10 Best Employee Survey Tools Shortlist
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With so many different employee survey tools available, figuring out which tool is right for you is tricky. You want to request employee feedback to help you monitor employee engagement and satisfaction, but you need to figure out which tool is best. In this post, I'll help you make your choice easy by sharing my insights on the best employee survey tools to gather actionable feedback.
What is an Employee Survey Tool?
Employee survey tools are a type of software that helps employers collect feedback from their staff in order to measure employee satisfaction and engagement levels across their workforce. There are standalone survey solutions or they may be a feature within a larger employee engagement software. You can use them to create and distribute repeatable surveys, collect and analyze the data, detect underlying sentiment, and gain actionable insights to support continuous improvements.
Ultimately, the main purpose behind employee survey tools is to monitor employee sentiment and well-being, with the end goal of improving employee retention. Employee survey tools give your staff the option to provide open and honest feedback in an anonymous format, without fearing repercussions. By giving employees a voice, they will feel more supported and cared for, improving employee loyalty.
Overviews Of The 10 Best Employee Survey Tools
Here’s a brief description of each employee survey platform to showcase each tool’s best use case, some noteworthy features, and screenshots to give a snapshot of the user interface.
Deel
Best employee survey tool for administering multilingual surveys
Deel is a workforce management platform with integrated employee survey tools that help employers collect and analyze employee feedback efficiently.
Their survey tools include advanced analytics such as trend analysis and demographic filters to ensure you can collect the data you need to make informed decisions. You can also automate and schedule monthly, quarterly, or annual surveys to collect employee feedback regularly. This ensures employees are consistently given an opportunity to provide feedback, which can boost your internal company culture substantially.
Deel supports surveys in multiple languages, making it an effective feedback tool for multinational organizations. This feature removes language barriers and ensures all employees can provide feedback, regardless of their native language or location. Employees will receive the survey questions in their preferred language, enhancing their response rate and participation.
You can create and customize Deel's surveys to suit your organizational needs. Questions formats include yes/no, multiple-choice, rating scales, and open-ended questions. Its dashboard provides companies with real-time data and analytics about employee feedback, including helpful charts and graphs that simplify the trend analysis process.
Deel maintains the privacy of the survey respondents to encourage honest feedback. Employees can share their thoughts openly, leading to more helpful feedback for management. The platform also offers interactive and insightful reports that help organizations take action based on employee feedback. Survey data is presented in a graphical and visualized format for easy analysis. Deel also has a filtering option that allows managers to see specific feedback data in a question, making analysis even more helpful.
Deel integrates with a handful of popular HR software systems, including Ashby, BambooHR, Expensify, Greenhouse, Hibob, Netsuite, Okta, OneLogin, Quickbooks, SCIM, Xero, Workday, and Workable. They also have an Open API that supports additional custom integrations as well.
Trakstar
Best employee survey tool for performance management + talent development
Trakstar is a cloud-based talent development platform for HR professionals and teams. It offers a wide range of features and tools designed for attracting and retaining talent, employee development, and workforce engagement. One of its modules is the employee survey software, which is a tool that can be used to measure and improve employee engagement and satisfaction.
With Trakstar’s employee engagement surveys, HR leaders and talent development teams will have the resources they need to create better experiences for employees. They can start a company-wide pulse survey using questions that are already available from Trakstar’s survey library or create custom questionnaires to match current requirements and the kind of data they want to collect. HR will also be able to send surveys automatically, covering any topic they want.
An auto-schedule function is available, allowing HR professionals to collect employee feedback by simply sending surveys on a preset schedule. They can then track the responses and results, and get the proper pulse of the true sentiment of their workforce over a period of time. With auto-scheduling, users have the ability to use check-ins at any time within the year to maintain employee engagement and make sure individual employees and team members across the entire organization will get a say in the company’s future initiatives.
Trakstar also enables online 360-degree performance reviews and surveys. It allows HR professionals to set who has access to the 360-degree feedback by incorporating the solution directly into the workflow of the review process. The manager will have full control over the type of information that will be shared with the employee, such as constructive feedback or peer feedback.
Workleap Officevibe
Best for collecting anonymous employee feedback
Workleap Officevibe helps managers and leaders gather better, richer employee feedback thanks to intuitive survey insights and anonymous messaging features. With easy-to-use features, organizations can identify employee needs and implement data-backed strategies to boost employee engagement and nurture a healthier workplace.
The platform offers people leaders the opportunity to get to the heart of what matters most to their teams using custom surveys with different question types, including multiple choice, rankings out of 10, and open-ended questions for more clarity. Employees can feel comfortable speaking their minds at any time thanks to built-in anonymity features. After receiving feedback, team managers receive a notification so they can respond in real time.
Integrations are available with Slack and Microsoft Teams.
ThriveSparrow
Best employee feedback survey tool with real-time actionable insights
ThriveSparrow is a straightforward and user-friendly employee engagement and recognition platform. You can create customized employee surveys to measure and track engagement levels over time. It also facilitates anonymous feedback, creating a safe space for honest employee input. The engagement reports in the software give managers an overview of sentiments on their team.
On top of its engagement tracking tools, the software also offers recognition features. Users can send out recognition messages, which then appear in a social feed where everyone can see them. You can implement your company values in the platform, helping to connect recognition with your company culture. Team members can emoji react and leave comments to add to messages.
Engagement and recognition are the pillars of the product, but additional functionalities are currently being built. Performance and goal management features and a one-on-one tool are coming to the platform soon.
The engagement platform starts from $4 per employee, per month and the recognition platform starts at $3 per employee, per month. You can purchase both from $6 per employee, per month. A 14-day free trial is available.
Lattice
Best employee survey tool for multiple survey types using science-backed templates
Lattice calls itself a people success platform. It has tools for engagement, employee performance management, and employee development. You can create surveys to measure engagement and eNPS using science-backed templates. You can also automate pulse surveys to gather real-time feedback when it is most relevant.
1-on-1 reviews are central to the tool. You can schedule check-ins and create pre-meeting questionnaires for employees to answer, allowing both parties to come to the meeting fully prepared.
There are also features for sharing employee praise. Managers can use this in reviews to see places where the employee is performing at a high level.
All this fits into the wider idea of employee development. You can use the reviews, praise, and 1-on-1 meetings to set goals based on an employee’s needs and then help push them towards meeting these targets.
HR teams can also access plenty of analytics and reporting features that show responses both on an organizational and individual level.
Lattice integrates with many popular HR, internal communication, and productivity tools. And you can access the Lattice API for further connections. It also has a mobile app that leaders can use to give feedback and manage employee goals on the go.
ClearCompany
Best for uncovering employee sentiment using pre-built survey templates
ClearCompany's talent management platform includes powerful survey tools that help businesses capture the voice of their employees, gain valuable insights into their organization, and make informed decisions that lead to better workplace experiences.
Using ClearCompany, you can customization your employee surveys according to your business needs. Customization options include questions with different answer formats, like multiple-choice or open-ended, or adding additional questions if needed. Businesses can also customize the look and feel of the surveys by adding logos or branding elements such as colors and fonts. This flexibility makes it easy for users to create surveys that accurately reflect their company’s culture and values while providing valuable insight into how employees feel about their work environment.
ClearCompany’s analytics dashboard makes it easy for businesses to track the results of their employee surveys over time. It displays key metrics such as survey response rates, average scores per question, total response volume, and even individual responses from each employee who participated in the survey. You can also set up automated reminders for employees who haven't yet completed the survey so that everyone has an opportunity to participate.
The software has an engagement scoring system that measures employee sentiment and gauges how well your company is doing in terms of employee satisfaction. The scores measure their opinions on topics like job satisfaction, workloads, and workplace culture. The dashboard provides insights into which questions were answered positively or negatively too. This feature allows HR teams to quickly identify areas for improvement so they can focus more attention on certain topics before they become bigger problems.
ClearCompany integrates with 100+ popular HR software solutions, including ADP, BambooHR, Ceridian, Gmail, iCal, Microsoft Office 365, Okta, OneLogin, Ping Identity, UKG, and many others.
Leapsome
Best employee survey tool to connect feedback with employee development initiatives
Leapsome is a cloud-based platform that offers employee performance management, engagement surveys, and personalized learning and development solutions for businesses.
Leapsome offers a range of tools that are designed to support HR teams and managers in creating a positive workplace culture and empowering employees to reach their full potential, including employee evaluations and surveys. With Leapsome, businesses can set and track goals, provide regular feedback and recognition, conduct surveys to gather employee feedback and insights and offer customized learning and development programs.
Leapsome offers a user-friendly survey builder that allows businesses to create customized employee surveys quickly and easily. The platform provides access to a range of pre-built survey templates that cover various topics such as employee engagement, pulse surveys, and 360-degree feedback.
Leapsome also offers customizable survey questions and the ability to create surveys that can be anonymous or identified, depending on the business's needs. Once the survey is launched, HR teams and managers can track responses in real-time and gain insights into employee engagement, satisfaction, and feedback. Leapsome's analytics and reporting tools allow businesses to identify areas for improvement and track progress over time, enabling them to make data-driven decisions to enhance employee performance and engagement.
Leapsome integrates with Workday, BambooHR, Personio, Slack, MS Teams, Jira Software, calendar apps, and more.
Jotform
Best enterprise employee survey tool for mobile-friendly digital forms
Jotform Enterprise is a robust online form builder and survey automation solution focusing on ease of use and better collaboration. The cloud-based software allows multiple individuals to simultaneously work on a single digital form. With Jotform, businesses will have access to offline forms, surveys for product feedback and reviews, collaboration tools, approvals for automated workflows, and conditional logic for a personalized customer form experience.
Jotform Enterprise offers companies an easy-to-use tool that makes closing deals, collaborating with coworkers, signing waivers, and collecting form responses a more seamless. One of Jotform’s main features is the free drag-and-drop form and survey builder. It lets you add survey questions and set up conditional logic according to the data type you want to capture.
HR teams can use Jotform Surveys to conduct employee surveys and then analyze the responses to gain insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the company in terms of its human resources and culture. Employees have the option to provide survey responses anonymously, while HR personnel are given the ability to share those survey responses anonymously as well.
Additional features include workflow automations, conditional logic, e-sign documents with automated signing orders, webhooks, API, and helpful ways to integrate feedback into your workflow.
Jotform Enterprise integrates with Box, OneDrive, Airtable, Google Drive, PayPal Business, Google Sheets, Google Calendar, Slack, HubSpot, monday.com, and other apps.
Sogolytics
Best for facilitating comprehensive analysis of employee feedback for improved engagement
Sogolytics is an employee survey tool that helps businesses gather and analyze employee feedback. It's a great way to understand your team's needs and concerns and to make informed decisions based on that feedback.
The platform allows you to create surveys, collect responses, and analyze the data all in one place. Plus, it's easy to use, and its powerful analytics allow you to collect responses, analyze them, and provide actionable insights. It also has a great feature called 'Pulse Surveys' that let you send out quick, one-question surveys to your team. This is great for getting instant feedback on a particular issue or idea. And you can customize these surveys to fit your needs.
Integrations include Salesforce, Marketo, Slack, Workday, Microsoft Dynamics, HubSpot, and Zoom.
Pricing starts at $25/month (billed annually), and they offer both a free plan and a 10-day free trial.
Connecteam
Best employee survey tool for notifications and reminders
Connecteam is a comprehensive all-in-one operations app that allows businesses to collect employee feedback through forms. This easy-to-use platform allows you to quickly and efficiently create surveys and questionnaires to gather data about your team and its performance.
The forms module lets you customize surveys with different question types, such as multiple choice, text entry, and rating scales; you can also use pre-made templates if you need help getting started. Additionally, surveys can be distributed through email or text, and responses can be viewed in real-time with interactive charts and graphs.
The survey tool isn't just limited to collecting feedback; it offers features designed to promote engagement among team members. You can set up reminders so employees remember to take the survey. You can also use notifications to inform employees when their responses have been collected or new surveys are available. Additionally, anonymous surveys can be configured to conceal the identities of those who answer–meaning that employers won't fear repercussions or reprisal.
Finally, Connecteam's survey tool boasts an intuitive dashboard that makes it easy for you to track progress over time and identify trends in employee satisfaction or dissatisfaction. The dashboard includes built-in analytics tools for further analysis of employee feedback data.
Integrations include Google Calendar, Gusto, QuickBooks Payroll, and others.
The 10 Best Employee Survey Tools Comparison Chart
Here’s a comparison chart that summarizes basic details about each of my top employee survey tool selections. You can view pricing details and the availability of free trials or demos side-by-side to help you find the best software for your budget and business needs.
Tool | Trial Info | Price | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Deel Best employee survey tool for administering multilingual surveys | Free demo available | Flat rate user pricing, with a free version for businesses with up to 200 people | Website |
2 | Trakstar Best employee survey tool for performance management + talent development | Free demo available | Pricing upon request | Website |
3 | Workleap Officevibe Best for collecting anonymous employee feedback | 14-day free trial + free plan available | From $5/user/month | Website |
4 | ThriveSparrow Best employee feedback survey tool with real-time actionable insights | 14-day free trial available | From $3/employee/month | Website |
5 | Lattice Best employee survey tool for multiple survey types using science-backed templates | Free demo available | From $11/user/month | Website |
6 | ClearCompany Best for uncovering employee sentiment using pre-built survey templates | Free demo available | Pricing upon request | Website |
7 | Leapsome Best employee survey tool to connect feedback with employee development initiatives | 14-day free trial | From $8/user/month | Website |
8 | Jotform Best enterprise employee survey tool for mobile-friendly digital forms | Free plan available | From $39/user/month | Website |
9 | Sogolytics Best for facilitating comprehensive analysis of employee feedback for improved engagement | 10-day free trial + free plan available | From $25/month (billed annually) | Website |
10 | Connecteam Best employee survey tool for notifications and reminders | 14-day free trial + free plan available | From $29/month for 30 users (paid annually) | Website |
Other Options
Here are a few more worthwhile options to help you collect employee feedback that didn’t make the list of the best employee survey tools list:
- SurveyLegend
Best for real-time survey analytics
- Culture Amp
Best employee survey tool with a template library and ready-to-implement action plans
- SurveyMonkey
Best employee survey tool with prebuilt forms and automated deployment
- TINYpulse Engage
Best employee survey and engagement tool with meeting agendas and recognition
- SurveyLab
Best employee survey tools with a drag-and-drop survey builder
- Teamspective
Best employee survey tool to integrate with Slack or Teams
- Beams
Best employee survey tool for providing recommendations to employees
- Betterworks
Best employee survey tool with additional employee engagement features
- Startquestion
Best easy-to-use survey tool with a large template library
- ChartHop
Best employee survey tool for adding organizational context to survey answers
Selection Criteria for the Best Employee Survey Tools
Are you curious how I selected the best employee survey systems for this list? I'm happy to explain my process.
I started off by building a long list of employee survey tools based on market research data and positive user ratings. To build my shortlist, I then evaluated and compared the details of each system using my selection criteria below as a framework. This allowed me to review each tool systematically, making it easier to identify the true winners in the pack.
I also drew on my own personal experience collecting employee feedback via surveys when I was an HR administrator. In that role, I was the one preparing the surveys to send, as well as analyzing the data that came back. This helped me to pinpoint the standout features that will give you the best return on your investment and simplify the process for you.
Core Functionality
As a baseline, I looked for tools that facilitate the distribution of surveys and the collection of survey responses. So something that either provides pre-set questions to circulate among your workforce, or the ability to design your own questionnaire. Then, it will bring all the responses together for your review.
Key Features
Beyond the basic functionality of distributing and collecting employee surveys, here are some more specific features I looked for in my research:
- Survey builder: A tool to create custom surveys with multiple choice, sliding scale, and other types of employee survey questions. There may also be a bank of customizable survey templates you can draw from.
- Different formats: You might be able to select from various types of surveys, like pulse surveys, questionnaires, assessments, feedback forms, or other formats. Some platforms provide anonymous survey options and real-time feedback tools, too.
- Benchmarks: Many tools provide benchmark data to help you contextualize your survey results based on factors like your industry, company size, location, and more.
- Survey reports: Reports that measure key metrics like employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS), job satisfaction, employee wellbeing, response rates, etc.
- Real-time analytics: Dashboards that provide real-time insights on engagement levels, and help you track trends over time to see how new initiatives and changes are impacting your workforce.
- Performance management: Some platforms also have features to help monitor and manage employee performance, such as 360 degree feedback forms, 1-1 check ins, and goal setting tools.
Usability
I looked for employee survey software that’s user-friendly and easy to implement. It’s important that the user interface is intuitive both for your human resources team and your employees. The better the user experience for team members, the higher your response rates will be. And this will provide your HR professionals with the data they need to inform their decisions, initiatives, and action plans.
Data Security
Keeping your employee data safe and secure is a top priority. Cloud-based employee engagement survey tools should have safeguards in place to ensure confidentiality and the safekeeping of sensitive data. Many platforms have security features like GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2 compliance in place to ensure that your staff’s data is handled with the utmost care.
Integrations
The ability to connect an employee survey tool with your existing HR tech stack is definitely important. I looked for integrations with messaging tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams, which can automate your survey distribution and send survey notifications through the channels your teams are already using. I also looked for integrations with popular project management software to help you incorporate feedback collection into your existing workflows.
Pricing
Employee pulse survey tools generally have a subscription-based pricing model. Plans may start anywhere from $3 up to $30+ per user, per month. Many of the tools on this list also offer free plans and free trials, which can be suitable for the needs of startups or small businesses.
Employee Survey Tools: FAQs
Do you still have some questions about what employee survey tools have to offer? These answers to frequently asked questions should get you sorted out:
How do employee survey tools work?
Why are employee survey tools important?
What are the legalities of employee survey tools?
Other Resources to Support Employee Engagement
This list contains everything from tools with basic survey and analytics features to those that help your measure and improve engagement throughout your organization.
While the latter tools are more feature-packed, they may be overkill for small organizations and teams. In this case, you can save money by choosing a simpler tool.
To help you along in your quest to create engaged employees, check out these other related resources too:
- Why Employee Recognition is Important and How to Do it Right
- Best Employee Evaluation Software For Performance Reviews & Recognition
- 30 Creative Employee Recognition and Appreciation Ideas
- People Management Tips For New And Experienced Managers
- HR Case Management Software To Manage Issues & Risks
- 5 Ways To Give Effective Feedback
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