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

Velsera
 
 
We loved the Awardco platform right from the start because it’s so simple, yet it also offers so many customization options to build on.
Marko Zecevic
Employee Experience Manager
The platform is user-friendly, intuitive, and looks great! Plus, the available marketplace offers plenty of excellent options for employees to redeem their points for great prizes and rewards.
Anonymous
Director of Human Resources
SEF Energy
 
 
One of the biggest things we were looking for was a platform that's easily accessible for all of our employees. We needed it to be simple and intuitive, and not require a lot of training.
Lauren Long
HR Operations Manager
Kodiak
 
 
It is essential for building and strengthening relationships. Having a platform that makes recognition so easy is what sets Kodiak apart from the rest.
Cassidy Barsdoff
Director, Project Management Office
ClickUp
 
 
Awardco has helped us build and maintain a culture of appreciation that we know is essential to great work. We've seen first-hand that when employees feel valued, they are more productive.
Deanna Tindell
People Operations Specialist
NIBCO
 
 
Awardco has definitely helped us improve our recognition efforts. Recognizing a colleague, even if you don’t see them every day, has been empowering.
Ashley Martin
President & CEO
Dubai Airports
 
 
Using the High Flyer platform for recognition has provided us with greater flexibility and better alignment with our objectives. It allows us to acknowledge teams and individuals in ways that connect directly to our successes and values.
Kan Ni
Vice President, Airport Operations Control Centre, Dubai Airports
Staff really appreciate being able to choose their own gifts from vendors like Amazon rather than picking from traditional, generic corporate swag.
Anonymous
Systems Administrator
TaylorMade
 
 
When your employees are working hard from home while juggling family responsibilities, and still physically separated from their team, a simple birthday message and a gift they get to choose creates a meaningful touchpoint that lets them take a moment for themselves.
Rosie Scannell
Global HR
Awardco helps build the sense of community and appreciation we need with so many remote employees.
Ryan H.
HR Generalist
Pennrose
 
 
Working with Awardco’s Center of Excellence was an incredibly valuable part of shaping our recognition strategy. Katie brought a depth of real-world, enterprise experience that helped us think more holistically about what we were building and how it would scale over time. She guided us through key considerations, from award values and program structure to governance and budget, in a way that felt both practical and aligned with our organizational goals. What stood out most was her ability to help us strike the right balance between meaningful guidelines and employee autonomy. We wanted to create a program that maintained consistency and oversight, while still empowering employees to recognize one another in ways that feel genuine and personal. Katie provided thoughtful, practical recommendations that made that balance feel achievable. As a result, we're starting with a high level of confidence in the recognition strategy we’re building at Pennrose.
Janel Field, EdD
Director of Organizational Effectiveness
PMG
 
 
I try to express appreciation verbally and on Slack, but the visibility that comes from an official kudos [Awardco] post really takes it to the next level. It ensures that great work doesn't go unnoticed, and I’m making it a point to use the shoutout feature even more across my teams.
Colby Green
Senior Associate, Paid Social
The customer service experience has been exceptional, and the Awardco team has been more than willing to help us set up custom processes and programs, configure integrations, and set up our own custom swag shop.
Anonymous
Director of Human Resources
MasterBrand Cabinets
 
 
It’s really been a positive cultural shift for us.
Ali Daunhauer
HR Director of Organizational Transformation
Children's Nebraska
 
 
Being a nurse, I know that oftentimes it's hard to keep coming back day over day. It often goes without recognition or without gratitude, but Sunshine's given us the opportunity to empower our team, empower our leaders to have that ability proud that we've had such a high engagement of our team members submitting recognitions on the platform.
Madeline Quinn
Employee Experience Manager

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.