Employee Engagement Software

Buyers guide

How many of your employees give their all at their job every single day? Likely not many. According to Gallup, only 1 in 3 workers said they were engaged at work in 2016, which means only a third of workers were "involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace."

That might not seem like a big deal—people have had to deal with unmotivated workers since the beginning of commerce, after all—but a significant enough disengagement problem in your workforce can result in the death of your business by a thousand cuts. Productivity losses due to disengagement are estimated to cost U.S. businesses $500 billion every year.

Solving engagement woes is no easy task, but employee engagement software can help.

Below, we'll go over everything you need to know about employee engagement software to ensure you pick the perfect system for your needs.

Here's what we'll cover:

What Is Employee Engagement Software?
Common Employee Engagement Software Functionality
Employee Engagement Software Pricing
Why You Don't Want Employee Engagement Software (Yet)
Additional Employee Engagement Resources

What Is Employee Engagement Software?

Employee engagement software describes an emerging category of performance management tools that help managers and HR personnel diagnose sources of employee disengagement and recommend solutions to fix them.

These platforms can be purchased stand-alone (e.g., Officevibe, Engagedly) or as a feature set within a more comprehensive talent management suite (e.g., Saba, BirdDogHR).

Common Employee Engagement Software Functionality

The primary purpose of employee engagement software is to provide workers with a medium through which they can do three things they value immensely:

• Submit honest criticism about their work environment without fear of retaliation
• Get regular feedback from managers about their performance
• Come together with coworkers to celebrate individual or company-wide wins

Though it will vary from system to system, here are some common features you can expect to find in most employee engagement software platforms:

You may already have systems in place that do some of these things—a collaborative tool such as Slack, for example, where workers talk amongst themselves about company issues. The benefit of employee engagement software is that it houses all of this functionality in one system and automates a lot of tedious administrative and tracking processes to save you time and money.

Employee Engagement Software Pricing

As with any major purchase, the price tag is everything. Though employee engagement software is very affordable for even the smallest businesses, it's still important to set expectations. If you think you're going to pay off your new system entirely upfront, you're going to be disappointed.

Most employee engagement systems are cloud-based, and as a result, are sold on a subscription basis. Usually buyers pay a monthly or annual fee based on how many people will be using the system or how many people are employed at your company. Subscription pricing can also vary depending on how much functionality you're purchasing—typically vendors offer different tiers of options.

Beyond the license to use the software, there are other costs to consider as well. When researching vendors, ask about any one-time charges for things like implementation or data transfer and any recurring fees for things like customer support or training.

Why You Don't Want Employee Engagement Software (Yet)

Employee engagement is a hot button issue in HR right now for a reason. Everyone's dealing with it. Before you jump the gun and purchase an employee engagement software system though, here are some reasons why you might want to wait:

• You don't even have the basics right. Hopefully this doesn't come as a surprise, but workers are going to be disengaged if they aren't paid well, don't get expected benefits or are treated poorly. Software isn't going to fix these issues.
  
• You don't have worker buy-in. Getting meaningful engagement data relies on employees using employee engagement software regularly and being honest in their concerns and feedback. A survey asking workers if they'd be interested in this kind of platform can give you an idea if they'll use it or if it will gather dust.
  
• You don't have core HR systems in place. Don't put the cart before the horse, software-wise. Your budget would be put to better use toward new recruiting software, payroll software or a basic human resources information system (HRIS), if you don't already have those systems in place.

Additional Employee Engagement Resources

Everything we've covered so far in this Buyer's Guide should help you evaluate different employee engagement software options and decide on the best system for your needs. If you're still looking for more help on how to improve employee engagement in your business though, here are some additional Software Advice resources:

• 3 Employee Motivation Ideas That Don't Involve Rewards: Money really doesn't solve everything. Read about three ways you can motivate your workers without resorting to rewards such as bonuses or raises.
  
• Social Employee Recognition Can Save the Performance Review: Does everyone dread their annual performance review? Learn how to liven them up and make them more impactful through social employee recognition.
  
• Do Managers Have Enough Insight to Assess Their Employees?: We surveyed workers and learned that managers alone may not have as much insight into employee performance as they think. Discover strategies for making performance management a team effort.
  
• Case Study: How HR Software Improved Employee Engagement at 5 Companies: We talked to five different companies that implemented five different types of HR software systems to discover how a simple software implementation can boost morale and performance.