Forget nap pods and ping-pong tables; the key to a happy and productive workforce lies in a more fundamental approach: recognizing hard work. Human resources, talent management, and team managers can leverage employee recognition software to foster a culture of appreciation, boost employee morale and engagement, and improve overall workforce performance.
The right employee recognition tool can simplify HR and team manager operations by helping with recognizing team efforts or individual talent. Understanding the key features of this software will help you when you are ready to invest.
To help you with your search, we’ve determined five key employee recognition software features based on the ratings given by verified software users. We also include the highest-rated employee recognition software for each feature.
1. Employee reward programs
The employee reward program feature in employee recognition software allows HR managers and business leaders to recognize and appreciate employees' contributions to the company. They can acknowledge achievements through public praise, peer-to-peer recognition, or an e-card using the reward gateway or portal. The employee reward program often includes reward points, which can be monetary or non-monetary rewards in a catalog for different employee preferences.
What business problems does employee reward programs solve?
Employee reward programs help HR managers and business leaders address a number of challenges faced by businesses, with the goal of creating a more engaged and productive workforce that boosts employee performance. Here are some business problems the feature helps solve:
Low morale and engagement: When employee efforts go unrecognized, they can feel less motivated to enhance productivity or innovate. A core aspect of the employee reward program is to recognize achievements. With the hard work being noticed and appreciated, employees get a sense of value and accomplishment. Bonuses, extra time off, gift cards, and other rewards incentivize employees to achieve the set goals and go the extra mile to become more productive.
Low employee retention: Employees who feel undervalued are more likely to leave for other opportunities. Reward programs help retain top talent by increasing job satisfaction. The rewards are linked to achieving specific business or team goals, showing employees their contributions are important to the company’s success. This fosters a sense of purpose and belonging, making employees less likely to seek opportunities elsewhere.
Lack of innovation: A monotonous work environment and less focus on creativity can make employees unengaged and uninspired. Having an employee appreciation program in place that focuses on creative ideas inspires employees to work up their brains. Innovation often involves some level of risk. A program that acknowledges and rewards well-intentioned attempts, even if they don’t give the expected results, can encourage employees to experiment and win over the competition.
How users benefit from employee reward programs
Here are some excerpts from the reviewers of employee reward programs feature describing how it helps them:
“Great ability to reward employees and to facilitate redemption of such rewards through the various gift cards, custom items or reloading of a debit card.”
“It's convenient and seamless. I get points, I spend them, the products purchased with the points arrive at my doorstep. I like the option of ordering from Amazon, travel and even gift cards. It gives me something to work for and look forward to at the end of each quarter.”
“The employee rewards program gives employees access to thousands of live discounts. It's highly valued by our employees, especially when cost of living pressures are so high. Through the site they can achieve real savings and cash back, which we know from surveys of employee sentiment is highly regarded.”
Top 3 products with the highest ratings for employee reward programs
We selected products for this article based on their average ratings between April 2022 - April 2024, which may differ from their current overall average ratings.
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Employee reward programs feature rating
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Employee reward programs feature rating
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2. Peer-to-peer recognition
Employee recognition program software with a peer-to-peer recognition feature allows employees to send out kudos, shout-outs, or personalized messages to commend their peers for a job well done or going the extra mile. The feature provides a platform where employees can send and receive recognition. This includes pre-written messages for common scenarios, specific skills, or behaviors that align with company values. The recognition can be public (shared with the team or company) or private (shared with the employee or their manager).
What business problems does peer-to-peer recognition solve?
Peer-to-peer recognition tackles several business problems that can stem from a lack of appreciation and connection among employees. Here is how it helps:
Recognition gap: Traditional employee recognition programs often rely on managers to observe and acknowledge employee contributions. This can lead to a recognition gap due to limited visibility or manager bias. Peer-to-peer recognition fills that gap by allowing colleagues to acknowledge each other’s contributions in real time. Peers see each other’s work on a daily basis and are more likely to catch important contributions that a manager might miss or is not aware of. For example, a software engineer might receive recognition from a teammate for their coding that a manager would not necessarily understand.
Reduced team work: It is common for team members to get bogged down by seeing others’ achievements, which can directly impact team bonding and collective achievements. Peer-to-peer recognition appreciates each other and collaborative efforts publicly, reinforcing the value of working together. This strengthens team bonds and builds trust among team members.
Unhealthy work environment: In order to be recognized for their work, employees often get into an individual race, leading to an unhealthy work environment that is fertile ground for silos or cliques. Peer-to-peer recognition celebrates others’ wins, resulting in a more inclusive and supportive company culture. In such an environment, team members are more willing to help each other instead of competing.
How users benefit from peer-to-peer recognition
Here are some excerpts from the reviewers of the peer-to-peer recognition feature describing how it helps them:
“Shoutouts are a really great way for employees to publicly recognize their colleagues and teammates in a public forum as well as having the option to share with their leaders as an additional way to provide feedback.”
“This is the most highlighting feature that the platform has. Using this feature, the peers' appreciation can be visible across the organization and one can easily identify the helpful resources of the team.”
“The ability for peers to give recognition to each other is a great way for small interactions and morale boosts to occur organically. It is especially helpful within a remote work culture, where face-to-face recognition is harder to acheive.”
Top 3 products with the highest ratings for peer-to-peer recognition
We selected products for this article based on their average ratings between April 2022 - April 2024, which may differ from their current overall average ratings.
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Peer-to-peer recognition feature rating
Device compatibility
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Peer-to-peer recognition feature rating
Device compatibility
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Device compatibility
3. eCards
eCards is an employee recognition platform that allows sending digital cards to colleagues as a way to express appreciation and recognition. Employees can send eCards to their peers through a user-friendly platform within the employee recognition system, The feature provides a library of pre-designed eCards for a job well done, celebrating a work anniversary, or simply saying ‘thank you’. Some employee recognition software allows customizing the eCards with messages, photos, or videos to add a more personalized touch.
What business problems does eCards solve?
eCards address several business problems in employee recognition related to time and distance, and options. Here are some common business problems the feature helps solve:
Delay in recognition: Unlike traditional methods that involve physically obtaining and delivering a card, eCards can be sent in real time when an instance occurs. This allows for immediate recognition of achievement or contribution, reinforcing the positive behavior while it’s still fresh in everyone’s mind. Also, eCards can be sent from anywhere, at any time, through a self-service platform.
Lack of options: Unlike a limited set of pre-defined awards, eCards offer a wider range of recognition options. The eCards library contains a variety of pre-designed cards for acknowledging different skills or behaviors. This allows for more targeted recognition that is also personalized. Plus, not everyone enjoys social recognition; therefore eCards allow both public and private options. Some might send a social recognition eCard to celebrate team achievement while sending a private card for a more personal act of support.
Discouraged participation: Traditional methods of recognition, such as physical cards and nominations require effort and time. eCards offers a quick, convenient, and less formal way to recognize colleagues compared to traditional methods. This lower barrier to entry can encourage more frequent participation, especially for small gestures of appreciation.
How users benefit from eCards
Here are some excerpts from the reviewers of the eCards feature describing how it helps them:
“The eCards are fun to pull together and the logistics of setting up delivery is marvelous with automated reminders to check the contributions, send the card either manually or automatically and even notifying if a recipient doesn't open their card.”
“Ecards help us to make special occasions memorable. We use it very frequently to congratulate peers on there work anniversaries & birthdays. We can include text messages as well images and gifs as well.”
“The wide range of eCards available is impressive. Additionally, I like the sustainable business model which removes the waste aspect from physical gift-card giving.”
Top 3 products with the highest ratings for eCards
We selected products for this article based on their average ratings between April 2022 - April 2024, which may differ from their current overall average ratings.
Trial/Free Version
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eCards feature rating
Device compatibility
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eCards feature rating
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eCards feature rating
Device compatibility
4. Recognition tracking
This feature in an employee recognition platform helps HR and team managers track how often employees are giving and receiving recognition. This can reveal which teams or departments are more engaged in the program and the skills picked for recognition. Users can also track which rewards employees are picking, providing insights into their preferences.
What business problems does recognition tracking solve?
The recognition tracking feature in an employee recognition tool helps address employee engagement, recognition practices, and program effectiveness. Here are some common business problems the feature helps solve:
Lack of visibility into recognition activity: Users might have a sense of the program based on the participation rate. However, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly which teams or departments are actively giving and receiving recognition. The feature helps track this to improve engagement and identify the teams or departments that are missing out to understand the reason and areas of improvement.
Unbalanced recognition practices: Tracking the reasons for recognition can highlight biases. For example, if recognition for “teamwork” is low in a specific department, it might indicate a need to promote collaboration efforts here. Once the areas lacking recognition are identified, HR or team managers can launch targeted campaigns to encourage recognition within those teams or for specific behaviors. The feature also reveals if managers in certain departments are not actively participating, to provide them with training on the importance of recognition and best practices for incorporating it into their leadership style.
Static recognition programs: Employee recognition programs might become stale due to ineffective activity tracking. Having a recognition tracking feature helps understand employee preferences to improve the program over time to resonate with the workforce and keep it relevant to the changing business needs and objectives.
How users benefit from recognition tracking
Here are some excerpts from the reviewers of the recognition tracking feature describing how it helps them:
“The best part is all the recognitions are tracked and documented in the tool. This helps the associate to create memories and download the recognitions any time in future.”
“When we are able to track the business outcomes, we are providing the ROI to business and this enables leaders to take informed decisions in the 'total rewards & recognition' aspects that will help in retention, engaged employees, happy employees, motivated employees, who in turn result in high productivity.”
“It is like an employee may work in different topics and this tracking will help the manager to consolidate the rewards that I have received from different topics or projects.”
Top 3 products with the highest ratings for recognition tracking
We selected products for this article based on their average ratings between April 2022 - April 2024, which may differ from their current overall average ratings.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Recognition tracking feature rating
Device compatibility
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Recognition tracking feature rating
Device compatibility
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Recognition tracking rating
Device compatibility
5. Performance management
The performance management feature in employee recognition software allows managers to collaborate with employees on setting clear performance goals that align with individual and department objectives. The feature offers tools to conduct regular performance reviews, including templates for feedback and progress tracking. Some employee recognition platforms with performance management features provide a secure and documented way for managers to provide ongoing feedback to employees. This can be useful for on-the-job training and development.
What business problems does performance management solve?
The performance management feature within employee recognition software ensures the recognition is targeted and meaningful, and contributes to overall performance improvement. Here’s how the feature helps employees solve some common challenges:
Goal misalignment: This occurs when employees are recognized for achievements that don’t directly align with their performance goals or the company’s objectives. The performance management features of employee recognition software can help eradicate this problem by tying goals to departmental and organizational objectives. When recognition reasons are linked to these goals during the process, it promotes transparency and reduces the chance of misaligned recognition.
Ineffective feedback and development: Unstructured performance review can lead to ineffective feedback, which is a roadblock to employee growth and overall performance. Performance management feature provides valuable context to the process for effective and apt recognition. It provides feedback, which can be used to tailor employee training and development and address specific areas highlighted for recognition. Effective recognition based on feedback also creates a closed-loop system, serving as a positive reinforcement for improvement, and motivating the employees to continue developing their skills.
Difficulty in identifying the right talent: Not all outstanding contributions are readily apparent. Plus recognition programs can sometimes reward simple task completions. Having a performance management feature helps reveal employees who contribute significantly to projects or solve problems quietly or those who consistently deliver high-quality work to go the extra mile, even if they don’t actively seek recognition.
How users benefit from performance management
Here are some excerpts from the reviewers of the performance management feature describing how it helps them:
“I'm able to manage the entire process of evaluation and feedback, setting quarterly interviews with team members, and see the progress of the objectives set at the begining of the fiscal year. In addition, I can run 360 dregrees evaluations.”
“It is a systematically composed, strategic process of getting the best talent on-board and helping them grow to their optimal abilities keeping organizational goals in mind. The process involves recognizing talent gaps, sourcing the right candidates, developing them within the system, improving skills, training, and finally retaining and motivating them to achieve organizational goals.”
“KPI management is the point of departure for performance management. This is the only solution that measures KPI's and then allows you to manage performance on an ongoing basis.”
Top 3 products with the highest ratings for performance management
We selected products for this article based on their average ratings between April 2022 - April 2024, which may differ from their current overall average ratings.
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Performance management feature rating
Device compatibility
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version
Performance management feature rating
Device compatibility
Trial/Free Version
- Free Trial
- Free Version