Employees connect at work in small moments every day.

A quick thank-you after a difficult shift. A teammate remembering your birthday. A coworker recognizing extra effort during a busy project. Those interactions build culture in ways most organizations underestimate.

But in many companies, the tools employees use to communicate are fragmented, noisy, or difficult to navigate. Information gets buried. Groups become disconnected. Recognition happens in one system while communication happens somewhere else.

That’s exactly what Awardco set out to solve with Awardco Connections.

In a recent Product Pulse webinar, Awardco’s Jill Onofrietti and Kristin Smith shared how the new Awardco Connections experience helps organizations create stronger employee communities directly inside the Awardco platform with features like:

• User profiles
• Employee groups
• Group pages
• Announcements

Instead of adding another disconnected communication tool, Awardco Connections helps organizations bring recognition, communication, groups, and employee engagement together in one centralized experience.

Why employee connection matters more than ever

Recognition has always been about more than rewards.

Employees want to feel seen, valued, and connected to the people they work with every day. But as organizations become more distributed, hybrid, and global, maintaining those connections becomes more difficult.

According to the webinar, many organizations are already seeing employees naturally build connections through recognition moments:

• thanking teammates for support
• celebrating milestones
• recognizing collaboration
• acknowledging everyday effort

Awardco Connections builds on those interactions by creating tools specifically designed to strengthen workplace relationships and visibility.

User profiles make recognition more personal

One of the foundational features inside Awardco Connections is expanded employee user profiles.

Profiles allow employees to share optional information about themselves, including:

• favorite treats or hobbies
• preferred recognition styles
• personal interests
• birthday visibility
• fun facts and personality details

The goal is simple: help employees recognize each other more meaningfully.

During the webinar, Jill shared a story about using a teammate’s profile to quickly organize a last-minute birthday surprise by checking his favorite snacks and desserts inside Awardco.

Small details create stronger recognition moments. And stronger recognition moments help employees feel more connected to the organization.

Employee groups create community without extra tools

One of the biggest themes throughout the webinar was consolidation.

Employees already juggle countless communication tools throughout the day. Awardco Connections helps reduce that complexity by giving organizations a dedicated place for employee communities directly inside the platform.

Organizations can now create employee groups for:

• ERGs
• social clubs
• departments
• leadership teams
• project teams
• volunteer initiatives
• wellness groups
• location-based communities

Groups can be public or private, and admins can delegate ownership to group leaders without handing over full platform permissions.

That flexibility helps HR and culture teams scale employee engagement without adding additional administrative burden.

Group pages give employees a central hub for communication

Each employee group can also have its own customizable page inside Awardco.

These pages function like lightweight internal community hubs where organizations can share:

• announcements
• calendars
• reminders
• videos
• onboarding information
• event details
• recognition highlights

Kristin explained that pages were intentionally designed to feel familiar and easy to manage, even for nontechnical users.

Instead of employees searching through endless Slack messages or email threads, important information can live in one dedicated space that’s easy to revisit later.

For example:

• ERGs can centralize event information
• leadership teams can share updates
• wellness groups can post challenge details
• clubs can organize activities and resources

The experience creates more visibility while reducing communication overload.

Announcements help organizations cut through the noise

Another major feature discussed in the webinar was Awardco Announcements.

Organizations can now send targeted communications directly through Awardco using:

• employee metadata
• user groups
• departments
• locations
• custom audiences

Announcements can be delivered through the Awardco platform, email, or mobile notifications, ensuring each communication reaches employees where they’re at.

Admins can also pin important announcements, enable comments and reactions, schedule communications, and track engagement analytics.

That last piece matters especially for HR and internal communication teams.

Organizations can now measure:

• open rates
• click-through rates
• employee engagement
• announcement participation
• group interaction

Instead of guessing whether employees saw important communications, teams can finally track real engagement data.

Awardco Connections helps HR teams scale culture intentionally

One of the strongest takeaways from the webinar was that employee connection should not rely entirely on scattered communication systems.

Awardco Connections helps organizations intentionally design how employees communicate, recognize each other, organize communities, and stay informed.

And because these features live inside Awardco, they naturally connect back to recognition, engagement, and employee experience initiatives already happening throughout the platform.

The result is a more connected experience that feels simpler for employees and easier to manage for admins.

The future of employee engagement is more connected

Future roadmap plans include expanded collaboration features, event management capabilities, deeper engagement insights, and additional ways for employees to connect organically within the platform.

As organizations continue looking for ways to improve culture, retention, and employee engagement, connection will play an increasingly important role.

Recognition starts the conversation. Connection keeps it going.

Want to see Awardco Connections in action?

This webinar included live product demonstrations of:

• employee profiles
• user groups
• customizable pages
• announcements
• engagement analytics
• admin controls

Watch the full demo to see how Awardco Connections helps organizations create more connected employee experiences at scale.