Laura Shanley is a recognition practitioner and advisor on Awardco’s Center of Excellence team, fluent in both client reality and platform possibility. With 20+ years of experience in employee engagement, communications, and culture—including eight spent exclusively on recognition—she has built and modernized recognition programs from within global companies such as Qualcomm, Okta, and DocuSign.
Having worked extensively with Awardco and multiple other recognition platforms, Laura brings a unique perspective that enables clients to make confident, well-informed decisions. She specializes in vendor evaluation, implementation strategy, enterprise adoption, governance design, and long-term program evolution. She has guided large, complex organizations through platform transitions, helping clients anticipate challenges, avoid common pitfalls, and design recognition programs that are strategic, scalable, and built to last.
In addition to her advisory work, Laura is an experienced facilitator and content creator. She develops frameworks, playbooks, and workshops on recognition strategy, change management, service award modernization and program governance. Her thought leadership helps organizations embed recognition more deeply into their culture, creating workplaces where employees feel valued and seen.
Trusted for her collaborative style and empathy for the realities of internal teams, Laura meets organizations where they are, offering practical insight and clear guidance shaped by years of walking in the client’s shoes.
