Xref Engage

Overview

Xref Engage is an employee survey tool covering engagement, Leadership 360, onboarding and pulse surveys. It is best suited to organisations already using Xref Enterprise that need structured feedback and analysis across employee groups. Its breadth is appealing, but the additional subscription requirement makes it a poor fit for buyers seeking a standalone survey product.

Key features

Teams can use expert-designed templates or build questionnaires around their own questions, supporting both recurring pulse checks and broader surveys. Anonymous surveys and automated reminders are supported. Employees can respond on desktop or mobile, and surveys are available globally.

Data Studio lets teams explore results and download or share reports. Benchmarking can put results alongside competitors and others in the industry; eNPS and repeat surveys help track sentiment over time. Demographic filters, including department and tenure, can surface differences between groups, though those comparisons are most useful when there are enough responses to interpret them responsibly.

Xref says its workplace psychology team can advise on survey curation. For organisations with particular security and data-location requirements, the platform is ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified, encrypts data in transit with TLS 1.2 and at rest with AES 256, and undergoes annual independent penetration testing. Customers can choose among AWS regions in Sydney, Frankfurt, Toronto and North Virginia. Two-factor authentication and multiple account access levels add controls for managing who can access results.

Integrations include Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, PageUp, Greenhouse and Zapier, alongside a public API. That range may help fit Engage into an existing HR stack; the appropriate connections depend on the systems an organisation uses.

Pricing

Xref Engage is a paid extension that requires an active Xref Enterprise subscription, so it is not a standalone purchase. Xref directs buyers to request a demo, and Engage has custom pricing. A directory-level starting figure is $70/mo (annual), but the Engage page does not state its own price; buyers should confirm both the Enterprise requirement and the Engage charge before budgeting.

There is no free plan. The practical trade-off is that prospective customers can explore the product before committing, but cannot rely on a free tier for ongoing use.

Platforms

Engage is available on web, Android and iOS. Survey respondents can use desktop or mobile access, while the product's mobile access is listed as web; organisations should distinguish respondent access from the listed platform support when planning staff workflows.

Who it's for

Engage makes most sense for organisations that already have Xref Enterprise, want employee feedback tools alongside their existing Xref setup, and can make use of benchmarking, eNPS tracking, demographic analysis and reporting. It is less suitable for a team that needs a separately purchasable survey service or a predictable published Engage price before evaluating it.

Pros and cons

Pros: Templates and custom questionnaires give teams a choice between a designed starting point and their own survey structure.

Pros: Benchmarking, eNPS, repeat surveys and demographic filters support analysis beyond collecting responses.

Pros: Customer-selected AWS regions, encryption, certification and access controls address important data governance needs.

Cons: An active Xref Enterprise subscription is mandatory, and Engage costs extra, limiting its fit for buyers outside the Xref ecosystem.

Cons: Engage pricing is custom, so buyers need a demo and a quote to assess the full cost.

Alternatives

For a wider comparison of employee survey products, see Employee Engagement Software. Xref's broader HR and reference-checking context may also make the Reference Check Software category relevant to organisations comparing adjacent HR tools.

Choose HiveRef instead if the need is reference checking with a freemium option and pay-as-you-go credits that do not expire. HR Avatar Automated Reference Checks is another alternative.

Credibled is worth considering for reference checks when an API sandbox or NGO reference-check pricing is relevant. VerifyRef offers credit-based reference checks with credits that do not expire. VITAY is another alternative.

Consider Brindle Reference Checking for a 90-day trial with 200 references and 200 CVs, or RefNow if a credit-based reference-checking service with bulk discounts and subscriptions suits the need. The Reference Checker is another alternative.

Verdict

Choose Xref Engage if your organisation already has Xref Enterprise and needs employee surveys with benchmarking, demographic analysis and controlled reporting in one extension. Its analytics and governance features are the strongest reasons to consider it. Look elsewhere if you need a standalone product, a free ongoing plan or a clear Engage price before starting a sales conversation.