solution for medium and large organizations that want to improve communication with their employees and gather real-time feedback that drives action.

Features

Here are the key features of the HeartCount employee experience platform:

1. Pulse check surveys

Using pulse check surveys, HC allows its users to gather valuable data about employee sentiment much faster than traditional annual surveys and provide actionable insights.

2. Real-time feedback

With real-time feedback, the platform enables a culture of continuous improvement and growth, allowing managers and employees to address issues and identify improvement areas promptly.

3. Customizable surveys and dashboards

The tool allows organizations to tailor their dashboards and surveys as it best serves their unique needs.

4. Employee engagement metrics

With HeartCount, companies can gain crucial metrics to help them understand employee morale, satisfaction, loyalty, and overall sentiment and make more informed decisions.

5. Private direct messages

The platform promotes open and transparent communication in the workplace and between employees and managers.

6. Employee recognition

One of HeartCount’s key missions is to empower employees to give kudos to one another and improve team collaboration and morale, thus fostering a positive workplace culture.

Ease of use

HeartCount’s UI is intuitive and easy for both HR and employees, and it has a relatively low learning curve. The platform is also constantly improving, with each iteration being better than the previous one.

Why do users love it?

Users find HeartCount appealing because it is very user-focused and constantly listens to and acts on users’ feedback to improve the platform, add new features, and improve existing ones.

In addition, HC includes reliable customer support that can answer any user question and improve their experience with the platform.

Best tool for employee development – Leapsome

Who can use it?

Leapsome is primarily tailored toward fast-growing startups and organizations looking to grow talent and empower employees. 

Features

Here are some useful features included in the Leapsome platform:

1. Employee engagement surveys

Employee surveys are crucial for understanding employee sentiment, identifying areas of improvement, and helping companies boost employee morale and satisfaction, making them more productive. 

2. Recognition and rewards

Leapsome employee engagement software enables organizations to recognize and reward employees’ achievements, encourage high performance, and retain top talent.

3. Performance reviews

The platform also enables regular performance reviews and feedback. This helps employees better understand their strengths and weaknesses and align their development with company objectives.

4. 360-degree feedback

360-degree feedback from peers, managers, and others allows employees to view their performance comprehensively.

5. Manager dashboard

The manager dashboard provides vital insights about team performance, objectives, and engagement, enabling managers to be more proactive and make data-driven decisions.

6. Goal tracking and OKR (objective and key results)

Finally, goal tracking and OKR help align individual and team goals and objectives with those of the organization and ensure everyone is pushing in the same direction.

Ease of use

Users generally find Leapsome easy to use, although it has an initial learning curve. The interface is simple and intuitive.

Why do users love it?

Most users enjoy Leapsome’s ability to boost employee engagement, increase accountability, and improve morale. The platform is a handy tool that allows organizations to have everything they need to support their employees’ growth and help them with upskilling in one centralized location.

Best tool for performance management – Lattice

Who can use it?

Lattice caters mainly to larger organizations and corporations looking to monitor and improve employee performance.

Features

Lattice is a robust employee engagement platform and, as such, includes a number of valuable features, including:

1. Engagement surveys

Lattice allows HR professionals to gauge employee satisfaction and engagement levels via engagement surveys and helps organizations improve employee retention and culture proactively.

2. 1-on-1 meetings

The platform also enables one-on-one meetings that promote open and transparent communication between employees and managers, allowing them to provide real-time personalized feedback.

3. Employee recognition and feedback

Next, the tool allows users to receive timely recognition and constructive feedback. This helps create a positive work environment through employee motivation.

4. Employee performance reviews

Performance reviews are the core of Lattice’s employee engagement platform. They help employees better understand their strengths and weaknesses. 

5. Goal and OKR management

This feature ensures that individual and team goals and objectives are aligned with company goals and objectives, fostering accountability.

6. Growth & development tracking

Finally, employees can stay on top of their growth and development course by having a clear roadmap for skill development and aligning their personal growth with company success.

Ease of use

Lattice users find the platform intuitive and easy to use for day-to-day HR tasks such as performance reviews, where it really shines, and functions like goal setting and development tracking.

Why do users love it?

In addition to an intuitive user interface, users also find that Lattice offers excellent customer support, provides actionable insights, and is very customizable to meet most organizations’ performance tracking and management needs.

How to choose the right employee engagement tool?

The most important factors in selecting employee engagement software

Here are some critical factors you need to consider when selecting an employee engagement tool:

• Company size – The tool needs to match your organization’s size, scale, and complexity.
• Specific needs – Make sure the tool supports your needs and goals, like collaboration, performance monitoring, feedback, etc.
• Compatibility with your system – Validate that the software integrates seamlessly with your existing system and tools.
• User experience – Provide an easy-to-use and intuitive tool for your employees and HR professionals.
• Flexibility & customization – Ensure the platform is not rigid and can be customized to fit your unique requirements.
• Mobile accessibility – Make sure the tool is accessible to remote employees.
• Customer support – Provide 24/7 customer support across different channels (chat, email, phone, etc.).
• Data protection and security – Secure sensitive data with robust data security features (encryption, 2FA, etc.).
• Reporting & analytics – Select a platform that provides extensive tracking and monitoring.
• Your budget – Keep an eye on your finances when selecting a tool.

A step-by-step process for selecting the right tool

Selecting the employee engagement tool is a complex process. Here are the steps to make sure you choose the right tool for your company and employees:

• Step 1: Understand your organization’s needs

Identify the specific company needs, challenges, and goals and ensure the tool has features to help you achieve them.

• Step 2: Review a few tools

Take a look at a few tools and apps for their features, flexibility, customer support, etc.

• Step 3: Ensure they are compatible with your current system

Ensure the tool is fully compatible and integrates seamlessly with your current systems.

• Step 4: Assess its user experience

Carefully examine the user interface. Is it intuitive, clear, and consistent? 

• Step 5: Evaluate the tool’s security and compliance

Ensure the tool will allow you to securely handle sensitive employee data and comply with regulations like GDPR.

• Step 6: Consider your budget

Consider its initial cost and how much it will cost over time (including support, subscriptions, training, etc.). 

• Step 7: Request a demo or trial

Request a free trial or demo to understand what it can do.

Conclusion

Employee engagement tools will help you measure employee engagement, reduce turnover and increase retention, raise productivity, better align your performance and goals, facilitate communication, promote company values and culture, and make informed, data-backed decisions. With all that, HR professionals need to have this in their arsenal, regardless of the company size.

Does your HR team have an employee engagement tool that supports your company’s and employees’ needs? Check out how HeartCount can help you better understand how your employees feel over time.