By Jostle
9 min read
When was the last time you raved about the great work your employees have done? Or perhaps even rewarded them for their hard work and contributions?
As employees go about their daily routines, simple words and acts of appreciation from their manager and colleagues can make all the difference in boosting morale and productivity.
The search for a more efficient and consistent approach to employee recognition is increasingly becoming a priority for many businesses. An employee recognition software does precisely this – an all-in-one tool that brings together feedback, engagement, and appreciation in one platform.
In this blog post, we'll break down the key features of the best employee recognition software to help you choose the right platform for your team.
Cracking the code for an effective employee recognition program requires understanding the key features of a good platform.
Here are some of the essential features to look for:
Most recognition programs lack the personal touch that employees crave. Picking a software with customizable options, such as dashboards, communication channels, pages, rewards, and privacy control, gives everyone the opportunity to personalize their experience.
The struggle of learning a new system drains energy, disrupts productivity, and hinders its adoption. A user-friendly interface helps employees easily navigate through the software and quickly find the features they need without the hassle of going through tutorials.
Employees should be able to receive recognition in various ways – from virtual badges and awards to public recognition. A platform that offers multiple recognition channels puts the power of appreciation in everyone’s hands, encouraging employees to acknowledge colleagues in their own way.
Leveraging data to analyze employee engagement and performance is crucial for improving the workplace. The platform you will use should come with reporting and analytics tools to keep track of activities, metrics, and trends in a single dashboard.
An employee recognition software that integrates with other tools like HRIS systems, Slack, and Google Workspace is crucial for streamlining the employee experience. Seamless integration with your existing systems also helps reduce the manual data entry and administrative burden.
On-the-go access to any app or tool changes the game. Mobile accessibility allows employees to leverage the software in real-time and benefit from its features from any device, anywhere, anytime.
We aren’t a traditional employee recognition software. But a ton of our features complement and boost employee recognition across your organization. Jostle makes employee success happen in a single platform.
With a simple and intuitive design, Jostle helps you create a culture of recognition – one that rewards great work with visibility, praise, and appreciation.
This all-in-one tool takes the stress out of communication, delegation, organization, engagement, and recognition that you commonly find in the workplace.
With just a few clicks, employees can reach out to one another through Jostle’s instant messaging feature, share their progress on projects without opening another tool, find helpful resources and documents in the extensive library, and post shoutouts to celebrate other colleagues’ wins.
Integration with Bonusly makes micro-bonusing even easier, wherein employees can reward a fellow colleague for a job well done. And all of these can be done on the go with a smartphone!
Jostle brings everyone together while helping employees get work done more efficiently and making celebration a part of their daily routine.
Key Features:
Nectar is a 360-degree employee recognition and rewards platform that allows team members to recognize one another for their hard work.
The platform offers an intuitive interface that lets you reward colleagues with points that can be exchanged as rewards like gift cards, discounts, Amazon products, or custom rewards like swag.
Nectar helps teams stay connected with its chat feature, which allows the team to communicate and share feedback in real-time. Its built-in analytics tool also provides insights and trends on how recognition is distributed, helping you identify areas for improvement.
Key Features:
Motivosity is an employee recognition and rewards platform that builds a culture of appreciation and motivation in the workplace.
It uses a research-backed approach to employee recognition by linking specific goals to rewards and celebrating wins publicly. This encourages others to reach their goals faster, as they are visibly supported by their peers for their performance.
Motivosity's dashboard makes it easy to keep track of progress by providing in-depth analytics and data about employee performance as well as recognition activities. It has financial reporting tools to help you manage rewards budgets while still providing customizable rewards options.
Key features:
WorkTango (formerly Kazoo) is a comprehensive employee recognition software that keeps everyone engaged, motivated, and connected.
It features a unique Employee Experience Platform that strives to reward and recognize behaviors that align with the values, goals, and objectives of the team and company.
With WorkTango, employees can receive real-time feedback on their performance and progress while earning points for reaching certain goals and milestones and participating in initiatives and events.
Key features:
Mo aims to make employee recognition easier and more meaningful with its all-in-one platform.
Beyond the traditional employee recognition programs like awards and bonuses, the platform also allows peer-to-peer recognition tools such as Boosts to nudge employees when they've done something commendable. It helps build good habits while also promoting a healthy culture of appreciation.
It offers a central hub where employees can share their wins, announce events, recognize milestones, and celebrate small, daily wins through Moments.
Key features:
Awardco is the go-to employee recognition software for companies looking to stay ahead of the game.
With an official partnership with Amazon Business, it offers employees millions of rewards to choose from, making it a great choice for those who want a straightforward system.
Online or offline, Awardco allows you to enhance your employee recognition efforts by rewarding your team through AwardCodes or customizable QR codes that they scan to redeem their points.
Key features:
Another 360-degree employee recognition platform, Terryberry offers an automated, scalable system for employee recognition and rewards.
From service awards and birthdays to performance goals, it handles all aspects of employee recognition with ease, such as social recognition, peer-to-peer shoutouts, reward points, incentives, and employee feedback.
The platform also allows you to build, launch, and execute your own wellness programs and initiatives with a built-in activity plan converter to keep employees engaged while nurturing their well-being.
Key features:
Suitable for companies of all sizes, Bucketlist offers an easy-to-use employee platform to quickly recognize and retain top employees.
It features a gamified approach to recognition, allowing managers to create simple games and challenges that pay employees points to be exchanged for rewards.
And their rewards system doesn’t just involve traditional gift cards and discounts. You can choose from thousands of rewards or request new ones like “Leave 30 minutes earlier from work” or “Take a Friday off.”
Key features:
Kudos is a great peer-to-peer recognition platform for businesses that want to emphasize the value of meaningful relationships and camaraderie.
The platform is built to be recognition-first, allowing employees to send simple but thoughtful messages to each other and nominate colleagues for certain awards. Plus, you can send your recognition with a video to make it more personal.
With both mobile and desktop access, it’s easier to stay in the loop, motivate each other, and celebrate daily wins on the go.
Key features:
Designed to make employee recognition fun and easy, Guusto is a gift-based platform that lets employees recognize each other with rewards in over 160+ countries.
It also offers a convenient way to celebrate success through shoutouts and redeeming rewards like gift cards and custom rewards. Admins can also assign budgets, see expense reports, and track all activities in one place to gain insights on your employee recognition efforts.
Even better, Guusto partnered with the One Drop Foundation so that one day of clean drinking water is donated for every gift sent.
Key features:
Employee recognition software can be an effective way to boost team morale, increase productivity, and motivate employees. But what makes one stand out from the rest?
Here are some factors to consider:
The more features and customization options a platform offers, the more expensive it may be. If you’re on a tight budget, look for one that offers free versions or trials to avoid paying for features you don’t need.
Maintaining employee recognition should be easier as your company grows. It's crucial to get a platform that can scale with your business and adjust as needed. Making major changes, adding more users, and setting up different teams should be easy and straightforward.
Fraud and data breaches can disrupt your entire system, costing you precious resources, time, and money. Ensure that the platform you select has robust security features to protect your company and employees’ information from any external threats or attacks.
Any software platform should come with excellent customer support, so you can quickly get help when needed. It’s best to choose one that offers online training, detailed tutorials, and an extensive resource library to make sure all users are up-to-date with the latest features and best practices.
From setting up the platform to onboarding the users, the implementation process should be simple and fast. The fewer steps, tools, and skills required for installation, the better.
Picking a platform that's intuitive and easy to use is crucial for successful adoption. The things that matter the most are user engagement and feedback, so a platform that can measure these metrics accurately will boost your employee recognition efforts.
Recognizing employees' achievements may seem like a small gesture, but employee recognition can have a big impact on your organizational culture.
Building an employee recognition program with the right software can help boost morale, foster collaboration, and improve overall performance.
The best employee recognition software is easy-to-use, customizable, affordable, and flexible in terms of features and scalability. Having integrations with existing tools is also a plus for a smooth transition, better visibility, and improved workflow.
Whether you’re looking for a more comprehensive solution or something simpler to get started, Jostle gets you up and running in days and without setup fees.
Explore the platform with a free trial today!
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Jostle’s employee success platform is where everyone connects, communicates, and celebrates at work. Find out more at jostle.me. © 2009–2024 Jostle Corporation. All rights reserved.
