A staggering 85% of employees are either disengaged or actively disengaged. These significant implications result in approximately $7 trillion in lost productivity.
In today’s world, where it’s economic downtime and an utter need for an engaged workforce, we relate to your quest for free employee engagement software.
The foundational pillars of employee engagement are the need for purpose, recognition, and transparent communication powered by technology.
Thus, free employee engagement software solutions must offer non-negotiable features like real-time feedback, personalized recognition, performance tracking, and team collaboration tools.
Join us to unlock the potential of your workforce, shape a thriving future, and conquer attrition. Let’s dive into the world of employee engagement excellence together!
Features to Look for in Free Employee Engagement Software
When it comes to free employee engagement software, there are a few key features to look for, such as:
- Employee Feedback Surveys: A survey to collect employee feedback is also an essential feature to look for. Feedbacks allow organizations to gather valuable insights about employees’ satisfaction, well-being, and engagement levels.
- Performance Improvement Tools: Look for features like custom-made manager templates, training videos, best practice resources, and tool adoption tips.
- Third-party Integration support: Ensure your selected software has an HRIS integration. Different valuable integrations include payroll systems integrations, email integration, and instant messaging integration.
- Recognition and Rewards: The software should have a way to track and reward employee achievements and milestones. It motivates them to excel in their performance.
- Communication Tools: Check if the software includes instant messaging or chat tools. It’s the perfect communication medium for your employees and work collaboratively.
- Analytics and Reporting: Look for software that offers analytical insights to track progress and measure the impact of engagement efforts.
- Security and Compliance: Consider the security of the software, mainly if it stores employee information. Employee data leaks can be costly for businesses. For instance, in 2013, Target, a popular US retailer, faced a massive data breach that exposed the personal information of millions of customers and employees. The company had to pay a $10 million settlement for the incident.
- User-Friendly Interface: Look for simple and intuitive software, so your employees can easily use it without extensive training.
- Customization Options: The software should allow you to customize the solutions to suit your business needs.
- Excellent Customer Support: Ensure that the company selling the software offers reliable support and expertise, such as access to ready-made templates, expert advice, and coaching resources.
Considering these key features, you can select the right free employee engagement software for your organization’s unique needs.
Top 5 Free Employee Engagement Software
We’re here to break the mold in a world where paid software solutions dominate the market. Get ready to uncover game-changing free solutions that rival their paid counterparts. Here are the most feature-rich software solutions that you should consider.
#1. Teamphoria
Teamphoria is the ultimate employee engagement software to amplify team performance and business productivity. The tool is ideal for building and growing a thriving work culture with positivity. You can avail of either a free demo session or get started with Teamphoria for free.
Source: Teamphoria
Features and Capabilities
Teamphoria offers a range of features and capabilities that can help organizations improve employee engagement and recognition, including:
- Peer-to-peer recognition among employees to reward their colleagues for their achievements.
- Manager-to-employee recognition to reward deserving team members for their outstanding work.
- Customizable rewards and incentives giveaways to employees.
- Custom surveys and polls to receive employee feedback
- Communication and engagement enhancement with social news feeds and chat rooms.
- Customizable engagement dashboards and real-time analytics based on recognition data to monitor performance metrics
- Easy integration with various third-party tools like Slack, Google Workspace, Zapier, Okta, Microsoft Teams, etc.
Security and Compliance
Teamphoria takes security and compliance seriously and has implemented several measures to protect its customers’ data, including:
- GDPR Compliance
- SOC 2 certification
- Regular security audits
- Encryption of data in transit and at rest
Downsides of using Teamphoria
- Limited customization options can result in a less personalized experience for employees.
- The steep learning curve can be overwhelming for new employees.
- It requires consistent efforts to maintain engagement.
User Ratings
According to G2, Teamphoria has 4.4-star ratings with multiple positive client reviews and testimonials.
Customer Success Story
The North American Logistics Company, “Now Courier,” has achieved tremendous success with the help of Teamphoria. When the company decided to use Teamphoria, employees found a fun and intuitive interface to interact with each other. Read what the CEO of Now Courier has to say about Teamphoria.
Software Pricing
Teamphoria offers flexible pricing plans that cater to organizations of all sizes. The pricing plans include the following:
- Starter: Free for up to 20 users, with essential features such as recognition, polls, and surveys.
- Growth: Starting at $2/user/month, with additional features like custom branding, advanced reporting, and integrations.
- Enterprise: Custom pricing with personalized onboarding, dedicated account management, and other customization options.
#2. ActivTrak
ActivTrak is a popular employee activity monitoring software designed to help organizations track employee performance, productivity, and behavior.
ActivTrak offers a range of tools and features that allow managers, team leaders, and IT professionals to monitor employee activity in real-time. Here is an overview of the ActivTrak dashboard.
Source: ActivTrak
Features and Capabilities
ActivTrak offers a range of features and capabilities that can help organizations improve productivity, identify security risks, and monitor employee behavior, including:
- Real-time monitoring and activity tracking, including website visits, application usage, and keystrokes.
- Auto-generated alarms and alerts to notify when specific activities occur, such as unauthorized software installations.
- AI-powered productivity scoring to identify weak areas of employees that can be improved with training.
- Idle time tracking through behavior monitoring
- Risk analysis to identify potential security risks, such as unauthorized software download.
- Internet usage and application usage tracking based on company policies and guidelines.
- Customizable dashboards with real-time insights to track employee productivity and behavior metrics.
Security and Compliance
ActivTrak takes security and compliance seriously and has implemented several measures to protect their customers’ data, including:
- GDPR Compliance
- HIPAA compliance
- SOC 2 certification
- Encryption of data in transit and at rest
Overall, ActivTrak is a powerful tool that can help organizations improve productivity, identify security risks, and monitor employee behavior.
Downsides of using ActivTrak
- The monitoring software can reduce the employees’ trust.
- This software may not be compatible with specific operating systems.
- The data analysis and reporting functionality is time-consuming.
User Ratings
With clients worldwide, ActivTrak holds a 4.4-star rating on G2.
Customer Success Story
ActivTrak’s workforce tool has helped various industries, including manufacturing, insurance, technology, real estate, logistics, healthcare, and more.
Eric Gaffin, the Director of Advanced Technology Group, speaks out about how ActivTrak has helped the company to manage its remote workforce during the COVID pandemic. Check out the full story to gain better visibility about the tool.
Software Pricing
ActivTrak offers a free version of its software and several paid plans catering to organizations of all sizes. The pricing plans include the following:
- Free: A basic software version with monitoring for up to 3 users and limited reporting features.
- Advanced: Starting at $7.20/user/month, with additional features such as unlimited data retention, real-time activity tracking, and custom reporting.
- Premium: Starting at $12/user/month, with additional features such as AI-powered productivity analysis, automated alerts, and custom dashboards.
#3. Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is a cloud-based collaboration and project management software. It is suitable for organizations that plan to improve communication and productivity. Bitrix24 has features such as project management, CRM, HR tools, and communication tools.
Source: Bitrix24
Features and Capabilities
- Task management lets you create tasks, assign them to employees, and even track their progress
- CRM to manage customer interactions, track sales, keep an eye on leads, manage them, and see them move through the funnel
- HR tools such as employee directory, time tracking, knowledge base, workflow automation, and absence management
- Collaboration tools to collaborate on tasks, projects, calendars, chats, video calls, webmail, workgroups, and documents
- Communication tools such as chat, video conferencing, online meetings, and email integration
Security and Compliance
● Two-factor authentication
● ISO 27001 certified
● Compliance with GDPR and CCPA regulations
Downsides of using ProofHub
● May not be suitable for larger organizations with complex needs.
● The interface can be overwhelming for new users.
● Some features may require additional payment, which could increase costs.
User Ratings
With so many positive client reviews on G2, Bitrix24 has helped various types of organizations to enhance their employee engagement.
Customer Success Story
One example of a Bitrix24 customer success story is the case of Grove Group, a digital marketing agency that started using the tool in 2018. Bitrix24 helped the company streamline its project management, task delegation, and communication. Green Forest also reported a significant increase in productivity and reduced errors and miscommunications.
Software Pricing
Bitrix24 offers a free pricing model that includes basic product features. Paid plans start at $19 per month for two users and increase depending on the number of users and required features. The pricing is flexible and can be adjusted based on the organization’s needs.
#4. TINYpulse
TINYpulse is a free employee engagement software helping organizations increase their employee engagement with higher retention rates and productivity. TINYpulse has a range of features designed to help managers better understand their employees’ needs and challenges and take actionable steps to improve their work experience.
Source: TINYpulse
TINYpulse offers solutions including:
● Employee engagement surveys
● Pulse surveys
● Feedback and recognition tools
● Goal setting and tracking
● Performance management tools
Features and Capabilities
- Anonymous employee feedback and suggestions via pulse surveys and feedback tools, along with cross-team communication features
- Real-time data insights on employee engagement, satisfaction, and performance, in addition to actionable recommendations
- Data-driven technology inspired goal setting and tracking for employees and teams to achieve their objectives
- Performance management tools to improve employee performance, advanced visualization to enhance leadership skills
- Customizable survey questions and templates to gather employee feedback with 100% anonymous responses
Security and Compliance
● ISO 27001 certified
● GDPR compliant
● Compliance with HIPAA regulations
Downsides of using Trakstar
● Limited customization options for surveys and feedback tools.
● Some users find the platform’s interface to be somewhat outdated.
● Limited integrations with other HR software and tools.
User Ratings
With so many positive client reviews on Capterra, Trakstar holds an average 4.6-star rating.
Customer Success Story
One of TINYpulse’s success stories is from a company called Bazaarvoice, which used the software to improve employee engagement and satisfaction. Bazaarvoice implemented TINYpulse’s pulse surveys and recognition tools, which helped them identify and address issues within their organization. As a result, they improved employee engagement and satisfaction by 10% within six months.
Software Pricing
TINYpulse offers a free version with limited features and paid plans starting at $3 per user per month. Custom pricing is available for enterprise-level organizations.
#5. Officevibe
Officevibe is a software tool that helps companies improve employee engagement, productivity, and performance. The platform offers various features and capabilities like customizable surveys, recognition and rewards programs, goal setting, pulse surveys, and more. It is designed to be user-friendly and intuitive.
Source: Officevibe
Features and Capabilities
- Get to know your employees using pulse surveys, scoring, eNPS, and anonymous feedback forms.
- Recognize true talent and their efforts with peer-to-peer recognition and management recognition.
- Align the employee expectations with the business’s end goals and OKR goals.
- Benchmarking and goal-setting for employees to achieve personal and organizational goals.
- Productivity analysis with time tracking to determine employee work hours and performance on various activities.
Security and Compliance
- GDPR compliant
- SOC Type 2 compliant
- Industry-standard encryption
- Two-factor authentication
Downsides of using Officevibe
- Has technical limitations for the reporting and analytics features.
- Does not provide in-depth insights into employee engagement.
- Has compatibility issues as it doesn’t support all operating systems.
User Ratings
According to Capterra ratings, Officevibe is the ideal tool for goal management and reporting analytics.
We’ve shared some Officevibe alternatives in a separate article. Do check it out!
Customer Success Story
Look at the user story from Stingray, a global media agency. Stingray used Officevibe to improve employee engagement and productivity and saw impressive results. Within six months of using Officevibe, the company saw a 3.3% increase in employee engagement, a 20% increase in employee satisfaction, and a 12% increase in team collaboration. The company also saw a significant decrease in employee turnover and absenteeism.
Software Pricing
You can try out the free plan for individual usage. Otherwise, you can choose the $ 5/month or $8/month plan according to your business requirements.
Conclusion
All the free employee engagement software presented in this article offer most of the non-negotiable features. To simplify your decision-making, we have presented their key differentiator, what you get in the free model, and how pricing increases beyond free users.
| SaaS Tool | Key Differentiator | Free Pricing Model | Pricing Changes with increasing users |
| Teamphoria | Customizable recognition program | Up to 5 employees | Starts at $2 per employee per month for 6-50 employees |
| ActivTrak | Employee productivity monitoring | Up to 3 users | Starts at $7.20 per user per month for 4-49 users |
| Bitrix24 | Integrated project management tools | Up to 12 users | Starts at $19 per month for two users; pricing per user decreases with more users |
| TINYpulse | Employee feedback and recognition | Up to 10 users | Starts at $49 per month for 11-35 users |
| Officevibe | Automated employee surveys and feedback | Up to 10 users | Starts at $4 per user per month for 11-49 users |
Undoubtedly, selecting the most suitable employee engagement software can be quite challenging. However, we’re here to lend a helping hand. Our in-depth review of the available free employee engagement software solutions in the market aims to provide the insights you need to make the right choice.
