AI adoption at work has doubled in just two years, and every leader is racing to prepare their workforce for what's next. But technology doesn't transform organizations — people do. In this session, Chantale Callingham, SVP of Global Client Success & EMEA Operations at Awardco, makes the case that employee recognition isn't a "nice-to-have" that competes with AI and workforce transformation — it's the infrastructure that makes those initiatives succeed.

Drawing on new research from the Awardco Center of Excellence and real results from organizations, you'll learn how recognition reinforces new behaviors, reduces uncertainty, prevents cultural drift, and keeps people connected to purpose while everything around them changes. If you're navigating AI adoption, restructuring, or workforce redesign, this session will reframe recognition as one of your most practical levers for change.

Key takeaways:

• Every transformation is a behavior-change initiative — organizations transform because people learn, experiment, adapt, and collaborate differently, not because technology changes.
• Recognition is a scalable way to reinforce the behaviors leaders want more of, giving employees clarity on what success looks like in the future organization.
• During uncertainty, employees need evidence, not just communication — recognition proves their work still matters and builds confidence.
• Recognition prevents "cultural drift" and preserves identity through restructures, keeping shared values visible via real, everyday examples.
• Recognition drives measurable results — employees are 2.3x more likely to be engaged and 1.7x more likely to stay, with proof points from Alera Group, Paramount, Crumbl, and Lineage.