Explore the new State of Recognition 2026 report

 

Employee Birthdays & holidays

Celebrate festive occasions with style

Automate celebrations, personalize rewards, and ensure no special occasion goes unnoticed—regardless of where your employees are.

Return on recognition

Why celebrate birthdays and holidays at work?

Recognition doesn’t always have to be tied to performance. Celebrating birthdays and holidays offers an easy, reoccurring, and impactful way to show employees they matter. These personal moments deepen engagement and help create a culture of care that resonates far beyond the workplace.

Performance
Stock market trading screen with financial graphs on laptop
69
%
of employees say they would work harder if they felt more appreciated.
69
%
of employees say they would work harder if they felt more appreciated.

It's simple, really: appreciation increases feelings of self-worth and personal value, which helps employees want to put in the effort. And it can be as simple as a "Hey, great work today."

Retention
Factory workers in safety gear discussing project during industrial meeting
31
%
lower turnover in companies with strong recognition programs.
31
%
lower turnover in companies with strong recognition programs.

Appreciation leads to greater loyalty. Why? Because when people feel seen and appreciated through recognition, they feel a stronger connection to their workplace. It's simple psychology.

Satisfaction
Smiling senior professional in blue blazer during office meeting
81
%
of employees believe personalized recognition improves their workplace satisfaction.
81
%
of employees believe personalized recognition improves their workplace satisfaction.

General appreciation is great, but personalized is even better, and it doesn't have to be overwhelming. Automation tools, integrations, and more make it easier than ever.

end-to-end flexibility

Never miss a chance to celebrate

Whether it’s birthdays, national holidays, regional celebrations, or company-centric events, make these meaningful moments unforgettable.

Employee Birthdays

Meaningful birthday recognitions

Skip the generic card—and the hassle. Make every employee birthday celebration feel personal:

  • Celebrate peers in a dedicated birthday feed with custom messages
  • Share birthday shoutouts to Slack or monitors for (optional) company-wide visibility
  • Send points or curated gifts employees will actually love
  • Utilize user profiles to give thoughtful, interest-based gifts

testimonials

What customers are saying

Alera Group
 
 
Colleagues have to choose a value from The Collaborative Way when they recognize, making our recognition feed daily proof of why our values are so important. It’s such a powerfully positive place. Leaders are really taking notice—they want to see their teams at the top of the adoption leaderboard because they know the impact our values have on employee performance and retention.
Pam Johnson
VP of HR
4Refuel
 
 
It’s really meaningful to see CRPs who are out on the road by themselves, along with employees working from home, still interacting and connecting through the platform. It’s almost like our 4Refuel Facebook—bringing everyone together no matter where they’re working.
Lynne Harkness
VP, People & Culture
Americare Senior Living
 
 
When people join Americare, we want them to feel like they're part of something bigger than just a job, that it's part of having purpose because they get to make a difference in residents' lives.
Mary Eaves
Senior VP of Operations (Assisted Living Division)
Cinemark
 
 
Awardco significantly enhances employee engagement and helps our employees feel valued and appreciated, leading to higher morale. Offering customizable recognition programs for Cinemark and a wide range of awards helps align with our employees' interests and ensures that all employees, from theatre staff to management, feel valued and appreciated.
Ann O'Keefe
Director of Benefits
Lockton
 
 
You get the same feeling when you are recognized as when you are recognizing someone else. Awardco gives you that platform and makes it so easy to gain those feelings. I love seeing my team being recognized or my leaders recognizing the teams.
Tisa Penny
Engagement & Events Lead, 2025 Recognition Rockstar Winner
Americare Senior Living
 
 
We love to catch our team members doing great things! They can’t pour into others from an empty cup. That’s why we invest in recognition and take the time to celebrate our people.
Sarah Mazzocco
Chief People Officer
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 catalog of items, and it didn't feel like it would fit with our new demographic.
Shaye McCoy
Manager, Global Total Rewards Experience
PMG
 
 
One of the best parts of myKudos [Awardco] is seeing others rally around a recognition post—commenting, reacting, and adding to the praise. I love scrolling through the kudos channel and seeing teammates from other accounts getting hyped up for the great work they’re doing. It really creates a sense of community across the agency.
Colby Green
Paid Social Senior Associate
ARUP Laboratories
 
 
There is never a good time to switch to a new system, but I also know that employees were eager for something new. Awardco has given us incredible power and flexibility with our recognition programs because of the millions of options to choose from, and the ability for employees to choose their own rewards has been a game changer. We know what we're getting, we know we're getting the best price, and our employees couldn't be happier.
Cheryl Vincent
Talent Development Manager
WOW! mobile boutique
 
 
Awardco actually cost us less than what we were doing in the past, and it's had a bigger impact on our ROI and employee engagement.
Jay Adhvaryu
Director of Finance and Compliance
PMG
 
 
Positive recognition is contagious, and myKudos [Awardco] serves as an incredible platform to uplift others, celebrate their wins, and inspire everyone to give their best to PMG and our clients.
Melodie Cottingham
Convergent Video/Audio Director
4Refuel
 
 
We were doing recognition even before we adopted this platform, but this platform made it so easy for our frontline leaders and middle managers to run the recognition program.
Roshan Varghese
Sr. Director, Environment, Health & Safety
WOW! mobile boutique
 
 
We didn't want or need a bunch of bells and whistles. We needed an efficient platform that would empower the recognition and reward programs we wanted to run. Awardco has worked so well—and continues to work so well.
Michael Cioffi
Director, Marketing, Communication, and Experience
PMG
 
 
Since joining, I’ve found myKudos [Awardco] posts to be a great way to learn what others are doing across the agency. I’ve even picked up ideas from shoutouts that I’ve been able to implement on my own accounts. It’s more than recognition—it’s a source of inspiration.
Colby Green
Paid Social Senior Associate
Lockton
 
 
We selected Awardco after a focus group review. It was hands down unanimous. Everyone loved how clean, easy, and intuitive Awardco was, especially the ‘Who do you want to recognize?’ prompt right when you log in.
Selia Wood
AVP, Talent & Engagement

Celebrate any special day

Make birthdays and holidays stand-out events that employees will love.