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

Our frontline workers are the core of what we do and the core of our customer experience. We launched Microsoft Teams for all employees. We have the Awardco interface added to the platform, so our employees can now recognize each other directly from their phones on their app while they're working. If they see a great job, they can do an immediate shout out and make that difference.
Jessica Mollica
Vice President, Human Resources Field
Hertz
High Flyer has given us a framework to consistently and meaningfully acknowledge employees, boosting morale and reinforcing the behaviors that drive our success. It has made recognition easier and more natural.
Mariam Al Shemsi
Head - Learning Design & Program Development, Dubai Airports
Dubai Airports
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
Lockton
Soon after our implementation we created a financial recognition program through Awardco for managers and supervisors to recognize their employees for extra efforts. Now our managers and supervisors have their own budgeted amount to use at their discretion to award their employees at any time, and they don't have to wait for approval to do so.
Smiling woman with short light brown hair, glasses, teal blouse, black cardigan, and pearl necklace.
Cheryl Vincent
Talent Development Manager
ARUP Laboratories
We are excited to announce the introduction of AwardCodes cards to our rewards program. This new initiative allows Assistant Managers to recognize and reward employees on the spot for their outstanding performance. The response has been overwhelmingly positive.
Ann O'Keefe
Director of Benefits
Cinemark
We’ve always had some sort of recognition program, but never anything all-inclusive where all associates at every location were engaged in the same program—until Awardco.
Woman with long dark hair with auburn highlights, wearing a black top, smiling against a gray background.
Dawn Bloch
Chief People Officer
NIBCO
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
Utah Valley University
We’ve made myKudos [Awardco] a key part of how we work at all levels—whether you’re a people manager or an individual contributor. MyKudos is just as powerful when peers recognize each other, creating a culture of appreciation across the organization
Smiling woman with long wavy hair wearing a blue and white striped shirt with folded arms against a light blue background.
Mary O’Brien
Head of Programmatic
PMG

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.