Special Occasions

Celebrate lifeoutside of work

Celebrate employees’ real-life milestones—because when you recognize the whole person, not just the job description, magic happens.

Return on recognition

Why celebrate life’s big moments?

Recognizing your employees’ personal milestones shows that you see them, value them, and care about more than just deadlines or ROI. When people feel truly appreciated, they stick around, work harder, and show up happier.

Belonging
Woman blowing out candles on birthday cake during office meeting
90
%
of employees say being recognized for life milestones boosts their sense of belonging at work.
90
%
of employees say being recognized for life milestones boosts their sense of belonging at work.

Effective recognition builds culture and drives performance—and even drives better management approval scores.

Satisfaction
Baby items including knitted bunny, shoes, sweater, and brush
22
%
lift in employee satisfaction scores for companies that celebrate life’s big moments.
22
%
lift in employee satisfaction scores for companies that celebrate life’s big moments.

Big or small, boost employee satisfaction and reduce attrition by celebrating all of life's big moments.

Engagement
Two professionals working together in a high-tech industrial laboratory setting
3
X
higher engagement among employees who feel personally valued, not just professionally.
3
X
higher engagement among employees who feel personally valued, not just professionally.

Triple your employee engagement by making your workforce feel seen, heard, and appreciated through personalized recognition.

end-to-end flexibility

Recognize the people

behind the job titles

Celebrate any employee's real-life wins and major moments in a meaningful, genuine, and rewarding way.

Admin Flexibility

Budget-friendly. Admin-approved.

Celebrating life’s milestones shouldn’t mean sacrificing budget clarity. Set limits by department, occasion, or region, and track redemptions in real time. Awardco delivers transparent reporting without the manual processes or stress.

‍

testimonials

What our customers say

Utah Valley University
 
 
We don’t have to pull together spreadsheets anymore… we can see the whole ecosystem. Awardco helps magnify the efforts we’re already doing and make them more visible.
Maddie Bagley
Appreciation Specialist, People & Culture
Crumbl
 
 
We're very deliberate in the culture that we built. It is a constant effort every day. We value integrity, innovation, and we have an awesome culture because of who we hire. We've got a huge team of really talented individuals. They need to know that they're looked up to, that what they do is impactful and it means a lot to those around them.
Smiling man with short brown hair and glasses wearing a black shirt on white background.
Bryce Redd
CTO
McCormick & Company
 
 
Bravo has been a real game changer for us. Every day, employees are actively seeking out opportunities to recognize one another. They can celebrate meaningful milestones in their own lives and in their peers’ lives, and they can see great work happening across the organization. It’s created space for recognition to thrive.
Woman with long dark hair wearing a black top, smiling against a plain gray background.
Lola Fawole
VP of HR Americas
Janitronics
 
 
It’s definitely very diverse, and it’s definitely hard to connect with everybody. So Awardco actually makes that much easier with the option of choosing your primary language and translating some of that content already on the platform.
Portrait of a smiling man with short light brown hair and blue eyes wearing a dark blazer over a maroon button-up shirt with a white undershirt, against a plain grey background.
Frank Eschberger
Human Resource Business Partner
America First Credit Union
 
 
Previously, every manager hand-wrote a message to their employees every six months thanking them for their hard work, and it was all tied in with the bonus distribution. It was very high-touch, very labor intensive, and we had the process down to a science. We liked the connections that formed between managers and employees as a result of this program, but after COVID-19 most of our workforce went remote. Our semi-annual tradition wasn't possible any longer, nor was it feasible.
Smiling man wearing glasses, a black suit, white shirt, and a red patterned tie against a dark blurred background.
Kent Streuling
SVP of HR
Alera Group
 
 
We do an annual engagement survey, and we do see a lot of comments from people saying they love to work here because of the people they work with. We get a lot of good comments about working with others.
Smiling woman with blonde hair wearing a black blazer and white collared shirt against a gray background.
Pam Johnson
VP of Human Resources
The thing I like most is the ability to customize programs and recognize employees with and without monetary value.
Anonymous
HRIS Analyst
Citizens Business Bank
 
 
And we've also tied that to wellness in the sense that, you know, every year, we encourage our associates to go get their annual physical. So part of that though is if you turn that form in, then you get Awardco points. So it's another way to tie healthy lifestyle to what's important to us in the bank to making an impact with our associates.
Smiling woman with long dark hair wearing a bright pink sleeveless top against a light gray background.
Jenny Ketchepaw
VP, Talent Engagement
The flexible rewards offered are my favorite part. Rather than giving gift cards or merchandise that individuals might not use, they get to decide what they want.
Anonymous
HR Manager
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.
Smiling woman with short blonde hair wearing glasses, a turquoise blouse, pearl necklace, and black cardigan.
Cheryl Vincent
Talent Development Manager
Dubai Airports
 
 
I received a High Flyer last month from my line manager for going the extra mile on a project. It was a wonderful surprise and a true appreciation of my hard work.
Lav Kumar
Senior Manager, Project Management, Dubai Airports
McCormick & Company
 
 
With AI becoming more prominent, recognition helps us maintain the humanity and connection that define our culture. It highlights where employees create true value, even as technology expands.
Smiling woman with long dark hair wearing a black blazer and red lipstick against a gray background.
Lola Fawole
VP of HR Americas
Greenfield Global
 
 
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
McCormick & Company
 
 
We know that there is a direct tie between how recognized and appreciated someone feels and how engaged they are and productive in their work.
Smiling woman with blonde hair wearing a floral-patterned navy jacket and white top against a textured beige background.
Sierra Capone
Director, Wellbeing & Employee Experience
PMG
 
 
I try to express appreciation vocally and in Slack, but the visibility that comes from an official kudos [Awardco] post really takes it to the next level. It ensures that great work doesn't go unnoticed, and I’m making it a point to use the shoutout feature even more across my teams.
Smiling man with short brown hair and beard wearing a checkered dress shirt, standing against a dark wall with circular decorations.
Colby Green
Paid Social Senior Associate

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can special-occasion rewards be limited to an event-specific catalog?
 

Where supported, organizations can limit an award to a selected catalog or reward category. Examples may include a baby-gifts catalog for a new child, a graduation collection, a marriage or new-home collection, company merchandise, or another event-specific selection.

A focused catalog can make the experience more relevant and help the organization align the reward with the purpose of the occasion. Organizations should confirm the available catalog controls, country coverage, supplier inventory, currency, fulfillment, and employee visibility before promising a specific item or delivery outcome.

Can organizations set different reward values, budgets, or approval rules?
 

Organizations can configure special-occasion programs around their preferred reward values, budgets, eligible populations, and administrative rules where supported.

For example, a company may use different values for a wedding, new home, graduation, or new child; provide supervisors with a separate budget; or require HR or another administrator to review a recognition before it is delivered.

Organizations should define ownership, budget limits, approval requirements, corrections, unused balances, employee departures, and any tax or payroll review before enabling monetary awards. The available controls vary by program and agreement.

Who can send or initiate a special-occasion recognition?
 

Depending on the program, a special-occasion recognition may be initiated by an administrator, manager, supervisor, peer, or another authorized sender. Organizations can use automated awards for recurring events and human-led recognition for moments that require context or discretion.

Programs may also give managers or supervisors a defined budget for life-event recognition. An organization can decide whether the sender can issue the recognition directly or whether it must go through an approval workflow first.

The available sender roles, permissions, budgets, and approval steps depend on the selected program and administrator configuration.

Can special-occasion recognition be automated?
 

Where the required employee data and workflow are available, organizations can automate recognition tied to a date or an approved employee event. Automation can help deliver a reward, notification, or memory-book invitation on or around a meaningful date without requiring HR or managers to remember each event manually.

Organizations may also combine automated programs with manager, administrator, or peer-initiated recognition when an event is not available in the employee data source or when a more personal process is appropriate.

Automation depends on the source data, event type, trigger, timing, employee eligibility, and configuration. Organizations should validate how events are added, corrected, canceled, or removed before launch.

What special occasions can Awardco help organizations recognize?
 

Organizations can configure programs for meaningful employee moments such as weddings, new babies, adoptions, graduations, new homes, birthdays, retirements, service anniversaries, and other approved occasions.

Organizations may also choose whether to support sensitive events, such as bereavement, based on their policies, culture, employee preferences, and local requirements. Not every event must be enabled, and organizations should use respectful, inclusive language that fits their workforce.

The available event types and experiences depend on the enabled Awardco product and the organization’s configuration. A public page should avoid implying that every event, country, or employee population is supported identically.

Make every occasion awesome

It's no secret that when employees feel appreciated, they perform better in all aspects of their work. Spread appreciation more effectively by celebrating personal milestones with Awardco.