At RCGNZ Summit 2025, Awardco’s Chantel Cunningham sat down with Trenton Orr (Hilton) and Andrew Taylor (FanDuel) to tackle a hard truth: when culture is struggling, benefits usually aren’t the root cause. The real lever is how people feel day to day—seen, valued, included, and connected to the work.

Their conversation explored what it takes to build recognition that actually sticks—especially in fast-moving, people-powered industries like hospitality and entertainment.

Read a recap below or watch the full recording here.

Recognition isn’t one-size-fits-all

Both speakers reinforced a shift many HR teams are making: recognition can’t be treated as a single program or a one-time launch. It needs to be personal, timely, and built into how work happens.

At Hilton, that meant introducing recognition preferences—so team members can choose how they want to be recognized (public vs. private, birthday acknowledgments, and more). The goal is to treat recognition as part of seeing the whole person, not just celebrating output.

At FanDuel, it meant keeping recognition organic. Their “Spotlight” platform is intentionally anchored in non-monetary recognition first, ensuring the message matters more than the points.

Hilton’s evolution: modernize without losing the “hospitality with heart”

Hilton’s recognition strategy is rooted in legacy, but scaled through smarter systems.

A standout example: Catch Me at My Best, a decades-old campaign that was once powered by paper cards. Hilton replaced the manual process with QR codes and digital catches, driven by sustainability goals and a desire to remove friction for both guests and team members.

The payoff was massive:

• over 2.1 million recognition moments in a two-month window
• 166,000+ team members recognized
• participation across 100+ countries

The lesson Hilton emphasized was that making recognition easier made people do it more often.

Just as important, Hilton didn’t abandon physical recognition. Digital tools expanded access, but printed thank-you cards and offline-friendly options remained—especially in regions where smartphones and internet access aren’t guaranteed.

FanDuel’s strategy: align recognition to performance and principles

FanDuel’s recognition shift began with employee feedback—specifically frustration with inconsistency.

Their response was to formalize recognition at multiple levels:

• High Five: everyday kudos and quick appreciation
• All Stars: peer-nominated, leader-reviewed awards tied to business impact (MVP, GOAT, Dynasty)

FanDuel also kept recognition tightly connected to their principles (“we are one team,” “anything is possible,” “we say thank you”), making values feel actionable instead of aspirational.

When recognition is anchored in shared language, it becomes easier to explain, repeat, and scale.

Proof that momentum can be engineered

One of FanDuel’s most memorable culture wins came from a simple internal campaign: We Say Thank You Day.

Instead of relying on another internal email, they flooded their Awardco platform through Slack with a lightweight prompt and template. The result:

• 1,500+ recognitions in a single day
• Their strongest peer-to-peer recognition day to date
• Sustained momentum they later repeated for other moments

Another practical adoption tactic FanDuel shared was to bake recognition into onboarding and milestones (welcome messages, points, service anniversaries). That structure helped FanDuel reach a 93% activation rate.

When recognition becomes belonging

Both leaders described the moment recognition shifts from “nice job” to something deeper:

• a team member feels seen
• their contribution feels connected to something bigger
• recognition becomes a reminder that they matter, even when life is heavy

Trenton shared how receiving Hilton’s top internal award changed his trajectory, and how it shaped the way he now creates those moments for others.

Andrew shared how recognition expanded beyond performance into community impact. When someone showed up for others during a crisis, leadership responded with recognition that matched the weight of the moment.

What makes recognition stick after launch

Their advice was simple and consistent:

• Lead from the top: Executives have to model it, visibly and repeatedly
• Communicate across channels: Not everyone is reached the same way
• Get creative: Turn communications into games and challenges
• Think global, speak local: Translate, adapt, and avoid “one-language culture”
• Stay grounded in the why: Recognition must feel like it’s for employees, not a corporate checkbox
• Evolve in waves: Don’t launch everything at once—build muscle memory over time

What’s next: recognizing life, not just work

If there was one takeaway from this session, it’s this: culture doesn’t improve through perks alone. It improves when appreciation becomes a habit, and recognition becomes the way people experience belonging every day.

‍