HR & Engagement Writer
1
The Best Employee Retention Tools in 2024
7 min read
Published: Mar 23, 2023
Revised on: Mar 1, 2024
Here’s our curated shortlist and our reasons for liking each company; please click into each company to get more details:
- Assembly
- Easy to use and intuitive interface. Many reviews mentioned Assembly is simple, easy to navigate, and user-friendly.
- Good customer support. Reviews mentioned Assembly's support team is responsive in resolving issues.
- Rewards redemption process is smooth. Users liked the gift card and other reward options that can be redeemed with points.
- Integrates well with Slack and Microsoft Teams. The integration makes giving recognition quick and seamless.
- Good for employee recognition and engagement. Reviews highlighted Assembly's peer-to-peer recognition features that help boost employee morale.
- Monday.com
- Easy to use and intuitive interface. Many reviewers mentioned how user-friendly Monday.com is.
- Visual project management. Reviewers liked the ability to visualize workflows and track progress through boards and timelines.
- Enhanced team collaboration. Monday.com facilitates task assignment, communication, and real-time updates to improve collaboration.
- Customizable boards and workflows. Users appreciated the ability to fully customize boards and automations to match their needs.
- Centralized hub. Storing all project information and files in one centralized place made managing projects easier.
- Bonusly
- Easy-to-use interface and seamless integrations (e.g. with Slack) make it simple for employees to recognize each other.
- Hundreds of international reward options make it useful for international teams.
- Wide variety of gift cards and reward options to redeem points.
- Analytics provide insights into employee engagement levels.
- Ability to customize rewards and tie them to company values.
- Awardco
- Easy to use and user friendly interface. Many reviews mention how simple and intuitive the platform is.
- Wide variety of redemption options, including gift cards, donations, and products through Amazon. Provides employees choice in how they want to be rewarded.
- Ability to recognize coworkers both publicly and privately. Allows for flexibility in giving praise.
- Integration with Amazon for product redemptions. Gives access to a huge catalog of items.
- Features like the recognition feed increase engagement and positivity among employees. Helps boost morale.
- Nectar
- Makes it easy to recognize and reward employees (praise, points, gifts)
- Boosts employee morale and positivity in the workplace
- Allows recognition across departments and remote teams
- Simple and intuitive interface, easy to use
- Provides analytics and insights into employee recognition
It’s an employee market and finding qualified candidates has become increasingly harder. That’s not all, retaining top talents is even more challenging.
Employees want to be engaged and be part of great company culture. If they don’t get this, they’re more likely to quit, bad news for employee retention.
One study showed that 75% of employee turnovers could have been prevented. For the most part, (the lack of) employee engagement and employee recognition played a role in these exits.
Therefore, it’s no wonder that 91% of HR leaders are concerned about employee turnover. There is no easy or permanent fix, but innovative employee retention strategies can lower turnover rates.
Fortunately, HR software, collaboration and engagement tools, and recognition and rewards tools can help with retaining top talent.
What Are the 3 R's of Employee Retention?
The 3 R's of employee retention typically refer to:
- Recognition: Acknowledging and appreciating employees for their contributions and achievements. Recognition can come in various forms, such as praise, awards, bonuses, or promotions. It fosters a sense of value and belonging, encouraging employees to stay with the company.
- Respect: Creating a respectful work environment where employees feel valued, heard, and treated fairly. Respect involves promoting diversity and inclusion, providing growth opportunities, and maintaining open communication channels between management and employees.
- Rewards: Offering competitive compensation packages, benefits, and opportunities for career advancement. Providing appealing rewards and incentives encourages employees to stay motivated and engaged, reducing the likelihood of seeking opportunities elsewhere.
Focusing on these elements can significantly contribute to retaining valuable talent within an organization.
What Is the Most Effective Method for Managing Employee Retention?
Managing employee retention involves a blend of strategies, culture-building, and utilizing tools/software to enhance engagement and satisfaction. Here are effective methods:
Create a Positive Work Environment
- Culture Building: Foster a positive, inclusive culture where employees feel valued, respected, and connected to the company's goals.
- Recognition and Rewards: Implement recognition programs or software (e.g., Bonusly, Kudos) that allow peer-to-peer recognition and rewards for outstanding work.
Offer Opportunities for Growth:
- Training and Development: Use learning management systems (LMS) like Coursera for Business, LinkedIn Learning, or your custom LMS for continuous skill development.
- Career Path Planning: Utilize HR software (e.g., BambooHR, Workday) for career path mapping and regular discussions about growth opportunities.
Effective Communication:
- Feedback Mechanisms: Implement tools like 15Five or Officevibe for regular feedback collection, ensuring employees feel heard and valued.
- Transparent Communication: Use platforms like Slack or similar to encourage open communication across teams.
Work-Life Balance and Flexibility:
- Remote Work Tools: Provide tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams for effective remote collaboration and ensure policies support work-life balance.
Competitive Compensation and Benefits:
- Compensation Analysis Tools: Use tools like PayScale, Salary.com, or Glassdoor for competitive salary benchmarking.
- Benefit Administration Software: Utilize platforms like Zenefits or Gusto to streamline benefit administration and offer attractive perks.
Exit Interviews and Retention Analysis:
- Exit Interview Software: Employ tools like Culture Amp or SurveyMonkey to conduct insightful exit interviews, gathering data to improve retention strategies.
- People Analytics: Leverage HR analytics software (e.g., PeopleInsight, Visier) to understand trends and identify areas for improvement.
Leadership and Management Training:
- Leadership Development Programs: Use platforms like DDI or Cornerstone to train managers on effective leadership and employee engagement.
Top Employee Retention Tools
This article will discuss some of the best employee retention tools for creating a company culture your employees will love and never want to leave.
Pricing
$2.80 per user/month
- Free version
- Free trial available
- Seat Minimum: 1 User
Assembly wants you to work smarter and save time. Nothing takes a chunk of company time and slows productivity more than a low employee retention rate.
Assembly wants to keep your workforce happy and together for as long as possible, and they have the numbers to back it up, having helped thousands of companies get to 95% employee engagement while reducing turnover.
A suite of culture, employee engagement, and collaborative tools — including peer-to-peer recognition and rewards, satisfaction surveys, feedback, and a host of others — make this possible. Leverage these tools when creating your employee retention strategies, and you might be on your way to building a team that lasts.Reasons to Love Assembly:
- Its analytics and reporting functions allow managers to get a birds-eye view into the overall employees’ sentiment and morale in the company
- Has a slew of automation that saves several hours of company time
- Can be integrated easily into other work tools like Slack and Microsoft teams
What Clients Are Saying About Assembly:
Pros
- Easy to use and intuitive interface. Many reviews mentioned Assembly is simple, easy to navigate, and user-friendly.
- Good customer support. Reviews mentioned Assembly's support team is responsive in resolving issues.
- Rewards redemption process is smooth. Users liked the gift card and other reward options that can be redeemed with points.
- Integrates well with Slack and Microsoft Teams. The integration makes giving recognition quick and seamless.
- Good for employee recognition and engagement. Reviews highlighted Assembly's peer-to-peer recognition features that help boost employee morale.
Cons
- Limitations in analytics and reporting features. Some reviews wanted more detailed analytics and user statistics.
- Creating flows and automations can be tricky. Reviews noted workflows and automations are sometimes hard to setup.
- Limited customization options for recognitions. Users wanted more ways to customize recognitions with images/GIFs.
- Lack of mobile apps earlier on. Reviews mentioned lack of mobile apps made it hard to use when not by a computer.
- Confusion due to branding changes. Reviews noted frequent name changes of the reward units was confusing initially.
Pricing
$8.00 per user/month
- Free version
- Free trial available
- No Seat Minimum
If employee retention is king, then there is a world where Monday.com is a kingmaker. Since launching in 2012, the team behind the software has worked hard to build tools across various functions, from project and task management, feedback, and communication to collaboration and operation processes. Monday.com makes it easy to build and customize tools your employees need to do their best work and collaborate effectively. Interestingly, employees who enjoy their work and the people they work with typically stay longer in a company than those who don’t. It’s safe to say that Monday.com recognizes this and has optimized its project management tools to support your employee retention strategies.
Reasons to Love Monday.com:
- Flexible and customizable options to suit your specific company needs
- Intuitive dashboard that keeps every stakeholder on top of things
- Reporting and analytics functions are unparalleled
What Clients Are Saying About Monday.com:
Pros
- Easy to use and intuitive interface. Many reviewers mentioned how user-friendly Monday.com is.
- Visual project management. Reviewers liked the ability to visualize workflows and track progress through boards and timelines.
- Enhanced team collaboration. Monday.com facilitates task assignment, communication, and real-time updates to improve collaboration.
- Customizable boards and workflows. Users appreciated the ability to fully customize boards and automations to match their needs.
- Centralized hub. Storing all project information and files in one centralized place made managing projects easier.
Cons
- Steep learning curve. Some reviewers found the initial setup and learning process time-consuming and complex.
- Limitations of free plan. Key features like automations are only available on paid plans.
- Integration issues. Some users faced challenges integrating Monday.com with other tools they use.
- Slow performance. A few reviewers complained about occasional lagging or platform slowness with heavy usage.
- Price. Monday.com's pricing model makes it cost prohibitive for larger teams to use all features.
3
Bonusly
Pricing
$3.00 per user/month
- Free trial available
- Seat Minimum: 1 User
If you’re building a company culture of appreciation, rewards, and recognition, then Bonusly thinks they can help you get to where you need to be, i.e., building a team that wants to stay and work towards your company’s goals. Using Bonusly, you can rally everyone together and make it easy for team members and managers to praise and thank each other through the designed recognition and rewards and employee engagement solution. Bonusly also delivers on the performance management side by automating HR functions and processes. In addition, talent management solutions help get the buy-in of your employee and propel them to participate actively in company initiatives.
Reasons to Love Bonusly:
- Seamless integration with popular workplace tools makes it easy for employees to recognize one another, creating a cohesive work environment
- Managers can feel their team’s morale through the built-in feedback tools
- The analytics function ensures managers can easily find useful data about their team member’s workplace experience
What Clients Are Saying About Bonusly:
Pros
- Easy-to-use interface and seamless integrations (e.g. with Slack) make it simple for employees to recognize each other.
- Hundreds of international reward options make it useful for international teams.
- Wide variety of gift cards and reward options to redeem points.
- Analytics provide insights into employee engagement levels.
- Ability to customize rewards and tie them to company values.
Cons
- Can be costly, especially for larger organizations.
- Some users have reported that Bonusly can be slow to load
- Users express dissatisfaction with the inability to keep transactions private between themselves and the recipient.
- Some users feel constrained by the number of points they can award to colleagues
- Reliant on user adoption - engagement declines if employees don't actively participate.
4
Awardco
Pricing
Contact sales for pricing
- Free version
- Free trial available
- Seat Minimum: 1 User
You can find Awardco’s biggest use case in the first five letters of its name. This employee rewards and recognition tool makes it easy to award, appreciate and engage your employees. This way, you’re doubling down on making positive behavior the core of your company’s culture, improving team spirit, and convincing your employees that they chose wisely to work in your company. There’s a lot of potential good to get out of this — low employee turnover, for one.
Reasons to Love Awardco:
- Multiple ways to recognize employees based on the company’s values
- Requires little technical know-how to navigate
What Clients Are Saying About Awardco:
Pros
- Easy to use and user friendly interface. Many reviews mention how simple and intuitive the platform is.
- Wide variety of redemption options, including gift cards, donations, and products through Amazon. Provides employees choice in how they want to be rewarded.
- Ability to recognize coworkers both publicly and privately. Allows for flexibility in giving praise.
- Integration with Amazon for product redemptions. Gives access to a huge catalog of items.
- Features like the recognition feed increase engagement and positivity among employees. Helps boost morale.
Cons
- Limited selection of products compared to full Amazon catalog. Not all options on Amazon are available.
- Inability to pay difference when order total exceeds points balance. Must have exact points amount.
- Reporting capabilities could be more robust for admins. Some want more data analysis options.
- Navigation issues like having to reload item list when going back to browsing. Causes inconvenience.
- Lack of ability to track shipments of ordered items. Status not always clear after ordering.
5
Nectar
Pricing
$2.75 per user/month
- Seat Minimum: 50 Users
Nectar has a bold mission statement on their landing page — they want to help businesses reduce their employee turnover rate by creating a company culture your employees won’t want to leave. Granted, Nectar is an HR and culture software, but how do they improve employee retention and motivation levels? Their product offerings include tools you can build your employee retention strategies around — employee engagement, talent management, rewards and recognition, and many others. These tools help give your workforce a sense of belonging and foster community and collaboration in the workplace. Additionally, the rewards and recognition features ensure your employees know their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. Essentially, Nectar promises to keep your company values in the mind of your employees, keep their morale high and show them reasons to stay with the business every day.
Reasons to Love Nectar:
- Extensive reward options that are redeemable worldwide
- Works on both mobile and desktop
What Clients Are Saying About Nectar:
Pros
- Makes it easy to recognize and reward employees (praise, points, gifts)
- Boosts employee morale and positivity in the workplace
- Allows recognition across departments and remote teams
- Simple and intuitive interface, easy to use
- Provides analytics and insights into employee recognition
Cons
- Limited options for rewards in some regions/countries
- Can feel like a popularity contest with the leaderboards
- Monthly points expire if not used quickly enough
- Not integrated with common workplace tools like Slack or Teams
- Mobile app is not as robust as desktop site
Pricing
$2.00 per user/month
- Seat Minimum: 10 Users
It’s natural to think of Motivosity as a tool to consider when building out innovative employee retention strategies. It’s designed with an array of employee engagement functions with one goal in mind — troubleshooting employees’ blockers and creating a nurturing environment where they can do the best work of their life. Motivosity’s product offerings that double as employee retention tools include “Recognize,” which helps you“create a culture of gratitude.” There’s also “Lead,” which your managers will find helpful because it helps them get the best out of their teams. In addition, there is “Listen,” whose job is to foster the flow of feedback from the top to the bottom of your organization.
Reasons to Love Motivosity:
- Mobile app makes the tools more accessible and available on the go
- Employee retention tool integrates seamlessly with other software
What Clients Are Saying About Motivosity:
Pros
- Makes it easy and fun to recognize and reward peers and employees. Many reviews mentioned how Motivosity makes it simple to give thanks and praise to coworkers.
- Improves employee morale, culture, and engagement. Multiple reviews highlighted how Motivosity has enhanced company culture, boosted team morale, and improved employee engagement.
- Fosters connections between remote/hybrid teams. Reviews noted how Motivosity helps remote and dispersed teams stay connected.
- Provides visibility into what's happening across the company. Reviews liked being able to see praise and recognition across the organization.
- User-friendly interface. Many reviews complimented Motivosity's clean and easy-to-use interface.
Cons
- Leaderboards can cause unwanted competition. Some reviews felt the leaderboards promoted competition instead of true recognition.
- Money rewards aren't always motivating. A few reviewers felt the money wasn't the real motivator - the recognition was more meaningful.
- Reporting and analytics could be better. Some reviews wanted more robust reporting capabilities.
- Mobile app lacks functionality. The mobile app was called out for missing key desktop features.
- Technical glitches. A couple reviews cited occasional technical issues with the software.
7
BambooHR
Pricing
Contact sales for pricing
- Free trial available
BambooHR makes talent management structures easy to create and scale, almost like how one-pot recipes make cooking meals a breeze. As a Human Resources software, BambooHR’s value proposition is in helping you manage and streamline the moving parts of the employee cycle — from hiring, compensation, and time-offs to onboarding and off-boarding. Of course, they also want to help you keep your star employees for as long as possible. Specifically, BambooHR is handy for building a company culture that works wonders for employee experience. Tools like performance management help identify, recognize and reward A players. The feedback tools give employees a voice and foster healthy, two-way communication. All this and more means increased employee engagement and retaining your best people.
Reasons to Love BambooHR:
- Comes with a robust reporting and analytics tool
- User interface is friendly and easy to navigate
- Easy to find all your employee information and data in one place
What Clients Are Saying About BambooHR:
Pros
- User-friendly interface - Many reviews praise how intuitive and easy to navigate BambooHR is. Both employees and HR admins find it simple to use.
- Streamlined HR processes - Automates tasks like onboarding, document signing, PTO requests, etc. Saves HR teams time and effort.
- Excellent customer support - Numerous reviews highlight BambooHR's responsive and knowledgeable customer support as a major plus.
- Customizable - Can tailor BambooHR to fit organization's specific needs via custom fields, workflows, access levels, etc. Provides flexibility.
- Integrations - BambooHR integrates with other HR tools like payroll, applicant tracking, and performance management systems. Allows connecting workflows.
Cons
- Limited customization - Some reviews note inability to customize certain aspects like performance reviews. Can be an issue for unique needs.
- Complex configurations - Setting up advanced workflows and custom fields requires learning and experience. Can impact productivity.
- Missing features - Lacks some common HR features like scheduling, recognition programs, advanced analytics. Requires add-ons.
- Lack of personalization - Dedicated account manager promised during sales but not provided post-signing according to some reviews.
- Reporting limitations - Reporting functionality could be more robust and flexible as per some user reviews.
Pricing
Contact sales for pricing
- Seat Minimum: 150 Users
WorkTango’s existence is tied to giving you the tools to “engage, inspire and retain your employees.” With a platform built to cover all employee engagement bases, it’s safe to call WorkTango an efficient employee retention software. It has comprehensive tools that include but are not limited to employee rewards and recognition, feedback and surveys, and performance management metrics like goals and feedback. With WorkTango, you’ll empower your employees and make them feel part of something great. Surely, your employee retention rate will thank you for it.
Reasons to Love WorkTango:
- Customer support team is always available and ready to help
- Interface is aesthetically pleasing and easy to navigate
What Clients Are Saying About WorkTango:
- A Human Capital Executive says, “Amazing Experience.”
Pros
- Easy to use and user-friendly interface. Many reviews mentioned how simple and intuitive the platform is.
- Ability to easily recognize and reward coworkers. Giving points and recognition is seamless.
- Fun way to boost employee morale. The gamification and rewards help motivate employees.
- Provides insight into employee engagement. The data and analytics provide valuable insights.
- Good variety of rewards to choose from. Many gift cards and merchandise options in the catalog.
Cons
- Point system not ideal. Reviews mentioned points being hard to earn or expiring too quickly.
- Rewards catalog limitations. Some wanted more options, lower point costs, or better rewards.
- Reporting and analytics could be better. Some found the data analysis functionality lacking.
- Issues with notifications. Reviews cited missing or too frequent notifications as problems.
- Navigation issues. Some found the site navigation confusing or unintuitive at times.
Conclusion
Talent management doesn’t stop at hiring exceptional people to join your team. How well you manage their experience and retain them for as long as possible speaks to the company culture you’re building. Thankfully, you don’t have to do this alone. With the right tools to improve employee retention and motivation in your company, finding and retaining qualified candidates will be a thing of the past.
