Awardco enables us to celebrate not just big wins, but the small moments that make a difference every day.

Never underestimate the power of recognition. Years after I recognized a colleague, they still send me a message on the anniversary of that moment to say it continues to make their day.

Colleagues have to choose a value from The Collaborative Way when they recognize, making our recognition feed daily proof of why our values are so important. It’s such a powerfully positive place. Leaders are really taking notice—they want to see their teams at the top of the adoption leaderboard because they know the impact our values have on employee performance and retention.

One thing I’ve anchored on over the years is how special it feels every time a recognition comes in. Another moment that stands out is when we bring new leaders into the organization. I remember when Ryan Jackson joined—he gave me a private recognition once, and it was incredibly validating. To have someone with experience come in, get the lay of the land, and say, ‘You’re doing well’—that carries a lot of weight. It’s powerful when an outside voice validates the work being done, rather than just looking around at each other and saying it ourselves. That external recognition always feels especially meaningful.

There's plenty of research that shows the compounding impact of how when other people can see recognition, it creates that snowball effect. And so it just makes people work better together. They feel more as part of the team.

The High Flyer program has transformed recognition from a reactive gesture into a proactive part of my leadership approach. Recognition is now structured, inclusive, and aligned with our organizational values.

From the very beginning, I’ve said we’re going to organize the world’s incentive spend, bring people together, and create bridges of connection. The way the world works has completely changed over the last four years since COVID—people are more spread out, remote, and in hybrid environments. So, what’s the one thing that truly brings us together? Recognition.

We do a lot of remote work activities where you can win something. We do a lot of these contests, and I used to go to Amazon and send a $25 gift card to the winners, but now I do it through Awardco. It's in the system, trackable, and much more streamlined.