15 employee retention software programs to maximize engagement in 2026

Employee retention software can’t solve everything — but it’s a smart place to start.

When you’re trying to keep top talent engaged and off the job boards, the right platform can offer something no spreadsheet ever could: insight. These tools dig into the patterns behind employee behavior, flag the risks, and help you turn feedback into action.

And it’s not just theory. In fact, Gallup research tells us that nearly half of employees are actively looking for a new job. That’s a tough stat to ignore, and a clear signal that retention deserves more than just good intentions.

Whether you’re building a strategy from scratch or looking to upgrade your tech stack, today’s employee retention software gives you options.

These are the 15 platforms making waves in 2026. Ready to find the right fit for your company? Let’s go!

Top 15 employee retention software platforms

1. Achievers

G2 rating: 4.7/5

Strength:

Achievers is recognition and rewards software designed to drive retention through consistent, meaningful engagement. It makes recognition easy — not just for HR leaders, but for everyone. With 93% global employee adoption and an average of 13 recognitions per employee per year, Achievers users recognize twice as often as those on other platforms, leading to 5x the impact on engagement, performance, and retention.

The platform is built to scale globally, with a multilingual experience and rewards fulfillment in nearly 190 countries — no customs, markups, or surprise fees. Employees can recognize and redeem from anywhere, using tools they already rely on, thanks to software integrations with platforms like Workday and Microsoft Teams. For HR leaders, Achievers offers deep, self-serve insights and AI-powered analytics to make smarter, faster decisions about culture, performance, and retention strategy.

And it’s not just the platform that stands out. It’s also the partnership. Achievers offers award-winning 24/7 support in 200+ languages, a library of on-demand recognition campaigns, and a dedicated success team to guide you from implementation to sustained impact.

Best for:

Best for organizations that want a dedicated recognition platform built to support frequent appreciation, global reward delivery, and everyday engagement.

Key features:

• Employee recognition: Achievers Recognize™ makes it easy to celebrate accomplishments, big and small, with social, peer-to-peer, and manager-driven recognition that’s embedded into your workflow.
• Listening tools: Voice of Employee offers custom surveys, polls, and always-on feedback channels to help surface insights and drive real-time action.
• Employee rewards: Achievers Reward™ connects recognition to real impact, with a global marketplace of 3M+ reward options and no markups.
• Employee connections: With features that bring distributed teams together, Achievers helps employees build meaningful relationships across roles, regions, and time zones.
• Milestone celebrations: From service anniversaries to major achievements, Celebrate ensures employees feel valued at every stage of the journey.

Weakness:

Because Achievers focuses deeply on recognition and rewards, companies looking for a broad HR suite may need to pair it with other HR systems.

Review:

“I think what stands out most about Achievers is their commitment to creating a positive and engaging workplace culture. Their focus on employee recognition and fostering strong, meaningful connections sets them apart. They prioritize creating an environment where people feel valued, appreciated, and empowered, whether through peer-to-peer recognition programs or leadership initiatives. That level of investment in employee satisfaction can boost morale and overall productivity.” — Samantha Z., Flight Communications Officer, G2

2. SurveyMonkey

G2 rating: 4.4/5

Strength:

SurveyMonkey helps organizations collect employee feedback and keep a pulse on engagement. With its survey tools, it helps teams check in on everything from satisfaction to sentiment, making it easier to spot red flags early and gather input to shape retention strategies.

It’s a great fit for teams looking for a flexible, user-friendly solution to streamline feedback.

Best for:

Best for organizations that need a tool to run general surveys across customers, employees, or audiences.

Key features:

• Survey design tools: Includes various tools for designing surveys with multiple question types, logic branching, and customization options.
• Analytics and insights: Analytics that include real-time reporting, trend analysis, and benchmarking to measure employee sentiment and engagement.
• Ease of deployment: Quick deployment of surveys through multiple channels (email, web, etc.) and intuitive respondent management features.

Weakness:

Companies with more complex needs may find they need additional tools to turn those insights into action.

Review:

“I found SurveyMonkey to be an excellent resource for building and generating somewhat simple research surveys it fulfill a variety of objectives and needs. Granted, I was either utilizing the free and then the basic level, which was understandably limited. For a novice, this is an amazing resource, though it can become challenging if experience in modeling is low.” — Gabriel, Senior Digital Strategist, via Capterra

3. Motivosity

G2 rating: 4.7/5

Strength:

Motivosity is employee retention software focused on building a culture of appreciation through peer-to-peer recognition. It makes it easy for employees to highlight everyday wins, leave comments, and foster connection across teams.

Best for:

Best for small to mid-sized teams looking for a way to give recognition and keep people connected.

Key features:

• Peer-to-peer recognition: Enables employees to publicly recognize their peers for their contributions.
• Rewards and incentives: Provides a platform for distributing rewards and incentives based on peer recognition.
• Employee feedback: Allows for feedback and comments on recognition, fostering a culture of appreciation.

Weakness:

While Motivosity offers strong recognition tools, setup and integration may take some planning for more complex environments. Early adoption can also require a bit of upfront effort, especially in larger or distributed teams.

Review:

“This is a great solution to our goal of engaging remote employees and still connecting with each other. The admin side isn’t as user friendly, but it’s a great product!” — Review via Gartner

4. BambooHR

G2 rating: 4.4/5

Strength:

BambooHR focuses on simplifying core HR tasks. It combines a user-friendly interface with tools for performance management, onboarding, and employee self-service — helping organizations streamline operations and support employee engagement at the same time. Customizable reporting gives HR teams visibility into workforce trends, and integrations with other tools help extend the platform’s reach.

Best for:

Best for companies looking for a simple, centralized HR system to handle their people operations.

Key features:

• Employee self-service: Allows employees to manage their personal information, time-off requests, and benefits, reducing administrative workload.
• Performance management: Helps with goal setting, performance reviews, and feedback, promoting continuous employee development.
• Onboarding and offboarding: Streamlines the onboarding and offboarding processes, ensuring smooth transitions for new hires and departing employees.

Weakness:

Teams looking for built-in recognition and rewards may need to pair BambooHR with another platform to support those programs.

Review:

“BambooHR makes it much easier and less time consuming to do most of the administrative work of HR. The reports are super easy to pull, create and manipulate if needed to get the information I need to make informed decisions and presentations. I really like having (almost) everything HR in one place.” — Jennifer F., Director of People and Culture, via G2

5. Sparkbay

G2 rating: 5/5

Strength:

Sparkbay helps organizations understand what drives turnover by tracking feedback across the employee journey. Its predictive insights highlight early signs of risk, giving HR teams clearer visibility into where challenges may be developing. By analyzing patterns from onboarding through exit, it supports more informed decisions about retention.

Best for:

Organizations that want to identify turnover risks and understand engagement trends over time.

Key features:

• Predictive alerts: Flags groups showing signs of turnover risk or declining sentiment.
• Lifecycle feedback: Collects input from new hires through departing employees.
• Turnover analysis: Surfaces common themes behind recent departures.

Weakness:

Sparkbay centers on feedback and analytics, so companies may still need other tools for recognition, communication, or broader engagement needs.

Review:

“The tool is easy to use and powerful at the same time. When we got our first people data, we were amazed at how much information was made available to us.” — Lewis, Human Resources Generalist, via Capterra

6. Confetti

G2 rating: N/A

Strength:

Confetti offers a wide catalog of virtual and in-person team-building experiences, making it easy for companies to plan events without heavy coordination. The platform provides hosts, logistics support, and planning tools, helping teams book activities quickly and run them smoothly from start to finish.

Best for:

Companies that want a simple way to book hosted team-building events, celebrations, and employee experiences.

Key features:

• Large activity catalog: Hundreds of team-building, wellness, DEI, and learning experiences.
• Live hosts: Facilitators lead each session to keep events structured and engaging.
• Simple booking: Add team size, customize details, and receive instant pricing.

Weakness:

Confetti focuses specifically on team-building experiences, so companies may need other tools for ongoing engagement, recognition, or employee programs outside of events.

Review:

“Confetti is fun! It is easy to use and the options are unlimited. It is very customisable depending on your needs.” — Carla, Manager, via Capterra

7. PerformYard

G2 rating: 4.7/5

Strength:

PerformYard focuses on streamlining performance management, with tools to run reviews, set goals, and capture ongoing feedback in one place. Its AI features help managers summarize feedback and write reviews more efficiently, while flexible workflows let HR teams mirror their existing performance processes without heavy manual work.

Best for:

Teams that want structured, customizable performance reviews with AI support for summarizing feedback and managing goals.

Key features:

• Performance reviews and check-ins: Supports annual reviews, quarterly conversations, 1:1s, and project-based evaluations.
• Goal management: Tracks individual and team goals and connects them to review cycles.
• Continuous feedback: Enables managers and employees to share feedback between formal reviews.

Weakness:

PerformYard is centered on performance management and reviews, so companies may need additional platforms for broader recognition, rewards, or ongoing culture-building.

Review:

“I really like how intuitive and flexible PerformYard is. It makes it easy to set goals, track progress, and give continuous feedback without feeling overwhelming.” — Devon N., Account Executive, via G2

8. Zoho

G2 rating: 4.1/5

Strength:

Zoho provides a wide range of HR tools in one platform, making it easier for organizations to manage hiring, core HR tasks, performance, learning, and payroll in a single system. Its modular design and integrations with other Zoho products offer flexibility for companies that want to centralize their HR processes without needing multiple vendors.

Best for:

Teams that want an all-in-one HR system that covers everything from onboarding and attendance to performance, learning, and engagement surveys.

Key features:

• Hiring and onboarding: Supports automated recruiting, offer letters, and customized onboarding workflows.
• Core HR management: Centralizes employee records, attendance, documents, and HR helpdesk requests.
• Performance and learning: Offers performance reviews, goal tracking, compensation features, and course management.

Weakness:

Because Zoho includes many different HR functions, teams looking for advanced recognition, rewards, or specialized culture-building tools may need additional platforms.

Review:

“The best is it is affordable and easy to use tool. Anyone with a basic understanding of CRM platform can use it easily. It is a fantastic option for companies looking for flexible, cost effective CRM solution.” — Pradeep S., Senior Project Management Executive, via G2

9. Qualtrics

G2 rating: 4.4/5

Strength:

Qualtrics offers advanced analytics that help organizations understand why employees leave, where experience gaps exist, and which factors most influence retention. With powerful dashboards, segmentation, and modeling tools, teams can quickly connect data across the employee lifecycle and act on clear insights.

Best for:

Organizations that want deep, research-grade analytics to understand attrition drivers and measure the impact of their talent and experience programs.

Key features:

• Retention analytics: Surfaces key drivers of turnover and compares stayers versus leavers.
• Segment analysis: Flags at-risk groups and employee segments with higher attrition patterns.
• Onboarding and exit insights: Combines data from early-tenure and exit feedback to pinpoint experience gaps.

Weakness:

Organizations that want detailed, data-driven insight into attrition.

Review:

“Sometimes the interface can get really, really heavy, especially when dealing with large datasets or multiple dashboards. It gets hard to comprehend the scale of the situation and understand what’s in front of you.” — Aryan., Freelancer, via G2

10. Empuls

G2 rating: 4.6/5

Strength:

Empuls is employee retention software that focuses on building a more connected and motivated workforce through recognition, feedback, and data-driven engagement tools. The platform helps organizations create a culture where appreciation is part of the everyday experience. Empuls includes customizable programs for rewards and recognition, as well as tools for running employee surveys and gathering feedback.

Best for:

Teams looking for a general employee engagement platform with a wide mix of features.

Key features:

• Recognition and rewards: Enables seamless recognition and reward management, fostering a culture of appreciation and motivation.
• Feedback and surveys: The platform includes tools for conducting employee surveys and collecting feedback.
• Analytics and insights: Provides analytics and insights into employee engagement metrics, allowing organizations to track progress and identify trends.

Weakness:

For some organizations, setup and integration with existing HR or payroll systems may take a bit of planning, especially if customization is a priority.

Review:

“Empuls provides facility to encourage and appreciate our colleagues serving as a booster for continued growth and development. It also helps with custom wish quotes, sharing points as rewards, etc. which helps in boosting employees growth.” — Sri D., Associate Software Engineer, via G2

11. Leapsome

G2 rating: 4.8/5

Leapsome is employee retention software that brings performance, engagement, and development together in a single platform. With tools for continuous feedback, goal setting, learning, and engagement surveys, it helps organizations build a more transparent employee experience.

Best for:

Companies that want to connect individual development with broader business goals.

Key features:

• Continuous feedback and 1-on-1s: Enables real-time feedback exchange and encourages structured one-on-one meetings between managers and employees.
• Goal management: Helps in setting SMART goals, tracking progress, and aligning individual goals with organizational goals.
• Engagement surveys and analytics: Provides insights into employee engagement levels through surveys, with analytics to show trends and areas for improvement.

Weakness:

For smaller teams, the platform’s depth may take a bit of time to set up and scale. And depending on your existing tech stack, integrations may require some upfront configuration.

Review:

“I liked the simplicity of the software, the confidence booster it gives to fellow coworkers for there work performance. The positive feedback keeps them engaged in the program building there work performance up.” — Verified reviewer via Capterra

12. WorkTango

G2 rating: 4.7/5

Strength:

WorkTango offers employee retention software built around continuous feedback and engagement. The platform makes it easy for organizations to gather employee input through surveys, polls, and pulse checks — and turn that feedback into meaningful action.

Best for:

Companies that prefer having feedback and recognition features in one system.

Key features:

• Real-time feedback: Offers real-time feedback capabilities, allowing organizations to address issues promptly and improve employee satisfaction.
• Action planning: Supports action planning based on survey results, helping organizations implement targeted improvements to retain talent effectively.
• Engagement analytics: Offers analytics that delve into engagement metrics, enabling data-driven decision-making and strategy refinement.

Weakness:

While the platform is robust, users may need time to get up to speed on its full capabilities. Integration with existing systems may require some configuration, and pricing can vary based on company size and selected features.

Review:

“Easy to implement, need little training for user and administrators. It saves lots of time for surveys and data analytics based on survey data, leads to better employee retainment and satisfaction.” — Review via Gartner

13. Cooleaf

G2 rating: 4.9/5

Strength:

Cooleaf is employee retention software that uses recognition, rewards, and gamification to help organizations build a more engaged, motivated workforce. Through features like challenges, badges, and a points-based system, the platform brings a sense of fun and momentum to everyday work — all while reinforcing key behaviors and boosting morale. The platform also lets you customize rewards programs to match your culture and goals.

Best for:

Teams looking for a platform that combines recognition, surveys, and team activities.

Key features:

• Gamification elements: Includes gamification features to create a fun and competitive environment that motivates employees.
• Customizable rewards: The platform allows organizations to create personalized reward programs tailored to their culture and employee preferences.
• Analytics dashboard: Offers an analytics dashboard that offers real-time insights into engagement trends and performance metrics.

Weakness:

Depending on your organization’s setup, getting everything up and running may take added planning. Pricing can vary as well, which might be something for smaller teams to keep in mind.

Review:

“I enjoy the number of features like personalizing our profiles, joining community groups, weekly activities to encourage engagement, recognizing peers for their kindness, and all while getting to earn rewards. I frequently use this app and is fairly easy to use.” — Aracely R., Repo Specialist, via G2

14. Mo

G2 rating: 4.6/5

Strength:

Mo is employee retention software built to boost engagement through real-time feedback, recognition, and customizable rewards. It’s designed to help teams stay connected and motivated by making it easier to celebrate great work, share feedback, and keep a pulse on engagement over time.

Best for:

Organizations that want a platform to support day-to-day appreciation and connection.

Key features:

• Real-time feedback mechanism: Enables instant feedback loops between employees and managers, promoting continuous improvement and engagement.
• Recognition and rewards: Helps the seamless implementation of recognition programs, boosting morale and reinforcing positive behaviors.
• Performance analytics: Offers in-depth insights into employee performance metrics and engagement levels, aiding proactive retention strategies.

Weakness:

Depending on your setup, getting Mo fully integrated into your workflows might take a bit of coordination. And like many feature-rich platforms, there may be a learning curve. Pricing varies, which could be something smaller teams want to consider.

Review:

“This is an excellent and effective platform to acknowledge my work peers success and as a recognition between co-workers… I feel that monthly Mo’s point distributed among workers isn’t enough and would be better if administrator can set the limit themself.” — Baharom, Customer Support Manager, via Capterra

15. Nectar

G2 rating: 4.7/5

Strength:

Nectar combines recognition, rewards, and feedback to help build a stronger culture and boost engagement. It gives organizations a central place to celebrate wins, gather employee input, and monitor engagement trends.

Best for:

HR teams that want to take a more data-driven approach to keeping employees engaged.

Key features:

• Employee recognition and rewards: Provides a structured platform for recognizing and rewarding employees based on achievements and contributions.
• Feedback and surveys: Enables organizations to gather employee feedback through surveys, encouraging continuous improvement and responsiveness.
• Performance analytics: Offers analytics on employee performance metrics, helping HR teams identify trends and areas for improvement.

Weakness:

Depending on your team’s size and structure, setup and onboarding might take a bit of time, and some users have noted that customization options can feel somewhat limited.

Review:

“What I love most about Nectar is how simple and fun it makes recognition. Giving shoutouts with GIFs adds a personal, lighthearted touch that never gets old… If I had one wish, it’d be for more flexibility with PayPal withdrawals. Having to create a PayPal account tied to my work email wasn’t ideal, and a bit of added control here would go a long way” — Max L., IT Engineer, via G2

Retention starts with the right platform

There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to retention, because no two workplaces are the same. The best employee retention software is the one that fits how your people work, what they care about, and where your company is headed.

Think about what matters most: Is it easier ways to recognize great work? Better tools for gathering feedback? A clearer picture of what’s driving engagement — or holding it back? Look for a platform that feels intuitive, flexible, and built for the real world, not just the wish list. And when in doubt, book a demo. Seeing the platform in action is the best way to understand how it fits your people, workflows, and future plans.

*Information and pricing in this blog post was sourced from each vendor’s website.

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