Employee Onboarding Recognition That Builds Engagement

Create lasting first impressions

Welcome new employees with personalized recognitions, swag, and messages from their team—all automated to set the stage for long-term engagement.

Return on recognition

Why celebrate new hires?

A warm welcome sets the stage for continued success for every employee. Recognition during onboarding helps new hires feel valued, connected, and ready to contribute from day one.

Retention
Smiling professional woman shaking hands during a business meeting
69
%
of employees are more likely to stay if the company has a strong onboarding structure.
69
%
of employees are more likely to stay if the company has a strong onboarding structure.

Quick Quack Car Wash saw a 20% reduction in turnover after implementing Awardco for their employee recognition programs.

Productivity
Diverse business team laughing and collaborating in modern office
50
%
more productivity for new hires if they feel welcomed and supported.
50
%
more productivity for new hires if they feel welcomed and supported.

Effective recognition builds culture and drives performance—and even drives better management approval scores. See how CPS Group saw these results and more.

Engagement
Colleagues high-five and laugh together in an office workspace
54
%
increase in employee engagement with effective onboarding.
54
%
increase in employee engagement with effective onboarding.

Hertz successfully took their recognition programs global to over 24,000 employees and saw increased engagement as a result.

end-to-end flexibility

Kickstart engagement from day one

Give every employee a warm, personalized welcome—fully automated and without extra admin work.

Company-wide visibility

Warm welcomes and first-day shoutouts

Showcase new hire recognitions on rotating screens, Slack, Teams, and more to build a sense of belonging from day one.

testimonials

What customers are saying

Southern Oregon Head Start
 
 
Our job was to solve the ongoing challenge of helping staff feel connected—to each other and to the organization.
Woman with dark hair pulled back, wearing hoop earrings and a black patterned blouse, looking thoughtfully off-camera in an indoor setting.
Shandy Phelps
Family Community Engagement Supervisor
Dubai Airports
 
 
The High Flyer program has transformed recognition from a reactive gesture into a proactive part of my leadership approach. Recognition is now structured, inclusive, and aligned with our organizational values.
Mariam Al Shemsi
Head - Learning Design & Program Development, Dubai Airports
Amur Equipment Finance
 
 
I didn't expect this much engagement with everyone's recognition posts. Our company is spread out across the country, and Awardco has really helped our team feel connected.
Smiling woman with long brown hair and black-framed glasses wearing a blue top against a blue textured background.
Hannah Fagan
Human Resources Leader
PMG
 
 
When employees feel seen and appreciated, they’re more engaged, and engagement drives performance. Using Awardco helps leaders and managers recognize impact in real time, and that momentum drives continued and lasting success.
Smiling woman with blonde hair wearing a black blazer and a delicate gold necklace against a white background.
Monica Gunderson
Talent Management Lead
Crumbl
 
 
For most companies, purpose, mission, and values can end up feeling like just words on paper. That’s why we were so interested in Awardco. It gives us an authentic way to bring our values to life. Every time someone recognizes a teammate, our purpose and values are right there, reinforcing what they look like in action every single day.
Smiling man with short spiked hair and a trimmed beard wearing a black t-shirt on a white background.
Josh Olofson
Vice President of Employee Experience
McCormick & Company
 
 
We know there is a direct link between how recognized and appreciated someone feels and how engaged and productive they are in their work.
Smiling woman with blonde hair wearing a floral-patterned navy jacket and white top against a textured beige background.
Sierra Capone
Director, Wellbeing & Employee Experience
Team members are more willing to recognize their colleagues for a job well done because Awardco is simple and user-friendly. We are very happy with the platform.
Anonymous
HR Operations Manager
SEF Energy
 
 
We haven't heard a single negative thing about Awardco from our employees. It's been much more successful than we expected because the staff really love it.
Lauren Long
HR Operations Manager
Paramount
 
 
There are so many [reward] options, and everyone is already used to Amazon and knows what they can get. In the past, we had a catalogue of items, and it didn't feel like it would fit with our new demographic.
Shaye McCoy
Manager, Global Total Rewards Experience
Hertz
 
 
I want people to look at Hertz and say, "they're doing something right." They’re listening to employees, taking that feedback, and continuing to build on their recognition programs. It’s important to show that this is part of our culture, not just a platform.
Smiling woman with long blonde hair wearing a black blazer and pink top, standing outdoors with arms crossed and blurred greenery in the background.
Jessica Mollica
Vice President, Human Resources Field
Cineplex
 
 
Awardco significantly boosts employee engagement and helps our team feel valued and appreciated, which leads to higher morale. Offering customizable recognition programs for Cinemark and a wide range of awards helps align with our employees' interests and ensures everyone, from theatre staff to management, feels valued.
Ann O'Keefe
Director of Benefits
Alera Group
 
 
We conduct an annual engagement survey, and we receive many comments from employees who say they love working here because of their colleagues. We get a lot of positive feedback about the team environment.
Smiling woman with blonde hair wearing a black blazer and white collared shirt against a grey background.
Pam Johnson
VP of Human Resources
The Awardco team is very experienced and always so responsive. Issues are always resolved quickly and updates are shared promptly.
Anonymous
Sr. HRIS Analyst
Investing in the Centre of Excellence team at Awardco was the best decision we made. Katie didn’t just advise; she partnered with us. She brought deep healthcare expertise and helped us translate what recognition should feel like for clinicians into something that actually works for a deskless, clinical workforce. With her leadership, we built our Awardco instance as a true virtual haven: a values-based recognition experience designed with and for our teams, easily accessible, and directly tied to our mission. The result is an always-on program that makes it easy to celebrate the moments that matter — strengthening connection, belonging, and pride across the organization.
Smiling woman with long blonde hair wearing a black blouse, with a blurred green and grey background.
Megan Vera Weaklend
SVP of Marketing & Customer Experience
Alera Group
 
 
We launched our The Collaborative Way initiative with a half-day workshop for all colleagues, facilitated by internal Collaborative Way Champions who travelled from office to office. We held these engaging workshops across the company, and leaders would ask us, ‘Now that colleagues have completed the workshop, how do we keep these principles front and centre?’ While we developed other standalone follow-ups, it was only when we implemented Awardco that we truly felt like we had a compelling, daily solution to that question.
Portrait of a woman with long blonde hair wearing a grey blazer and black top against a grey textured background.
Kristie White
AVP Change Strategy & Organizational Development

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can new hires use onboarding rewards to choose company swag or other items?
 

Depending on the program configuration, new hires may be able to redeem onboarding points for curated company merchandise, branded swag, gift cards, products, or other available rewards.

Organizations can use a focused catalog for onboarding or provide access to a broader selection of configured reward options. Catalog availability, fulfillment, currency, and shipping vary by country and reward type.

The organization determines which options are appropriate for its onboarding program and policies.

Can onboarding be monetary, non-monetary, or both?
 

Yes. An onboarding program can use a welcome message or recognition without a monetary award, it can include points or another configured reward, or it can combine recognition and rewards across multiple onboarding moments.

Organizations can choose whether a particular onboarding event includes an award and can define the available values and redemption options when rewards are enabled. A non-monetary welcome can still recognize the employee and introduce company values without creating a financial reward.

Reward availability, eligibility, and tax treatment depend on the organization’s policies, program design, and applicable requirements.

Can different employee groups have different onboarding programs?
 

Yes. Organizations can tailor onboarding based on available employee and organizational data, such as location, department, role, employment type, business unit, or other employee groups.

For example, an organization may use different messages, timing, reward options, or onboarding resources for employees in different regions or roles. Central teams can maintain an overall framework while allowing the experience to reflect local or team-specific needs.

Available segmentation depends on the data provided to Awardco and the organization’s program configuration.

Can onboarding communications and awards be triggered automatically from our HRIS?
 

Awardco can use employee data from an HRIS or another supported source to identify new hires and trigger configured onboarding communications or recognition.

Organizations can define timing around events such as an employee’s start date or specific points during their first weeks or months. Depending on the program design, onboarding moments may occur on the employee’s first day, during the first week, or at later checkpoints such as 30, 60, or 90 days.

Automation depends on the employee fields, integration method, data timing, and onboarding rules configured for the organization.

What does Awardco’s onboarding program do?
 

Awardco onboarding programs help organizations welcome new employees with timely communications, recognition, and—when configured—rewards during the early stages of employment.

Organizations can use onboarding to introduce employees to company values, explain how recognition works, share important resources, and create an early connection with managers and peers. Onboarding recognition can be used alongside broader recognition, rewards, and employee-engagement programs. And Awardco empowers all of it.

The content, timing, and reward components are configured to fit the organization’s onboarding approach.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can new hires use onboarding rewards to choose company swag or other items?
 

Depending on the program configuration, new hires may be able to redeem onboarding points for curated company merchandise, branded swag, gift cards, products, or other available rewards.

Organizations can use a focused catalog for onboarding or provide access to a broader selection of configured reward options. Catalog availability, fulfillment, currency, and shipping vary by country and reward type.

The organization determines which options are appropriate for its onboarding program and policies.

Can onboarding be monetary, non-monetary, or both?
 

Yes. An onboarding program can use a welcome message or recognition without a monetary award, it can include points or another configured reward, or it can combine recognition and rewards across multiple onboarding moments.

Organizations can choose whether a particular onboarding event includes an award and can define the available values and redemption options when rewards are enabled. A non-monetary welcome can still recognize the employee and introduce company values without creating a financial reward.

Reward availability, eligibility, and tax treatment depend on the organization’s policies, program design, and applicable requirements.

Can different employee groups have different onboarding programs?
 

Yes. Organizations can tailor onboarding based on available employee and organizational data, such as location, department, role, employment type, business unit, or other employee groups.

For example, an organization may use different messages, timing, reward options, or onboarding resources for employees in different regions or roles. Central teams can maintain an overall framework while allowing the experience to reflect local or team-specific needs.

Available segmentation depends on the data provided to Awardco and the organization’s program configuration.

Can onboarding communications and awards be triggered automatically from our HRIS?
 

Awardco can use employee data from an HRIS or another supported source to identify new hires and trigger configured onboarding communications or recognition.

Organizations can define timing around events such as an employee’s start date or specific points during their first weeks or months. Depending on the program design, onboarding moments may occur on the employee’s first day, during the first week, or at later checkpoints such as 30, 60, or 90 days.

Automation depends on the employee fields, integration method, data timing, and onboarding rules configured for the organization.

What does Awardco’s onboarding program do?
 

Awardco onboarding programs help organizations welcome new employees with timely communications, recognition, and—when configured—rewards during the early stages of employment.

Organizations can use onboarding to introduce employees to company values, explain how recognition works, share important resources, and create an early connection with managers and peers. Onboarding recognition can be used alongside broader recognition, rewards, and employee-engagement programs. And Awardco empowers all of it.

The content, timing, and reward components are configured to fit the organization’s onboarding approach.

Day one, done right

Show appreciation and intention with meaningful onboarding recognition that makes an immediate impact.