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

It's definitely a lot easier because you don't have to carry your gift around with you at the whole game or take a special trip down there. You just order your award and then it comes in the mail.
Dave Long
Season Ticket Member
Utah Jazz
Lockton was already great—but we were terrible at marketing how amazing it truly was. Awardco helps us amplify that greatness, especially as we grow.
Smiling woman with long blonde hair wearing a black top and a pendant necklace against a black background.
Melissa York
SVP, Head of People & Culture
Lockton
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
We can now give a shoutout to someone even if they’re in a different location—something we couldn’t do before. It just makes it easy when it’s all in one place.
Smiling woman with glasses and short brown hair wearing a red vest over a black top standing against a brick wall.
Lorie Miller
Business Systems Analyst
Greenfield Global
All of our locations have TV screens in some area of the facility. When you look up at the screen, not only do you get to see the recognition that you may have shared with somebody or that you may have received, but you get to see it across the company. Having a program that enables that to be done and shared is very special.
Smiling woman with straight black hair wearing a purple cardigan, black top, and white pendant necklace, standing with hands on hips.
Ashley Cato
Vice President People and Culture
Greenfield Global
The emphasis that Kodiak puts on people and employees first is really unique. We're always looking for opportunities to acknowledge the important and special and above and beyond work that our coworkers are doing.
Black and white portrait of a woman with long wavy hair smiling gently at the camera.
Cassidy Barsdoff
Director, Project Management Office
Kodiak
Awardco has allowed people to recognize their coworkers in a public way, and we see it every day. Collaboration is in the DNA of Alera Group, and appreciation is absolutely central and core to effective collaboration.
Kristie White
AVP, Change Strategy & Organization Development
Alera Group
Once we launched Awardco internally, we have received a lot of excitement and engagement from our employees. They are giving a lot of recognition and are excited about our new swag store.
Anonymous
HR Generalist

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.

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