8 Top Employee Recognition Software Solutions of 2022

If you are not making your employees feel valued and recognized well enough, chances are they already have one foot out the door.

In a world that has gone digital, using the right employee recognition software can provide you with the ultimate solution to make your employees feel appreciated, motivated, and perform at their best day after day, no matter where they are working from.

However, there is an overwhelming amount of such software out there and choosing the right one is a confusing and time-consuming process.

To take that load off your shoulders, we have compared employee recognition software solutions and have lined up our 8 top picks to help you find the right fit for your company, goals, and budget.

Our 3 Top Employee Recognition Software for 2022

1. Connecteam: the top employee recognition software solution; easily give your employees recognition, badges, and tangible rewards, no matter where they are working from. 
2. Motivosity: a multi-level recognition software with which all of your employees can send recognition messages with real money rewards attached. 
3. Assembly: a peer-to-peer recognition software with which employees can send recognition messages and rewards and nominate co-workers for a job well done.

If you’re in a hurry, click here to jump to our comparison table of all our employee recognition software recommendations.

What Should You Look For in Employee Recognition Software?

When looking for an employee recognition software solution that will best enhance your company culture, keep an eye out for the following aspects:

1. It’s easy to use and customize to suit your team structures.
2. It provides a fun and intuitive experience with inviting graphics so that your team has fun while using it.
3. It saves time and enables you to directly communicate your appreciation to your employees.
4. It focuses on praise and achievement, and effectively conveys appreciation.
5. It effectively incentivizes your employees to continue to do good work by providing usable rewards.
6. It’s cost-friendly and suits your budget.

The 8 Top Employee Recognition Software of 2022

Connecteam’s employee recognition and rewards feature makes it easy for you to effectively communicate the recognition your employees need and deserve with just the click of a button, straight to their mobile devices. 

It is part of its HR & People Management hub which has all the tools you need to manage all HR matters under a single roof. These range from building employee training courses, to managing important documents, to creating online quizzes, and more.

Check out the following ways in which Connecteam can help you make your employees feel recognized and create lasting and engaging relations.

Recognition

The Recognitions feature (combined with the Rewards feature mentioned next) serves to energize and inspire your employees by making them feel acknowledged and valued.

You can send your employees recognitions in the form of badges for any big moment, such as work-related events, milestones, and anniversaries, and praise every achievement. 

You can create and fully customize these badges to suit your company’s needs and culture and attach a personal message. Send recognitions privately or share it with the entire team to drive a culture of excellence.

Rewards

The Rewards feature gives you the option to send your employees tangible rewards with tokens, a digital form of money that can be used to purchase gift cards from leading services. 

Your employee’s timeline listing all their achievements and milestones within the company included in the HR hub will furthermore help you choose the perfect timing to issue the rewards; for instance right after that upcoming yearly evaluation.

The rewards feature is also fully customizable: you can decide the amount, recipient and occasion you want to grant the rewards for. 

Beyond Recognition and Rewards: an All-in-One Employee Management Solution

Connecteam is an award-winning all-in-one software solution that provides you with everything you need to manage your employees, from managing daily operations, to communication, to people management, no matter where they are working from and even while on the go. 

Key Features

• Manager-to-peer recognition

• Customizable badges

• Multi-recipient selection

• Employee reactions

• Recognition activity tracking/Data insights

• Export reports

• Redeemable rewards

• Digital tokens & balance

• Private and public sharing options

• Language options

Pros & Cons

• Intuitive and easy to use

• Quick to set up

• Neat design with engaging graphics

• Fully customizable settings

• Great customer support

• Budget-friendly

• Option to give tangible rewards

• Allows for employee engagement

• Integrations in development

Price: 

• Premium plans start at $29/month for the first 30 users, $0.50 per month for each additional user.

• Free trial: 14-days

• Free-forever plan: Yes, for up to 10 users, without limitations

Motivosity is a multi-level employee recognition software with which all your employees can send one another public recognition messages with money rewards attached. Each month every employee receives a sum of money to use toward this. Employees can use their rewards to buy from a customizable company store which can include gift cards, local offerings, or customized gifts.

Key Features

• Multi-level recognition

• Awards and badges

• Money rewards

• Message automation

• Customizable company store

• Highlights and announcements

• Social feed

Pros & Cons

• Employees can choose their reward from a selection

• Coworkers can react and comment

• Ability to mark messages as private

• Not cost-friendly

• Recognition is mainly focused on rewards

• Not user-friendly

• Recognition program is not centralized

Price

• Pricing starts at $5 per person/month

• Free trial? No

• Free plan? Yes

Assembly is a peer-to-peer employee recognition software that enables your employees to recognize each other and celebrate achievements by sending messages and rewards. Employees can also vote to nominate someone for a job well done. Issued reward points can be redeemed and used toward gift cards, charities, and personalized rewards. 

Key Features

• Employee nominations

• Redeemable reward points

• Recognition activity tracking

• Message automation

• Vendor selection

• Main feed

• Integration options

Pros & Cons

• Employees can choose their reward

• Peers can react and comment

• Employees forward coins to coworkers

• Easy to set up

• Not cost-friendly

• Not as intuitive to use

• Recognition can only be sent publicly

• Recognition program is not centralized

Price

• Pricing starts $2.80 per member/month for up to 30 users and $4.50 per member/month 50+ users

• Free trial? Yes

• Free plan? Yes (up to 10 users)

Blueboard is a high-value, lower frequency rewards and recognition platform that enables you to send employees rewards in the form of experiences. Once a reward is sent by a manager, the employee can choose an experience from a catalog with experiences ranging from in-home experiences to domestic travel and getaways. The Blueboard Concierge team is paired with the rewards program and handles bookings, payments, and logistics. 

Key Features

• Experiential rewards

• Recognition activity tracking

• Reward automation

• Vendor selection

• Automated feedback surveys

• Concierge service

• Integration options

Pros & Cons

• Employees can choose their reward

• Rewards can be sent out automatically

• Original gifts

• Recognition is limited to rewards

• Less suitable for frequent recognition

• Not cost-friendly

Price

• Pricing is not publicly available

• Free trial: No

• Free plan: No

Nectar is an employee recognition software that supports both top down and peer recognition. Your employees can join in on recognizing your employees for their good work by posting messages to the company feed, which others can react to and comment on. You can reward your employees with points, which they can put toward which they put toward a prize from Nectar’s Amazon product catalog, company-specific rewards, on-demand swag, and digital gift cards. Special dates can be automated. 

Key Features

• Multi-level recognition

• Redeemable reward points

• Recognition analytics

• Message automation

• Point leader board

• Integration options

Pros & Cons

• Employees can select their reward

• Coworkers can react and comment

• Recognition cannot be sent privately

• Not as intuitive to use

• Not cost-friendly

• Recognition program is not centralized

Price

• Pricing starts at $2.50 per user/month

• Free trial? Yes

• Free plan? Yes

Kudos is an employee recognition software that allows you to send personalized awards to celebrate important achievements and contributions. It allows for both manager-to-peer as well as peer-to-peer recognition to be posted on the Kudos Wall for other employees to comment on and endorse. Points can be awarded for every recognition message, which employees can redeem from a catalog of gift cards and other reward options. 

Key Features

• Multi-level recognition

• Awards and badges

• Redeemable reward points

• Recognition activity tracking

• General messaging

• Vendor selection

• Integration options

Pros & Cons

• Employees can choose their reward

• Peers can comment

• User-friendly

• Lack of cost transparency

• Recognition and rewards are not managed by management

Price

• Pricing is not publicly available.

• Free trial? No

• Free plan? No

Guusto is a gift-based employee recognition software that connects companies with merchants to send rewards to their employees. Companies can transfer budgets, send gift cards, and track all gifting activities from a command center. Recipients can select where they want to redeem their reward from a list of merchants or can pass the gift to someone else. Gifts that were not claimed by employees within a set period of time will be credited back to the company.

Key Features

• Employee nominations

• Nomination leaderboard

• Redeemable reward points

• Gift reports

• Gift-claim period settings

• Print-out options

• Vendor selection

Pros & Cons

• Employees can choose their reward

• Refund for unclaimed gifts

• Can track if rewards were claimed and send reminders

• Peers can react and comment

• Recognition can only be given with rewards

• Not as intuitive to use

• Prompt to bugs

Price

• Pricing starts at $1.50 per member/month

• Free trial? No

• Free plan? Yes (single user account)

Bonusly is an employee recognition software on which all employees have the ability to recognize one another by sending messages and points from a monthly point allowance. These points can be reverted into gift cards, cash, and charity donation options. It moreover has a built-in employee survey tool to gather employee feedback. 

Key Features

• Multi-level recognition

• Redeemable reward points

• Analytics

• Built-in survey tool

• Bonus feed

• Integration options

Pros & Cons

• Employees can choose their reward from a selection

• Coworkers can comment

• User-friendly

• Not cost-friendly

• Recognition and rewards are not managed by management

Price

• Pricing starts at $2.70 per person/month

• Free trial? Yes

• Free plan? No

Quick Comparison: Top Employee Recognition Software

Frequently Asked Questions about Employee Recognition Software

Is Employee Recognition Software Expensive?

Fortunately, no, it does not.

Employee recognition software providers oftentimes offer different bundles of features for you to choose from for varying prices, ranging from free to custom enterprise plans. 

Even though some providers may offer very similar features, pricing can strongly differ per company. It is therefore important to choose one that suits your budget, without having to compromise on features that you feel would best suit your company’s needs and culture. 

Also note that pricing is often set per employee which adds up quickly, especially if you have a large company or are planning on expanding your team. Choosing a company that offers fixed pricing up until a certain amount of employees can then save you the math and hassle of updating the pricing with every new hire. Connecteam for instance has a fixed price for the first 30 employees.

What Are The Benefits of Employee Recognition Software?

As positive employee recognition has proven to boost morale, job satisfaction, productivity, performance, and engagement while significantly reducing turnover, the right employee recognition software can help you do this with complete ease, efficiency, and pleasure.

With the right software solution, you can: 

• Centralize your recognition efforts onto one platform 
• Put your employees’ achievements in the spotlight, no matter where they are located
• Provide real, tangible rewards as tokens of appreciation
• Simplify operations and reduce program management time
• Keep track of recognition activity and gain useful insights
• Increase employee engagement

The Bottom Line On the Best Employee Recognition Software

Overall, the right employee recognition software will help you make your employees feel valued, energized and thrilled to be part of your company, all with the click of a button. 

And the best part is that choosing one that will best enhance your company culture and be easy and fun to use does not mean you have to break the bank.

Connecteam is both user and cost-friendly and will make your employees feel valued, connected, and incentivized to put their best foot forward, no matter where they are working from.