Employee Onboarding Recognition That Builds Engagement

Create lasting first impressions

Welcome new employees with personalized recognitions, swag, and messages from their team—all automated to set the stage for long-term engagement.

Return on recognition

Why celebrate new hires?

A warm welcome sets the stage for continued success for every employee. Recognition during onboarding helps new hires feel valued, connected, and ready to contribute from day one.

Retention
Smiling professional woman shaking hands during a business meeting
69
%
of employees are more likely to stay if the company has a strong onboarding structure.
69
%
of employees are more likely to stay if the company has a strong onboarding structure.

Quick Quack Car Wash saw a 20% reduction in turnover after implementing Awardco for their employee recognition programs.

Productivity
Diverse business team laughing and collaborating in modern office
50
%
more productivity for new hires if they feel welcomed and supported.
50
%
more productivity for new hires if they feel welcomed and supported.

Effective recognition builds culture and drives performance—and even drives better management approval scores. See how CPS Group saw these results and more.

Engagement
Colleagues high-five and laugh together in an office workspace
54
%
increase in employee engagement with effective onboarding.
54
%
increase in employee engagement with effective onboarding.

Hertz successfully took their recognition programs global to over 24,000 employees and saw increased engagement as a result.

end-to-end flexibility

Kickstart engagement from day one

Give every employee a warm, personalized welcome—fully automated and without extra admin work.

Company-Wide visibility

Warm welcomes and first-day shoutouts

Showcase new hire recognitions on rotating screens, Slack, Teams, and more to build a sense of belonging from day one.

testimonials

What customers are saying

Quick Quack Car Wash
 
 
Getting buy-in was super easy. No one really questions it. After all, what's wrong with recognizing people and telling them they did a good job?
Christina Castro
Training Leader
Cinemark
 
 
We are excited to announce the introduction of AwardCodes cards to our rewards program. This new initiative allows Assistant Managers to recognize and reward employees on the spot for their outstanding performance. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.
Ann O'Keefe
Director of Benefits
Velsera
 
 
Implementation was super simple, and the Awardco team was prompt with help and provided plenty of training. After only a couple of weeks, I was able to do most things on my own, which was great.
Marko Zecevic
Employee Experience Manager
ClickUp
 
 
Awardco has helped us build and maintain the culture of appreciation that we know is imperative to great work. We've seen first-hand that when employees feel appreciated, they are more productive.
Smiling woman with long dark hair wearing a light purple sweater indoors.
Deanna Tindell
People Operations Specialist
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.
Smiling man with glasses and beard wearing a black polo shirt and lanyard with 'WOW! mobile boutique' logo.
Michael Cioffi
Director, Marketing, Communication, and Experience
PMG
 
 
Awardco checked all the boxes for us, from onboarding all the way up to senior leadership.
Smiling middle-aged woman with brown hair wearing a red cardigan, black top, and multicolored beaded necklace against a white background.
Pam Buyers
Head of Culture
McCormick & Company
 
 
The exciting part isn’t just that people love being recognized—it’s how eager they are to recognize their peers. That enthusiasm speaks to our culture. There’s a real appetite for recognition because it matters, because they care, and because they want others to feel appreciated.
Smiling woman with blonde hair wearing a floral jacket and white top against a textured wall.
Sierra Capone
Director, Wellbeing & Employee Experience
Dubai Airports
 
 
High Flyer has given us a framework to consistently and meaningfully acknowledge employees, boosting morale and reinforcing the behaviors that drive success. Recognition now feels natural and embedded in our culture.
Smiling man wearing a blue suit jacket, white shirt, and orange tie against a white background.
Kan Ni
Vice President, Airport Operations Control Center, Dubai Airports
Awardco
 
 
A big part of that retention jump was career progression. Employees want to be at Awardco. That's very clear in the way that they use our platform. They want to be able to build their career here and stay here.
Smiling woman with wavy blonde hair wearing a black blazer, white shirt, and gray jeans with one hand in pocket.
Amy Butler
VP of People Operations
From the admin side, managing and ensuring that gifts are timely and fair is dramatically easier. Everything can be scheduled in advance and fulfillment happens automatically.
Anonymous
System Administrator
From the start, Awardco impressed us with their superior product...their team was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable, and it felt like the right solution for our company's needs.
Anonymous
Senior Manager, Total Rewards
Kodiak
 
 
Recognition just reminds you that no, you are seen. Your work is not for nothing. You are appreciated. It feels great and helps you stay motivated, even when things are tough.
Smiling man wearing a blue Patagonia fleece jacket standing outdoors in a snowy landscape with evergreen trees in the background.
Zach Makoutz
Sr. Manager, Category Sales Product
Sorenson Communications
 
 
As an evolving company, I like to ask myself if we're better than we were a year ago—and with employee recognition and employee engagement, the answer is absolutely.
Dan Higbee
Senior Director of HR
Lockton
 
 
As we’ve scaled, we’ve lost the day-to-day visibility into our people. Awardco fills that gap. Peer recognition surfaces contributions that would otherwise go unnoticed—especially from introverts or quiet top performers.
Smiling woman with long blonde wavy hair wearing a black top and pendant necklace on a black background.
Melissa York
SVP, Head of People & Culture
Pennrose
 
 
Working with Awardco’s Center of Excellence was an incredibly valuable part of shaping our recognition strategy. Katie brought a depth of real-world, enterprise experience that helped us think more holistically about what we were building and how it would scale over time. She guided us through key considerations, from award values and program structure to governance and budget, in a way that felt both practical and aligned with our organizational goals. What stood out most was her ability to help us strike the right balance between meaningful guidelines and employee autonomy. We wanted to create a program that maintained consistency and oversight, while still empowering employees to recognize one another in ways that feel genuine and personal. Katie provided thoughtful, practical recommendations that made that balance feel achievable. As a result, we're starting with a high level of confidence in the recognition strategy we’re building at Pennrose.
Smiling woman with shoulder-length blonde hair wearing a black collared shirt outdoors.
Janel Field, EdD
Director of Organizational Effectiveness

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can new hires use onboarding rewards to choose company swag or other items?
 

Depending on the program configuration, new hires may be able to redeem onboarding points for curated company merchandise, branded swag, gift cards, products, or other available rewards.

Organizations can use a focused catalog for onboarding or provide access to a broader selection of configured reward options. Catalog availability, fulfillment, currency, and shipping vary by country and reward type.

The organization determines which options are appropriate for its onboarding program and policies.

Can onboarding be monetary, non-monetary, or both?
 

Yes. An onboarding program can use a welcome message or recognition without a monetary award, it can include points or another configured reward, or it can combine recognition and rewards across multiple onboarding moments.

Organizations can choose whether a particular onboarding event includes an award and can define the available values and redemption options when rewards are enabled. A non-monetary welcome can still recognize the employee and introduce company values without creating a financial reward.

Reward availability, eligibility, and tax treatment depend on the organization’s policies, program design, and applicable requirements.

Can different employee groups have different onboarding programs?
 

Yes. Organizations can tailor onboarding based on available employee and organizational data, such as location, department, role, employment type, business unit, or other employee groups.

For example, an organization may use different messages, timing, reward options, or onboarding resources for employees in different regions or roles. Central teams can maintain an overall framework while allowing the experience to reflect local or team-specific needs.

Available segmentation depends on the data provided to Awardco and the organization’s program configuration.

Can onboarding communications and awards be triggered automatically from our HRIS?
 

Yes. Awardco can use employee data from an HRIS or another supported employee-data source to identify new hires and trigger configured onboarding communications or recognition.

Organizations can define timing around events such as an employee’s start date or selected points during the first weeks or months of employment. Depending on the program design, onboarding moments may occur on the employee’s first day, during the first week, or at later checkpoints such as 30, 60, or 90 days.

Automation depends on the employee fields, integration method, data timing, and onboarding rules configured for the organization.

What does Awardco’s onboarding program do?
 

Awardco onboarding programs help organizations welcome new employees with timely communications, recognition, and—when configured—rewards during the early stages of employment.

Organizations can use onboarding to introduce employees to company values, explain how recognition works, share important resources, and create an early connection with managers and peers. Onboarding recognition can be used alongside broader recognition, rewards, and employee-engagement programs. And Awardco empowers all of it.

The content, timing, and reward components are configured to fit the organization’s onboarding approach.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can new hires use onboarding rewards to choose company swag or other items?
 

Depending on the program configuration, new hires may be able to redeem onboarding points for curated company merchandise, branded swag, gift cards, products, or other available rewards.

Organizations can use a focused catalog for onboarding or provide access to a broader selection of configured reward options. Catalog availability, fulfillment, currency, and shipping vary by country and reward type.

The organization determines which options are appropriate for its onboarding program and policies.

Can onboarding be monetary, non-monetary, or both?
 

Yes. An onboarding program can use a welcome message or recognition without a monetary award, it can include points or another configured reward, or it can combine recognition and rewards across multiple onboarding moments.

Organizations can choose whether a particular onboarding event includes an award and can define the available values and redemption options when rewards are enabled. A non-monetary welcome can still recognize the employee and introduce company values without creating a financial reward.

Reward availability, eligibility, and tax treatment depend on the organization’s policies, program design, and applicable requirements.

Can different employee groups have different onboarding programs?
 

Yes. Organizations can tailor onboarding based on available employee and organizational data, such as location, department, role, employment type, business unit, or other employee groups.

For example, an organization may use different messages, timing, reward options, or onboarding resources for employees in different regions or roles. Central teams can maintain an overall framework while allowing the experience to reflect local or team-specific needs.

Available segmentation depends on the data provided to Awardco and the organization’s program configuration.

Can onboarding communications and awards be triggered automatically from our HRIS?
 

Yes. Awardco can use employee data from an HRIS or another supported employee-data source to identify new hires and trigger configured onboarding communications or recognition.

Organizations can define timing around events such as an employee’s start date or selected points during the first weeks or months of employment. Depending on the program design, onboarding moments may occur on the employee’s first day, during the first week, or at later checkpoints such as 30, 60, or 90 days.

Automation depends on the employee fields, integration method, data timing, and onboarding rules configured for the organization.

What does Awardco’s onboarding program do?
 

Awardco onboarding programs help organizations welcome new employees with timely communications, recognition, and—when configured—rewards during the early stages of employment.

Organizations can use onboarding to introduce employees to company values, explain how recognition works, share important resources, and create an early connection with managers and peers. Onboarding recognition can be used alongside broader recognition, rewards, and employee-engagement programs. And Awardco empowers all of it.

The content, timing, and reward components are configured to fit the organization’s onboarding approach.

Day one, done right

Show appreciation and intention with meaningful onboarding recognition that makes an immediate impact.