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
 
 
The exciting part isn’t just that people love being recognized—it’s how eager they are to recognize their peers. That enthusiasm speaks to our culture. There’s a real appetite for recognition because it matters, because they care, and because they want others to feel appreciated.
Smiling woman with blonde hair wearing a floral jacket and white top against a textured wall.
Sierra Capone
Director, Wellbeing & Employee Experience
Utah Valley University
 
 
After implementing Awardco we saw a huge influx [of recognitions]… we were riding a tidal wave. Now it’s at a sustainable level, but still significantly higher than before.
Maddie Bagley
Appreciation Specialist, People & Culture
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
SEF Energy
 
 
Awardco allows everything to support our core values and our mission, which is very important to us because that strengthens our culture.
Lauren Long
HR Operations Manager
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
Dubai Airports
 
 
One month later, when we received the High Flyer, it was such a nice feeling—a true appreciation of our work. It felt good to be recognized.
Smiling man with dark hair and trimmed beard wearing a black shirt against a gray background.
Barkin Ozdemir
Content Development Manager, Brand & Communications, Dubai Airports
CloudFit Software
 
 
We hear positive feedback about Awardco from employees all the time! They love the program, especially the peer-to-peer recognition feature. Reading through the recognition feed and seeing what employees are posting about one another reinforces our culture and just brings joy.
Smiling woman with braided hair wearing a blue blazer and black top, outdoors with trees in the background.
Kymberlee Stephens
Director of Employee Experience and Wellness
We recognize that employee choice is important and our team loves that they can spend their points on anything...from company swag (print-on-demand) to Amazon purchases, gift cards from thousands of merchants, experiences, and more.
Vanessa D.
Sr. Manager Employee Engagement & CSR
Kodiak
 
 
It's really important for relationship building and strengthening. Having this platform that makes it super easy to recognize is what sets Kodiak apart from the rest.
Black and white portrait of a woman with long wavy hair smiling gently at the camera.
Cassidy Barsdoff
Director, Project Management Office
I can't say enough good things about Awardco—it's a game-changer for employee engagement and recognition! The platform makes it easy to celebrate achievements with personalized rewards, offering a massive catalog that employees truly love, all while keeping costs in check. I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking to boost morale, strengthen culture, and bring a real sense of appreciation to their organization—it's a tool that delivers results you can feel!
Ryan F.
HR Training Specialist
Children's Nebraska
 
 
Being a nurse, I know that oftentimes it's hard to keep coming back day after day. It often goes without recognition or gratitude, but Sunshine has given us the opportunity to empower our team and our leaders with the ability to recognize others. We're proud to have seen such high engagement from our team members submitting recognitions on the platform.
Madeline Quinn
Employee Experience Manager
The customer service experience has been exceptional, and the Awardco team has been more than willing to help us set up custom processes and programs, configure integrations, and set up our own custom swag shop.
Anonymous
Human Resources Director
Lockton
 
 
When I pitched Awardco to our leadership team, I shared the risk of losing connection as we grow. I framed it as a strategic need. Their response? ‘Stop talking. Just do it.
Smiling woman with long wavy blonde hair wearing a black top and a pendant necklace against a black background.
Melissa York
SVP, Head of People & Culture
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
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

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.