External Recognition™

Recognition from the outside in

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

customer story

How does external recognition work?

External recognition extends appreciation beyond employees to the customers, fans, and community members who experience an organization's work firsthand. See how the Utah Jazz lets fans publicly recognize staff during games via video board shout-outs.

 

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

I recently recognized a graduate trainee for leading a reverse mentoring panel during Learning Week. That acknowledgment boosted her confidence and showed that meaningful contributions can come from anyone, regardless of age, experience, or role.
Mariam Al Shemsi
Head - Learning Design & Program Development, Dubai Airports
Dubai Airports
Our caregivers give so much emotionally—it’s intense work. Recognition helps keep them engaged and supported.
Smiling older woman with short blonde hair wearing a brown jacket, chain necklace, and dangling earrings against a blue backdrop.
Pat Cokingtin
Senior VP of Sales & Marketing
Americare Senior Living
How do we better recognize our associates on the day to day? One of our engagement survey questions is, 'In the last seven days, have you been recognized for doing good work?' Awardco really allows us to to do that and to do a better job of that.
Smiling woman with long dark hair wearing a bright pink sleeveless top against a light gray background.
Jenny Ketchepaw
VP, Talent Engagement
Citizens Business Bank
Often, you're on the road for an entire shift, and you may not necessarily interact with a lot of other colleagues… And so being recognized helps you feel more connected with the team.
Christopher Whilsmith
Certified Refueling Professional
4Refuel
We created ‘Celebrating Culture’—a program where we reward engagement at everything from costume contests to lunch-and-learns. Awardco makes it easy to motivate and recognize employees both in person and remotely.
Smiling woman with shoulder-length dark wavy hair wearing a green textured blouse against a black background.
Tisa Penny
Engagement & Events Lead, 2025 Recognition Rockstar Winner
Lockton
We do a lot of remote work activities where you can win something. We do a lot of these contests, and I used to go to Amazon and send a $25 gift card to the winners, but now I do it through Awardco. It's in the system, trackable, and much more streamlined.
Amberlee Taylor
Sr. Communications Specialist
Pacific Life
We launched our The Collaborative Way initiative with a half-day workshop for all colleagues, facilitated by internal Collaborative Way Champions that traveled from office to office. We would do these engaging workshops across the company, and leaders would ask us, ‘Now that colleagues have completed the workshop, how do we keep these principles front and center?’ While we developed other standalone follow-ups, it was only when we implemented Awardco that we truly felt like we had a compelling, daily solution to that question.
Portrait of a woman with long blonde hair wearing a gray blazer and black top against a gray textured background.
Kristie White
AVP Change Strategy & Organizational Development
Alera Group
It feels very good to get recognized. You put in so much hard work, and when someone acknowledges it, you feel appreciated and valued. I think that’s the key.
Aisha Ariyo
Export Logistics Coordinator
Greenfield Global

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.