What is Employee Experience Management Software, and Why is it Important?
Employee experience software revolves around technology that bolsters the company’s efforts to accelerate worker productivity by streamlining its HR department to deliver practical and fast-acting services. How does it accomplish this? By converting traditionally labor-intensive administrative tasks into automated processes and thrusting data into the system to drive business decisions. Another way of looking at employee experience management software is that it substantially improves (and controls) how teams connect and deal with touchpoints in their diverse journeys within the organization.
As to why it’s vital, the short answer is that it’s a priority to significantly erase employee churn in modern business and, thus, the massive costs involved in that disruption. Conversely, nothing is more imperative than achieving stellar staff retention metrics by investing in the company’s most valuable asset: human skills and talent. Digital employee experience management is the “open sesame” to deploying stakeholders’ time effectively to:
- Create an inclusive corporate culture.
- Engage people in projects with commitment.
- Help employees feel good about themselves.
- Retain connection even with remote working in the mix.
- Consolidate cooperation.
- Emerge with a strong and resilient income statement that’s sustainable.
Features of Employee Experience Management Software
Finding the right employee experience platform for your business is challenging, and the purchasing experience can be confusing. The list below attempts to provide a comprehensive overview of EX management software features, on the understanding that one brand of employee experience software can’t carry all of it. If it does, it is unlikely to rank top-class in every attribute.
So, company decision-makers should decide what combination delivers the most benefit given their strategic objectives. However, getting them into the arena creates an excellent backdrop to find the experience management software that’ll fit best, all things considered. As a result, it boils down to evaluating each candidate on the following capabilities:
1. Personalizing Employee Communications
Arguably the most effective driver of securing staff acceptance is to communicate while making each team member feel like it was designed for them individually. When people feel recognized, they respond positively. Thus the employee experience platform must be flexible enough to present ideas and concepts in the language, voice, and content style they prefer.
Moreover, there should be room for feedback, allowing employees to express their thoughts as contributors aside from any team consensus. Thus, optimal employee experience management software should contain the technical ability and resource pool to apply relevant emails, articles, news articles, web pages, blogs, podcasts, posts, newsletters, links, images, and videos.
2. A digital employee experience management dashboard
Simple, straightforward, and seamless (the three S’s) are at the root of robust employee experience software, where employees can access all cloud and online-related tools in one place, from any location, and at any time. It creates a streamlined experience without jumping from app to app, saving time, and making training an uncomplicated exercise.
3. Unobstructed networking and collaboration from anywhere
Employee experience software being used in an isolated environment is rare, particularly where team synergies impact outcomes. Projects frequently cut across several divisions, drawing in sales, engineering, legal, financial, marketing, HR, and production talent to provide input. Thus, cooperation and team effort are crucial energizers relying on the selected employee engagement tool to embrace the following:
- All iOS and Android devices.
- A broad base of communication options to enable team interaction, such as:
- An online employee directory
- Email connection
- Accommodating Slack, WhatsApp, or Zoom conferencing
- Establishing knowledge communities
- Maintaining community calendars
- Updating relevant company content.
4. Integrating crucial business apps
Employee experience software without the power to flexibly springboard off modern work-assist platforms will limp along instead of firing on all cylinders. The primary contenders indispensable for any organization (Enterprise or SMB) are:
- Google Workplace that opens up Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Cloud Search, and Google Drive
- Microsoft 365 embracing Outlook 365 Emails, Outlook 365 OneDrive, SharePoint Online, and more.
Opening an incredible work base for staff to get things done depends on selecting an employee engagement tool that provides default access to both the platforms mentioned above as a priority consideration.
5. HR Portal
Employee experience management software critically relies on HR input to keep the internal cogs meshing and the operational wheels turning smoothly. Employees want to know where they stand on fundamental drivers and updates on changes in the business that impact their workspace.
This starts with a defined HR policy involving every aspect of the company’s expectations, culture, latitudes & limitations, and employee conduct in various situations and at unavoidable touchpoints. Next, it extends to transparency on new personnel entering the company, internal changes, new job postings, general HR news, and responses to the latest stream of FAQs. Thus, the employee experience software must include an HR portal that effectively accounts for all the above-mentioned items.
6. Onboarding new employees
In many ways, this merges with the HR portal described above, except it focuses on making new employees’ first weeks as smooth and unobstructed as possible. It involves creating an outline of steps that new staff should follow to join their team and deal with anticipated obstructions.
Faulty onboarding is one of the chief culprits behind employee churn, striking before the recruit can give the job opportunity a chance to show its best face. Thus, your employee experience software selection should not bypass onboarding protocols in its suite of benefits. Failure to do so will inevitably leave a gaping hole in the company’s HR strategies and efforts to maintain work equilibrium.
7. Providing an IT Portal
Digital employee experience management is the name of the game in almost all the features described above, with an emphasis on “Digital.” In addition, everything about modern business screams “Cloud Internet Connection,” and integrating it with digital platforms in virtual space. As a result, IT is firmly in the mix, and along with it, the multiple questions employees ask daily.
8. Two-way feedback
This feature covers crucial interaction that signifies to the employees that, in no uncertain terms, they have a voice in the organization’s protocols. In other words, the employee experience software must be accessible to everyone (in the office or working remotely) to review company news, monitor updates, share real-time thoughts, and comment where relevant for management’s attention.
The Top 10 Employee Experience Management Software Brands in 2024
The employee experience management options we have selected as our best choices contain many of the features above, but they each have their strengths and weaknesses. First, however, please note the following general observations:
- All rated between G2 – 4.5 and 5 to qualify for entry here. G2 Star Rating is a calculation based on aggregating reviewers’ answers to the question, “Are you likely to recommend?” on a scale of 1 to 10, then dividing the average in half (to the nearest half).
- Price monitoring on many of the employee experience software candidates wasn’t easy to uncover because reviews confused EX with similar products on the CX side. So, please note the following:
- In all cases, the candidates have a free product (with limited features) or/and a free trial and versions suitable for SMBs and large-scale enterprises.
- Reviews reflect start prices in some cases (for SMBs only), which we show below. However, the pricing structures go much further than this and can get complicated with several options available (especially on the enterprise side of the equation)
- Therefore, if the employee experience software writeups resonate, we suggest contacting the company directly to pinpoint accurate pricing that suits the scale of your business.
- In any event, I’ve structured this as an evergreen article about employee experience software in an environment where prices continually adjust.
Please see as follows a write-up on each employee engagement tool rated for benefits delivered and the least usage obstructions.
1. Sogolytics
Regarding employee experience management software, this is arguably the best in the industry. Why?
- First, it provides an all-in-one data collection and analysis platform capable of generating multiple customized surveys, polls, quizzes, and forms with organized distribution and reporting in several ways.
- The company knows everything about EX, Employee Journeys (EJs), and addressing every obstructive touchpoint.
- Their prices are affordable (but may require a direct consultation to determine), opening up a proven library of templates powered by a common question database, branching, skip logic, drag and drop interface, and other tech-based components. These ensure:
- Customization has no limits for creative users (e.g., inserting logos, altering fonts and colors, adapting content from NPS, matrix grid, rating grid, attachment, image choice, and more.)
- Erasing time wastage on irrelevant questions.
- Additional dimensions include:
- Outlining rules, alerts, and other protocols to assist in managing responses, primarily focusing on addressing adverse feedback from any quarter.
- Automating event/invitation reminders and issuing contact lists to match rules and time frames.
- As is expected with any state-of-the-art experience management software, SogoEX delivers extraordinary insights.
- With real-time reporting
- On any mobile or desktop device (iOS & Android)
- Integrated with several leading software systems, like Over Forty software, ADP, Workday, Microsoft Teams, Paylocity, and Slack.
- Via intuitive but sophisticated dashboards and eye-opening visualizations
Pricing (not a complete picture):
- Starting $25/user per month
- Subscription-based
- Free trial available
2. Survey Monkey
This is an employee experience management technology that enterprise entities stretching into the ranks of the Fortune 500 and another 350,000 SMB organizations have embraced. SurveyMonkey’s feedback-oriented platform covers a range of survey categories to meet every industry profile, ranking it as a popular option in the experience management software marketplace.
Moreover, the company has fastidiously tied itself to hundreds of software apps its clients deploy with seamless integration. Another primary benefit is the UX simplicity, requiring intuition and little training to gain unique insights.
Pricing (not a complete picture):
- Starting $25/user per month
- Subscription-based
- Free trial available
3. Qualtrics
This is an employee experience management software in the marketplace as a mainstream brand. Indeed, the savviest employee experience software advisors agree it delivers exceptional performance results that adhere to most of the features listed above. However, what stands out the most is this company’s detailed analytics capabilities, which are head-and-shoulders above most competitors. In addition, the following are notable unique user benefits provided by the platform:
- Automatically uses AI to prioritize and chart your organizational goals, visions, and missions, putting all players on the same page.
- Provides a flexible feedback system that suits all participants’ work and time schedules.
- Connects analytics and metrics to every stage of the process.
- Red flags associated with employee dissatisfaction.
- Cuts out slow response frustrations with automated workflows and deploys relevant third-party app integrations.
Pricing:
- This is a drawback. We found it challenging to determine the pricing for EC software for this company. The parallel CX platform product starts at $1,500 annually if that’s an indication. We recommend contacting them directly.
4. Culture Amp
Culture Amp earns 4.7 out of 5 stars as an employee experience software provider. Indeed, it’s an experience management software option that covers all the bases mentioned above, with the addition of bolstering enthusiastic real-time feedback as an integrated part of the company culture.
Its compendium of tech tools covers:
- Robust analytics, prefab surveys, and turnover predictions.
- Enabling stakeholders to build teams that respond to an employee engagement tool that can deliver meaningful reviews and better meeting planning.
- Shared agendas and check-ins as invaluable facilities for two-way communication
- Creating a forum for entire-team participation in suggestions and comments.
- Integrations with BambooHR, Workday, Personio, Microsoft Teams, and Slack give it that extra touch of employee experience platform flexibility.
5. Survey Sparrow
This all-embracing employee experience software reflects the features mentioned above in excellent balance. Indeed, a 360-Degree Employee Review capability should elevate performance, stunt churn, and consolidate retention at all the EX touchpoints. In addition, the developers of this digital employee experience management technology have successfully created:
- A platform that encourages constructive dialogue between employees and management
- A robust capability to measure performance and provide fast and responsive feedback.
In short, the signature claim of this company is that it initiated its technology in the Sparrow enterprise with its own workforce as the test arena. Only then did it adapt the prototype for the marketplace. Moreover, stellar customer reviews support its effectiveness.
Key Features of Survey Sparrow’s employee experience software:
- Presents take-home value data on all vital employee performance parameters, easy to interpret.
- A fully automated capability that facilitates moving through and closing the survey process after feedback addresses employee concerns to the max with just a few clicks to ensure issues of concern aren’t left hanging.
- Covers everyone seamlessly, from stakeholders to employees and peers, for in-depth employee performance insight.
- The most compelling aspect of the 360-Degree Employee Review capacity is tracking and measuring employee performance from end to end.
Pricing (not a complete picture):
- Starting $99/user (SMB) or $499/user Enterprise
- Per month
- Subscription-based
6. Kudos
With 4.8 out of 5 stars as an employee experience management technology, Kudos deserves our attention. The developers focused on employee recognition as a principal driver to erase churn and represent the foundation stone of a thriving company culture. Their experience management software goes overboard on establishing staff engagement, building a legacy culture, and overlaying it all with analytics to enable businesses to monitor productivity.
As a result, its employee experience software contains the following tools that they deploy toward achieving actionable insights and sustainable outcomes.
- Incremental leveling, badges, points, and rewards to accelerate motivation.
- Flexible, easy-to-use dashboards.
- Integrations with Over Forty software, ADP, Workday, Microsoft Teams, Paylocity, and Slack.
7. Quantum Workplace
This company’s employee experience software has a G2 Rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars, and as far as we can tell, prices start at a hefty $10,000 annually.
The company deserves mention in the top ten employee experience management softwares, with an expansive tool menu that converges management’s attention on every aspect of the team experience and each member’s participation in that journey. Thus, its components focusing on Engagement, Intelligence, and Performance aim to highlight the most positive workplace experiences and springboard everything else off those. They’re also famous for holding annual regional and national contests titled “Best Places to Work.”
Finally, QW has added a unique dimension to experience management software, with an ability to express individual staff sentiment from several angles at crucial touchpoints in the employee lifecycle. Indeed, QW provides a stand-alone mobile app integrated with Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Google Chrome, and Slack.
8. Typeform
Typeform has gone head over heels to insert the most fun into the process versus any other experience management software, removing complicated dashboard interface alongside easy-to-answer forms, quizzes, and surveys (which frequently fade into forgetfulness after boring interaction or something completely new). Users agree, citing that the employee engagement tool accumulates more, better quality data than most others, with built-in machine learning and conversational components to help respondents from end to end without a hassle.
Online forms and surveys tend to be bland and forgettable, but not with Typeform. Moreover, their employee experience management technology can customize format designs to feature the client’s brand and logo. Finally, integrations are a strong suit in the pack of Typeform features: The company works on every device integrating with MailChimp, Google Sheets, and Salesforce (to name a few of over a hundred) on mobile, laptops, and desktops alike.
Pricing (not a complete picture):
- Starting $29/user per month
- Subscription-based
9. Trakstar
Trakstar is an employee experience management, cloud-based talent development platform aimed at appealing to HR professionals with customized pricing and free demonstrations (please contact them directly on this). Thus, the developers introduced an array of tools and features with an emphasis on:
- Performance management – delivered by Trakstar Perform.
- Applicant tracking – provided by Trakstar Hire.
- Learning management – offered by Trakstar Learn.
- Workforce analytics – the domain of Trakstar Insights.
In short, Trackstar represents experience management software that focuses on attracting top-class talent. In so doing, it offers clients the following features:
- Robust performance reviews.
- 360-Degree Employee Review & online feedback capable of:
- Setting & updating goals.
- Simultaneously tracking team member progress and performance at every vital touchpoint.
- Flexible, templated employee surveys involving:
- A library of pre-determined survey questions proven to work in a range of different environments.
- Seamless automation, thus enabling HR managers to a variety of survey oversights at the push of a few buttons, customized and aligned to specific data requirements.
- Easy-to-use goal-setting tools expected in sophisticated employee experience management technology.
- Performance evaluation formats that accurately measure employee engagement from different vantage points.
- Self-reviews, tracking with real-time reporting, and flexible reporting stacked with rich data to help determine the top performers. The software also has automated email notifications, check-ins, and note-taking features.
10. 15Five
15 Five’s positioning in the employee experience software marketplace ranks with the best of them (G2 = 4.6 out of 5 stars). The company is all about establishing positive employee psychology built around cutting-edge employee experience management technology, deploying engagement tools aligned with:
- Accelerating performance analytics
- Goal setting
- Manager training.
More specifically, consistent performance assessments & reviews, real-time feedback, and meaningful employee recognition are in 15Five’s suite of benefits. Finally, the broad integration range is particularly impressive, embracing:
- Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, Jira, Slack, and BambooHR
- A free standalone iOS and Android mobile app.
Pricing (not a complete picture):
- Starting $29/user per month
- Subscription-based
Choosing the Best Employee Experience Management Software
So, there you have it—a complete overview of the best employee experience software packages in 2024. Pricing, to reiterate, often requires direct conversations to determine the best options for your business.
Also, Sogolytics, Qualtrics, and the others highlighted above are on the cutting edge of AI and machine learning innovations integral to developing their employee experience management technologies. I’m confident you’ll find the optimal solution from one of the contenders in this article.
