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

Children's Nebraska
 
 
Being a nurse, I know that oftentimes it's hard to keep coming back day after day. It often goes without recognition or gratitude, but Sunshine has given us the opportunity to empower our team and our leaders with the ability to recognize others. We're proud to have seen such high engagement from our team members submitting recognitions on the platform.
Madeline Quinn
Employee Experience 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
 
 
I really appreciate how myKudos [Awardco] offers different ‘classifications’ of shoutouts, so no matter how someone went above and beyond, there’s a way to recognize it. We work with some incredible people, and it’s important to celebrate them however we can.
Colby Green
Paid Social Senior Associate
Alera Group
 
 
Awardco has allowed people to recognize their coworkers in a public way, and we see it every day. Collaboration is in the DNA of Alera Group, and appreciation is absolutely central and core to effective collaboration.
Kristie White
Organizational Development
Dubai Airports
 
 
The High Flyer program has created a culture where contributions—big or small—are celebrated. Everyone feels seen and valued, reinforcing our belief that success is a shared journey and that we grow together.
Mariam Al Shemsi
Head of Strategic Partnerships in Learning, Dubai Airports
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
Beckman Coulter
 
 
As a platform administrator, Awardco stands out as the most user-friendly recognition platform I've ever used. Additionally, Awardco offers the flexibility for our company to incorporate custom resources such as videos, FAQs, and PDFs, enhancing the overall user experience for our associates.
Kerie Rogers
HR Operations Leader
Dubai Airports
 
 
We did our first cycling project on the runway. It was a crazy and challenging idea, but the team did an amazing job—and receiving a High Flyer for it felt incredible.
Barkin Ozdemir
Content Development Manager, Brand & Communications, Dubai Airports
TaylorMade
 
 
When you have employees working hard from home juggling family responsibilities, and yet still being physically separate from their team, a simple birthday message and gift they get to pick out creates a meaningful touchpoint, and allows them to take a moment for themselves.
Rosie Scannell
Global HR
 
 
The entire experience, from sourcing and implementation to trouble-shooting and recognition, has been seamless and easy...I love the platform!
Anonymous
HR BP
Dubai Airports
 
 
It only takes a moment to thank someone, but that recognition stays with them and inspires them to do even better.
Soosan Abidali
Office Manager, Strategy & Development, Dubai Airports
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
PMG
 
 
Awardco made it easy for every employee, whether in Dallas or the UK, to feel seen, valued, and celebrated.
Pam Buyers
Head of Culture
Kodiak
 
 
The emphasis that Kodiak puts on people and employees first is really unique. We're always looking for opportunities to acknowledge the important and special and above and beyond work that our coworkers are doing.
Cassidy Barsdoff
Director, Project Management Office
 
 
I love the customization of the platform and the constant innovation. There are constant evolutions and enhancements being released to keep our solution cutting edge.
Anonymous
Director of Human Resources

Celebrate any special day

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