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Spot Recognition Programs

Instant recognition, lasting impact

Express appreciation for great work to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

How It Works

What is spot recognition?

Show appreciation for employees right in the moment, exactly when it matters most.

Administrative Flexibility

Experience effortless appreciation

Total Budgetary Control

Enjoy total control over rewards budgets by providing customized points for teams, managers, or peers to distribute.

Non-Monetary Programs

The impact of recognition is the same, with or without points. Build culture and power engagement on a minimal budget.

Only from awardco

More ways to recognize

AwardCodes™
 

Create custom, physical reward codes that are easy to distribute, simple to redeem, and pain-free to manage. Make in-person recognition effortless, memorable, and personal.

External Recognition
 

Outside-in appreciation made easy. Give customers, patients, clients, and partners an impactful and simple way to recognize your employees, no login required.

Customer stories

The power of recognition

Paramount
52
days saved

Paramount used Awardco to spread recognition to their 20,000+ global employees, all while saving 52 day’s worth of time over the year.

 
960
%
increase in recognition

Pilot implemented recognition to their retail, corporate, and transportation teams, leading to more company-wide appreciation than ever.

 
200
%
increase in value-driven award nominations

Citizens Business Bank achieved a 200% increase in value-driven award nominations, boosting meaningful recognition and reinforcing company values across the organization.

 
209
%
increase in annual recognitions

Texas Roadhouse saw a substantial increase in annual recognitions, thanks to Awardco’s user-friendly platform, customizable location-based experiences, and standout customer support that ensured a smooth rollout across all teams.

 
10
hours saved each month

By crafting a tailored recognition program for their specific goals, ClickUp achieved a 94% recognition rate and gave an incredible amount of time back to busy HR admins.

 

integrations

Send shoutouts without switching apps

Easily integrate with your daily tools so recognition happens where work happens.

Testimonials

What ourcustomers say

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
Lockton
Our investment to leverage the Center of Excellence team at Awardco was the best decision we made. Katie didn’t just advise, she partnered. She brought deep healthcare expertise and helped us translate what recognition should feel like for clinicians into something that actually works for a deskless, clinical workforce. With her leadership, we built our Awardco instance as a true virtual haven: a values-based recognition experience designed with and for our teams, easily accessible, and directly tied to our mission. The result is an always-on program that makes it easy to celebrate the moments that matter — strengthening connection, belonging, and pride across the organization.
Smiling woman with long blonde hair wearing a black blouse, with a blurred green and gray background.
Megan Vera Weaklend
SVP of Marketing & Customer Experience
Ob Hospitalist Group
The ability to customize the platform and call it 'MyKudos' made it feel like a true extension of our brand and culture.
Smiling woman with shoulder-length brown hair wearing a red cardigan, black top, and beaded necklace against a white background.
Pam Buyers
Head of Culture at PMG
PMG
Awardo is amazing! Such a great vendor to work with. Customer Service is exceptional and my employees love the platform. Our engagement has increased because of Awardco.
Anonymous
HR Manager
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
As we’ve scaled, we’ve lost the day-to-day visibility into our people. Awardco fills that gap. Peer recognition surfaces contributions that would otherwise go unnoticed—especially from introverts or quiet top performers.
Smiling woman with long blonde wavy hair wearing a black top and pendant necklace on a black background.
Melissa York
SVP, Head of People & Culture
Lockton
The beauty of Awardco is that it empowers everybody to make sure good work doesn’t go unnoticed. When people see recognitions coming through, it’s meaningful for the person receiving it, but it also shows everyone else how important recognition is. That’s what Awardco allows us to do—make appreciation visible across the company.
Smiling man with short spiked hair and a black shirt on a white background.
Josh Olofson
Vice President of Employee Experience
Crumbl
We know we’re a people-first organization… and to keep delivering, we needed the right tools and technology to build a culture of everyday impactful recognition.
Smiling young woman with blonde hair wearing a floral jacket and white top against a concrete background.
Sierra Capone
Director, Wellbeing & Employee Experience
McCormick & Company

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What reporting and controls are available for spot recognition?
 

Awardco reporting can help administrators understand who is giving and receiving spot recognition, which programs and teams are participating, how budgets are being used, and how recognition activity changes over time.

Organizations can use available roles, permissions, filters, and exports to support program administration, budget review, and reconciliation. Reporting fields and visibility depend on the organization’s employee data, configuration, and access controls.

‍

How are spot recognition budgets allocated and controlled?
 

Organizations can establish budgets for spot recognition and assign them to managers, departments, business units, programs, or other groups. Budget controls can help define who may award points, how much they may award, and which populations they may recognize.

Depending on the configuration, budgets may be replenished on a recurring schedule, transferred, limited by program, or subject to approval. Rules for unused balances—including whether they reset, expire, or carry forward—are organization-specific and should be defined during program setup.

‍

How do approvals and governance work for spot recognition?
 

Organizations can configure approval requirements and routing based on their recognition policies. An award may be sent directly, or it may require review by a manager, program owner, HR administrator, budget owner, or another designated approver.

Approval rules can help organizations apply additional review to higher-value awards or specific programs while keeping lower-value recognition simple. The appropriate workflow depends on the organization’s governance model and configuration.

‍

Can spot recognition be monetary, non-monetary, or both?
 

Yes. Organizations can use spot recognition for simple, non-monetary appreciation, points-based awards, or other configured reward options. The available approach depends on the program design and the organization’s policies.

A spot recognition message can explain what the recipient did and connect the recognition to a company value, behavior, or business outcome. Where a monetary award is enabled, the organization can define the available award values and redemption options.

What is spot recognition and how is it different from other recognition programs?
 

Spot recognition is timely, discretionary recognition for meaningful contributions, behaviors, or accomplishments. It helps managers and other authorized senders recognize employees close to the moment the contribution occurs.

Organizations can use spot recognition alongside automated programs such as birthdays and work anniversaries, as well as nomination-based programs that require a formal review. Spot recognition is typically used for flexible, in-the-moment appreciation rather than a scheduled milestone or a formal nomination process.

Ready to see Awardco in action?

Build culture, incentivize performance, and power modern engagement strategies—all in one place.