Explore the new State of Recognition 2026 report

 

External Recognition™

Recognition from the outside in

Give customers, patients, clients, and partners an easy way to spotlight your employees—no login required.

How It Works

What is External Recognition?

Provide customer-facing roles with customer-sourced compliments.

Administrative Flexibility

External recognition made easy

Awardco makes it easy to source and display recognitions from satisfied customers.

Print or Link QR Codes

Outside parties scan an employee’s personalized code to recognize them instantly for the entire organization to see.

Celebrate Wins

Add simple approval flows and optional points to celebrate standout employees to make sure no good work goes unnoticed.

Only From Awardco

Where External Recognition works

Healthcare

After receiving outstanding care, a patient’s family scans the nurse’s QR code and shares a meaningful message—instantly visible on Awardco to all employees—inspiring better care everywhere.

 
Food Service

After great service, diners scan a QR code and leave recognition for their server. Their manager adds points, and it’s posted for the team to celebrate, encouraging continued spectacular service.

 
Education

A simple thank you from a student shows a teacher their extra effort mattered. Recognition that deepens connection and fuels engagement from student and teacher builds a better world for everyone.

 
Retail

A grateful customer scans a QR code to recognize a cashier’s friendly service. It’s instant, visible, and celebrated company-wide, which builds a culture of customer service that will set you apart.

 
Hospitality

After a technician finishes a job with care and professionalism, the homeowner scans a QR code to send recognition. The shoutout is instantly visible across the company, boosting pride and inspiring service excellence in every home.

 

Testimonials

What our customers say

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
Kodiak
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
Quick Quack Car Wash
Awardco enables us to celebrate not just big wins, but the small moments that make a difference every day.
Pam Buyers
Head of Culture
PMG
Recognition through myKudos [Awardco] is one of the most positive aspects of PMG. It showcases employee contributions across the company, helping everyone feel valued and appreciated. Public recognition doesn't just acknowledge hard work—it motivates others to push further and strive for excellence.
Melodie Cottingham
Convergent Video/Audio Director
PMG
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
Alera Group
We were intentional with our transition, and Awardco made it seamless. Adoption was impressive—we even exceeded our goals.
Sarah Mazzocco
Chief People Officer
Americare Senior Living
Seventy-five percent of our employees are out in the field, so how do we get them excited and engaged? The safety programs really got them energized. They had the opportunity to earn a lot of points, but they also received meaningful recognition. I was really impressed by how much our login engagement increased over time.
Marna Lagerquist
Manager, Talent Acquisition and Development
4Refuel
Whether it’s recognizing a peer or a member of our team, Awardco is so simple and intuitive.
Cassidy Barsdoff
Director, Project Management Office
Kodiak

Integrations

Simplify your workflow

Make recognition part of the daily flow of work, building culture at every touchpoint.

Let everyone say thanks

Close the loop on recognition by enabling customers, patients, and partners to celebrate great work through External Recognition.