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

Americare Senior Living
 
 
If you want a feel-good moment, just log in and scroll through the recognition feed.
Smiling woman with long wavy blonde hair wearing a red blazer, black top, and a silver cross necklace against a blue-gray background.
Mary Eaves
Senior VP of Operations (Assisted Living Division)
Dubai Airports
 
 
The High Flyer program has transformed recognition from a reactive gesture into a proactive part of my leadership approach. Recognition is now structured, inclusive, and aligned with our organizational values.
Mariam Al Shemsi
Head - Learning Design & Program Development, Dubai Airports
Citizens Business Bank
 
 
I don't worry about the cost as much in these situations because I think having an engaged employee, a happy, satisfied employee that feels like they're part of something is going to reap a lot more rewards in the long run.
Smiling man in a gray suit, white shirt, and red patterned tie in a professional headshot.
David Brager
President & CEO
Janitronics
 
 
It is very easy to slice and dice that data so you can filter by any kind of metadata that you have and really be able to dig in into where your focus areas are.
Smiling man with short light brown hair, blue eyes, and wearing a dark blazer over a maroon button-up shirt against a gray background.
Frank Eschberger
Human Resource Business Partner
Janitronics
 
 
The platform helps to put a spotlight on the good behaviors—on things that demonstrate people going above and beyond or outside their normal scope or taking initiative. As people see that in the feed, everybody else on the team can be like, ‘Oh, that’s the kind of stuff that people get shouted out and recognized for. The more you see the same thing, the more you’re like, ‘Okay, if I want the result, I’m going to do that thing.’
Smiling bald man with a beard wearing rectangular glasses, a blue floral shirt, and a navy blazer against a gray background.
Andrew Goodman
Site Manager
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
My experience partnering with Awardco from an admin perspective has been outstanding. The platform is user-friendly and intuitive, leaving me empowered as an admin to own managing the platform and overall recognition programming.
Anonymous
Talent Enablement Senior Associate
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
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
Our experience with Awardco has been very positive. The interactive redemption portal gives the user autonomy, allowing them to feel in control of the award they are receiving.
Anonymous
HR Generalist
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.
Smiling man with dark hair and beard wearing a black shirt against a gray background.
Barkin Ozdemir
Content Development Manager, Brand & Communications, Dubai Airports
Dubai Airports
 
 
The High Flyer platform is such an important tool—it allows me to pause, reflect, and thank colleagues who have gone above and beyond. That simple act of appreciation makes a big difference.
Soosan Abidali
Office Manager, Strategy & Development, Dubai Airports
Hertz
 
 
Using Awardco has given us the confidence that we've partnered with someone that knows what they're doing. We're not only saving a lot of time, but we're building the confidence of our employees as we express our appreciation to all of them worldwide.
Annasuela Fritz
HR Projects and Recognition Manager
MasterBrand Cabinets
 
 
It's really a cultural shift that has been positive for us.
Ali Daunhauer
HR Director of Organizational Transformation
Lockton
 
 
Associates love it. We've had over 95% user adoption in the first six months. It's been a huge success.
Smiling woman with long dark curly hair wearing a lavender blouse and white earrings against a black background.
Selia Wood
AVP, Talent & Engagement

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.