Beyond birthdays and anniversaries, Awardco gives us a meaningful way to recognize our values, which is honestly my favorite part of the program. Every company has values and a mission statement, but they can be easy to forget in the day-to-day. Awardco helps keep our values top of mind by tying them directly to recognition.

Previously, recognition was only known between the giver and receiver. Now I feel a lot more connected to colleagues. The My Circle email alerts have made a big difference in helping colleagues feel more connected across our giant campus.

When I personally received a High Flyer, it was amazing. Knowing that my efforts were appreciated—especially by senior management—meant a lot.

Awardco significantly enhances employee engagement and helps our employees feel valued and appreciated, leading to higher morale. Offering customizable recognition programs for Cinemark and a wide range of awards helps align with our employees' interests and ensures that all employees, from theatre staff to management, feel valued and appreciated.

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.

The product that we're putting out is a lot of fun, but it is not easy to do what we do every single week. People are working really, really hard, and if they feel like just another cog in the machine, that can get disheartening really quickly. Taking that extra time to show appreciation for above-and-beyond effort is really important and reinforces good relationships.

When we unified our recognition programs, we saw a strong correlation between recognition and employee engagement. Teams led by managers who consistently recognized their people were the most engaged.

Recognition is powerful. When you recognize someone, you feel just as good as when you’re being recognized. The Awardco feed is my ‘positive scroll.’ It lifts everyone’s spirits.