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

McCormick & Company
 
 
With 70% of our workforce in what we call frontline, so that would be our frontline manufacturing and distribution roles, it was really important to us when implementing this that we would be able to connect more effectively.
Smiling woman with glasses, pearl necklace, and pearl earrings wearing a red blouse and black blazer against gray background.
Sarah Piper
CHRO
Dubai Airports
 
 
The implementation was effortless. The Awardco team was incredibly supportive and proactive throughout the journey, offering guidance and expertise that led to a smooth and successful launch of our High Flyer program.
Maha Salem
Senior Manager, Rewards & Recognition, Dubai Airports
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
Beckman Coulter
 
 
Change management was a concern when exploring new vendors. However, our leadership, HR, and associates have smoothly transitioned to Awardco, and they appreciate its straightforward and intuitive design, which surpasses the complexities of previous platforms.
Smiling woman with glasses and light curly hair wearing a black top and red shirt seated indoors.
Kerie Rogers
HR Operations Leader
Pilot Company
 
 
We appreciate the user-friendly interface and the ample functionality of the platform, which has enabled us to better recognize team members as well as better support end users.
Smiling woman with long wavy blonde hair and gold earrings in a warmly lit indoor setting.
Sica Simon
HR Analyst
Pacific Life
 
 
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
Crumbl
 
 
I’ve been able to see how much recognition has changed since we started using Awardco. From an admin perspective, it’s become so much more manageable and has saved me countless hours. Birthdays, anniversaries, and new-hire milestones are all automated through Workday, new hires get points at 30 and 60 days, and employees are recognized automatically for birthdays and anniversaries.
Smiling young woman with long brown hair wearing a black top against a pink background.
Shannon Martell
Employee Experience Specialist
Awardco filled a huge need for us to bring recognition and incentives across our international organization. We saw a huge upswing in employee engagement and recognition with its adoption.
Ryan F.
HR Training Specialist
Awardco
 
 
Our eNPS soared from 38 in 2024 to 58 in 2025. That's unheard of and something I've never been a part of before. I think speaks to the really special culture that Awardco has built through recognition and through building a culture where people feel like they belong.
Smiling woman with shoulder-length wavy hair wearing a dark blazer, white shirt, and gray jeans against a plain background.
Amy Butler
VP of People Operations
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
Necco
 
 
Awardco is a great way to give rewards and shoutouts to our employees who sacrifice and assist and go above and beyond.
Logan Harrelson
Recruiter
McCormick & Company
 
 
Ease of access is where we’re trying to bridge the gap so everyone can participate. Bravo makes recognition more visible for all of us. It takes a team—everyone has a piece of the puzzle—and recognition is something we can take home with us.
Dave Hall
Department Manager
The thing I like most is the ability to customize programs and recognize employees with and without monetary value.
Anonymous
HRIS Analyst
Beckman Coulter
 
 
From a reporting standpoint, Awardco excels by allowing users to access desired reports quickly through easily accessible links, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple pages as was the case with previous platforms. The platform has garnered significant positive feedback for its user-friendly nature and seamless navigation.
Smiling woman with glasses and blonde hair tied back, wearing a black top and red shirt with a heart necklace.
Kerie Rogers
HR Operations Leader
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

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.