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Updated 15 October 2026 · Written by Attuned, one of the 11 tools below

Employee Retention Tools: 11 Compared on What a Manager Can Do Next

Every tool here can tell you engagement is down. Fewer tell a manager which person to talk to first. We checked each vendor’s own pages and linked every claim.

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The short answer: if you need to…start with
Predict exits from HR data, at scaleVisierWorkday Peakon
Run a survey-led retention programCulture AmpQualtrics
Reach frontline crews without emailCultureMonkeyWorkday Peakon
Performance and engagement in one toolLattice15FiveLeapsome
A small team on a tight budgetOfficevibe15Five Engage
Recognition and rewardsAchievers
Know what to say to each person, this weekAttuned (us)

Why it matters: 42% of people who quit say their manager or organization could have kept them (Gallup).

What Are Employee Retention Tools?

Employee retention tools help you spot who might leave and why, then act before they resign. They come in five kinds: engagement survey platforms, performance suites with engagement built in, recognition platforms, people analytics that predict exits from HR data, and motivation and manager-coaching tools. Here are 11, side by side.

Employee Retention Tools Compared

Employee retention tools compared on type, retention signal, manager features, frontline channels, anonymity minimum and published price. Checked against each vendor's public pages on 15 October 2026.
ToolWhat It IsRetention SignalWhat the Manager GetsFrontline ChannelsAnonymity MinimumPublished Price
Attuned us Intrinsic motivation and manager coachingEach person rates satisfaction on their own top motivators every two weeks; managers see team results once 3 answerEach person's motivator profile, and TalkCoach (early access) to prep the next conversationWeb-based3 respondentsUS$99 per seat per year (teams of 3+); Premium US$189
Culture Amp Engagement surveys (Engage) with Retention InsightsRetention Insights finds turnover reasons and retention risks at group level, using HRIS start and end dates plus closed surveysAI Coach turns engagement insights into prioritized action plansKiosk mode; SMS survey messages on requestSet by the customerQuote-based
Lattice Performance management suite with engagement surveysPulse, onboarding and exit, and eNPS surveys, with AI-surfaced key driversSuggested actions grouped by theme, and an AI agentNot stated publiclyDefault 5, adjustable from 3 to 10Engagement US$4 per seat per month; US$4,000 annual minimum
Workday Peakon Employee Voice Continuous listening surveysAttrition Prediction: a segment-level heat map that updates with each responseSuggested action plans and confidential two-way conversationsKiosk mode and SMS notificationsSet by the adminQuote-based
Qualtrics Employee Experience Employee experience softwarePredictive churn models that flag at-risk employees, with retention and attrition driversManager Assist: AI coaching and recommended actionsSMS survey distributionOrg-wide minimum set by an adminQuote-based
15Five Performance management and engagementLifecycle surveys from onboarding to exit, a Predictive Impact Model and retention trendlinesGuidance prompts, plus Kona Coach at US$19 per manager per monthKiosk mode (on request) and SMS invitesDefault 5, can be lowered to 3Engage US$4, Perform US$11, Total Platform US$16 per user per month
Leapsome All-in-one HR platform (HRIS, performance, engagement)Resilience Signals from survey and HRIS patterns, plus onboarding surveys and eNPSAI Copilot action plans, and 1:1 and team meeting toolsKiosk mode for people without emailSet by adminsEngagement Surveys €4, Performance €7 per employee per month
CultureMonkey Engagement surveys with retention featuresTurnover-risk prediction, flight-risk flagging, driver analysis, and onboarding, stay and exit surveysTeam-only dashboards, action plans with owners and dates, and the AskCooper AI assistantSMS, WhatsApp, QR codes and kiosk, with no email needed5 responses, configurableQuote-based
Achievers Recognition and rewards, with employee surveys30-60-90 day onboarding surveys and exit surveysManager dashboards and alertsWeb, mobile and tabletNot stated publiclyQuote-based
Visier People analyticsRisk of Exit predictions from HR data, flagging when someone is most likely to resignThe Vee AI agent recommends the play to runNot applicable (it analyzes HR data, not employee input)Not applicableQuote-based
Workleap Officevibe Survey and feedback software for SMBsPulse surveys and turnover reportsAI-recommended actions, feedback reply drafts, and 1:1 toolsSurvey links by text message; shared devices or kiosks3 for pulse scores, 5 for written feedbackWorkleap Standard from US$4,999 per year plus US$32 per manager per month (Officevibe inclusion not stated)

Unranked. Attuned is listed first because we wrote this page.

What the Research Says Keeps People

Pick a tool against the evidence on why people stay. Three findings, two of them peer-reviewed meta-analyses from 2026.

45%no conversation

of people who left voluntarily say nobody discussed their satisfaction or future in the three months before they went.

Tatel & Wigert, Gallup, updated 2026
192studies

When leaders support people’s autonomy, competence and relatedness, those needs are met, people are more intrinsically motivated, and they are less likely to burn out or leave.

Hagger & McAnally Star (2026), Self-Determination Theory and Workplace Outcomes: A Meta-Analysis, Stress and Health 42(1)
−0.37correlation

Across all leadership styles the link to intention to leave is modest (−0.16). A strong one-to-one relationship with the manager, and supportive leadership (−0.36), are the strongest. The link weakens as the manager gets more distant.

Johansen, Bentzen & Christensen (2026), meta-analysis of 54 hospital studies, Social Science & Medicine 405

So Ask Three Things of Any Tool

  1. Does it know what each person needs? Need satisfaction is the mechanism, so the tool should know what each person runs on before it reports how the team scored.
  2. Does it reach the manager closest to them? The effect weakens with distance, so a dashboard only HR can see starts at a disadvantage.
  3. Does it prompt the conversation? Most preventable exits happened with nobody asking. A score has to turn into a talk.

Control rooms have a name for an alarm that sounds where nobody is sitting: a log entry. The plant was warned, technically. A retention signal that reaches only a dashboard three levels above the person who could act has much the same standing.

The 11 Tools, One by One

Where each one wins, where it isn’t the fit, and who it suits. Including us.

01

Attuned us

Intrinsic motivation and manager coaching

Manager coaching
Where it wins
It starts from what intrinsically motivates each person, so a dip comes with a reason and a first sentence for the conversation.
Where it’s not the fit
No performance reviews, recognition rewards or HRIS-based attrition model. If you need SMS or kiosk survey delivery, check the tools that list it below.
Best for
Line managers of teams of 3 or more

Sources: Plans and pricing · How the pulse works

02

Culture Amp

Engagement surveys (Engage) with Retention Insights

Predicts exitsFrontline reach
Where it wins
A mature survey program with retention analysis built on your own turnover data.
Where it’s not the fit
Retention Insights needs groups of about 25 or more for significance, so small teams get less from it.
Best for
Survey-led programs, from under 200 to 1,000+ employees

Sources: Engage · Retention Insights · Kiosk mode · Pricing

03

Lattice

Performance management suite with engagement surveys

Published price
Where it wins
Engagement sits next to performance, goals and compensation, so retention work connects to reviews.
Where it’s not the fit
No per-person attrition prediction is described on its public product pages.
Best for
Teams that want reviews, goals and engagement in one place

Sources: Engagement · Pricing · Anonymity

04

Workday Peakon Employee Voice

Continuous listening surveys

Predicts exitsFrontline reach
Where it wins
Attrition risk recalculates as answers arrive, by segment, next to the action plans.
Where it’s not the fit
Attrition Prediction is admin-only by default, so line managers may not see it.
Best for
Organizations already running Workday

Sources: Product · Attrition Prediction · Notifications

05

Qualtrics Employee Experience

Employee experience software

Predicts exitsFrontline reachManager coaching
Where it wins
Deep analytics and prediction across the whole employee lifecycle, including exit feedback.
Where it’s not the fit
No published pricing, so budget clarity comes late in the process.
Best for
Large HR teams running research-grade listening

Sources: Retention · Manager Assist · SMS

06

15Five

Performance management and engagement

Frontline reachManager coachingPublished price
Where it wins
Engagement, check-ins and reviews in one habit, with published prices.
Where it’s not the fit
15Five calls responses confidential rather than anonymous, which matters for candor on small teams.
Best for
Managers who already run weekly check-ins

Sources: Engage · Pricing · Frontline · Confidentiality

07

Leapsome

All-in-one HR platform (HRIS, performance, engagement)

Frontline reachManager coachingPublished price
Where it wins
Engagement, 1:1s and HR data in one system, with published prices.
Where it’s not the fit
Resilience Signals needs Leapsome as your HRIS.
Best for
Companies consolidating HR tools onto one platform

Sources: Engagement · Pricing · Kiosk

08

CultureMonkey

Engagement surveys with retention features

Predicts exitsFrontline reach
Where it wins
The widest frontline reach in this list, without needing an email address.
Where it’s not the fit
No 1:1 tool is described, so the conversation itself happens elsewhere.
Best for
Organizations of about 250 to 1,000+ with deskless teams

Sources: Retention · Pricing

09

Achievers

Recognition and rewards, with employee surveys

Where it wins
Recognition and rewards at scale, with listening alongside.
Where it’s not the fit
No turnover prediction is described, and recognition alone rarely fixes an unmet need.
Best for
Mid-market and enterprise recognition programs

Sources: Listen · Pricing

10

Visier

People analytics

Predicts exits
Where it wins
Prediction across the whole workforce without asking anyone a question.
Where it’s not the fit
It does not run surveys, so it can flag a risk without hearing the reason from the person.
Best for
Large enterprises with rich HR data

Sources: Predictions · Platform

11

Workleap Officevibe

Survey and feedback software for SMBs

Frontline reachManager coachingPublished price
Where it wins
A light, manager-friendly pulse with clear anonymity rules.
Where it’s not the fit
Pricing is per bundle and per manager, so check it against your headcount.
Best for
Small and mid-sized businesses

Sources: Officevibe · Anonymity · Non-desk workers · Pricing

How we compared: each vendor’s own public product, help and pricing pages, with the sources under every card. We left out review-site star ratings because we couldn’t verify them. Attuned makes one of these tools, so read our card with that in mind. Our product page is employee retention software; for vendor-by-vendor detail, see engagement platforms compared and Lattice competitors.

Employee Retention Tools Questions

What are employee retention tools?
Employee retention tools are software that helps an organization spot who might leave and why, then act before they resign. They fall into five groups: engagement survey platforms, performance suites with engagement built in, recognition platforms, people analytics that predict exits from HR data, and motivation and manager-coaching tools like Attuned.
What is the best employee retention software in 2026?
It depends on the job you need done. To predict exits from HR data at scale, look at Visier, or Workday Peakon if you run Workday. For a survey-led program, Culture Amp or Qualtrics. To reach frontline crews without email, CultureMonkey. For performance and engagement in one tool, Lattice, 15Five or Leapsome. For recognition, Achievers. For a manager’s next conversation with each person, Attuned. See the comparison table on this page.
Can software predict which employees will leave?
Several tools try. Visier predicts risk of exit from HR data, Workday Peakon shows attrition risk by segment, and Qualtrics and CultureMonkey flag at-risk employees. A prediction is only useful if a manager acts on it, and a score the employee cannot see can change how they are treated. Our guide to employee flight risk covers how to use one fairly.
What is the difference between retention software and engagement software?
Engagement software measures how people feel, usually through surveys. Retention software adds the parts that keep them: turnover prediction, lifecycle surveys from onboarding to exit, and actions for the manager. Most tools in this list now do some of both, so compare them on what a manager can do the week after a result comes in.
How much do employee retention tools cost?
Published prices in October 2026: Lattice Engagement US$4 per seat per month with a US$4,000 annual minimum, 15Five Engage US$4 per user per month, Leapsome Engagement Surveys €4 per employee per month, Workleap from US$4,999 per year plus US$32 per manager per month, and Attuned US$99 per seat per year. Culture Amp, Workday Peakon, Qualtrics, CultureMonkey, Achievers and Visier quote on request.
How do retention tools reach frontline workers without email?
Look for SMS, kiosk mode, QR codes or messaging apps. CultureMonkey lists SMS, WhatsApp, QR codes and kiosks. Workday Peakon and 15Five list kiosk mode and SMS. Culture Amp lists kiosk mode and SMS on request, Qualtrics lists SMS, and Leapsome lists kiosk mode.
What does the research say about why people stay?
A 2026 meta-analysis of 192 studies in Stress and Health found that employees whose leaders support their autonomy, competence and relatedness are more intrinsically motivated and less likely to burn out or leave. A 2026 meta-analysis of 54 hospital studies in Social Science & Medicine found supportive leadership and strong manager relationships most strongly tied to lower intention to leave, with the link weakening as the manager gets more distant.
How do you measure whether a retention tool is working?
Track regretted turnover by team, 90-day retention of new hires, survey response rate, and the time from a flagged dip to a manager conversation. The last one is the leading indicator, because the tool only helps if someone acts. Our guide to turnover metrics every CEO should track goes further.
How long does it take to roll out a retention tool?
Survey platforms usually need question design, an HRIS connection and a launch plan before the first results. People analytics needs clean HR data first. Attuned needs a 10-minute assessment per person, and most teams are up and running within a week.
Should we use stay interviews or retention surveys?
Both, for different jobs. A survey tells you which team is drifting. A stay interview tells you why one person might go, and Gallup found 45% of people who left had no conversation about their future in the three months before. Start with our stay interview questions.

Bring the Team You’re Worried About.

We’ll show you what intrinsically motivates each person on it, and what to say this week. Thirty minutes, with the founder.

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