Overview

About Americare

Americare is a trusted network of skilled nursing and rehabilitation, assisted living, memory care, independent living, and behavioural health communities serving the Midwest. With more than 40 years in business, Americare has over 110 communities and more than 4,000 caregivers across five states. They provide a variety of care products, including “Americare Home Health Services,” a home-help product line that expands their care model into the home. Their mission is simple but powerful: enrich the well-being and health of individuals and provide peace of mind for their families.

The Challenge

Staying true to a culture of compassion and connection through growth

Recognition has always been part of Americare’s DNA, but keeping that spirit alive as the organisation grew became harder and harder.

Their legacy recognition platform was clunky and didn’t reflect who they were as a company. It wasn’t branded to Americare or conducive to their mostly deskless workforce. It felt transactional, not heartfelt, and that just didn’t fit a culture built on care and connection.

On top of that, Americare faced the same pressures as the rest of the senior care industry: challenging turnover and an urgent need to both develop and keep great people in an era where caregivers are in short supply. Caregiving is emotionally intense work. Americare knows that to care for residents, caregivers first need to feel cared for. With the “Silver Tsunami” of retirements approaching, the stakes have never been higher.

And then there was scale. With thousands of caregivers spread across five states, some tech-savvy, others less so, Americare needed a solution everyone could use and love. It had to truly engage and connect with people, encouraging teamwork and living Americare’s values in a challenging profession. It had to help them understand their performance and grow their skills. Most importantly, it had to feel authentic, reinforcing the values of Hometown Hospitality — Americare’s Signature Customer Service Model — loyalty, and genuine appreciation that define Americare.

“When people join Americare, we want them to feel like they're part of something bigger than just a job, that it's part of having purpose because they get to make a difference in residents' lives.”
Mary Eaves, Senior VP of Operations (Assisted Living Division)

“Recognition fits into our strategies for turnover and helping us retain good caregivers… because everyone wants to know how they're performing. They want to know if they're doing a good job.And sometimes we forget to stop and say thank you. Recognition helps us do that easily and consistently.”
Mary Eaves, Senior VP of Operations (Assisted Living Division)

The Solution

Recognition tailored to Americare's needs and culture

Americare evaluated multiple recognition vendors but ultimately chose Awardco for one reason: they understood Americare’s culture.

“Awardco is such a great business partner for us… They really got in, learned about our culture before saying we’re a right fit, and I gave them a lot of credit for that. They took the time to understand what we did before and how the company could enhance it from there.”
Pat Cokington, Senior VP of Sales & Marketing

Unlike other offerings that provided more generic programmes, Awardco worked closely with Americare as a business partner to design a true software-as-a-service solution. This consisted of technology and industry advisory that felt like an authentic extension of their values.

“Awardco didn’t just give us a platform—they brought expertise on what makes a good recognition programme, not just how to configure software.”
Jason Baxter, Senior VP of IT

In December 2024, Americare launched Awardco organisation-wide. They custom-branded the platform as the High Five Club, a name that reflects Americare’s uplifting culture and feels like them, not just another software platform. This wasn’t just about switching vendors; it was about elevating recognition into a business strategy.

Ease of implementation and speed to value

Implementation was fast and seamless, finishing a full month ahead of schedule thanks to Awardco’s structured approach, intuitive design, and industry expertise. While Americare faces technology limitations due to a largely and dispersed deskless workforce with a wide age range, the platform’s ease of use overcame those challenges. This simplicity not only accelerated adoption but also minimised the need for IT support during onboarding.

“We were intentional with our transition, and Awardco made it seamless. Adoption was impressive—we even exceeded our goals. We’ve been really happy with how everything's gone.”
Sarah Mazzocco, Chief People Officer

Executive Directors and Health and Wellness Directors play a key role in keeping the programme active through ongoing education, monitoring engagement, and driving participation using the advanced reporting and analytics available in the Awardco platform. Recognition starts at the top, reinforcing its importance and value across the organisation.

Awardco’s Centre of Excellence (COE) also advises Americare, guiding them on best practices and future strategy.

"Thanks to Christi and the Awardco Centre of Excellence, we now have a strong thought partner that shares new and different strategies to help us further elevate the Americare recognition experience. We have tested the market, and this collaborative consultation and creative problem solving from recognition practitioners differentiates Awardco. In practice, it has built our confidence that we have business partners who are sincerely invested in helping us take recognition from being a perk to a powerful strategic driver that delivers tangible impact."
‍Sarah Mazzocco, Chief People Officer

High Five Club spot recognition

Caregiving is demanding work, filled with moments of joy but also real challenges. To keep spirits high during those tough times, appreciation is essential. People don’t mind working hard, but they want to know their efforts are seen and are making an impact.

The High Five Club spot recognition programme makes appreciation immediate and visible across the entire organisation. Every day, caregivers and leaders share shout-outs for acts of care such as demonstrating company values, going above and beyond, handling tough situations with grace, or brightening a resident’s day. Designed for a mostly deskless workforce, recognitions are quick and easy to send via mobile devices so gratitude happens in the moment, not after the fact. Recognition is public, creating a ripple effect of positivity and inspiration. The programme empowers both managers and peers to celebrate actions that reflect core values with meaningful rewards, both monetary and non-monetary.

This visibility does more than say “thank you.” It sparks ideas and inspiration. Teams can see how other communities are engaging residents with creative activities like Princess Party Hat Day or Spirit Week, fostering a culture of connection and joy across all locations.

“We love to catch our team members doing great things! They can’t pour into others from an empty cup. That’s why we invest in recognition and take the time to celebrate our people.”
Sarah Mazzocco, Chief People Officer

"If you want a feel-good moment, just log in and scroll through the recognition feed. It reminds you why this matters.”
Mary Eaves, Senior VP of Operations

“Our caregivers give so much emotionally—it’s intense work. Recognition helps keep them engaged and supported.”
Pat Cokington, Senior VP of Sales & Marketing

Unlocking the platform’s full potential

In addition to spot recognition, Americare leverages the platform to celebrate and support caregivers throughout their entire career journey.

• Hometown Hospitality (HTH) Career Ladder programme: A four-tier incentive programme that rewards caregivers for advancing and maintaining their customer service skills and related certification status. This form-fill solution helps Americare to systematically incentivise internal talent development while also tracking their progress in a unified location and automatically rewarding their efforts.
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• Automated programmes: Americare uses Awardco to automate onboarding, birthday, and service anniversary shoutouts, making sure nobody gets left behind or forgotten.
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• Customised dashboard: Americare has customised their platform and structured it to support important employee communications, embedded video announcements, birthday and anniversary announcements, and of course, a very active recognition feed.
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• Automated swag store: A centralised swag store is available for all caregivers and is the third most popular redemption option. They can select from a wide variety of custom-branded swag items, add their size and shipping information, and receive them right at their door. Americare leaders don’t have to manage any aspect of this.
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• Rewards caregivers actually want: Americare’s reward options are robust, spanning e-gift cards, visa prepaid gift cards, Amazon, Best Buy, charitable donations, custom catalogs, education opportunities, travel, and unique experiences. Caregivers love the freedom of choice and ability to supplement their income with options they truly value.
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• Accessibility for all: SMS reminders, email notifications, and an intuitive interface ensure participation across a wide demographic. Awardco’s 1:1 point to dollar reward redemption system, plus no markups or shipping fees, keeps things simple so people can know exactly how much things cost.
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• Events and engagement: Americare leverages Awardco during its annual caregiver conference, one of the few events in the senior-living space dedicated to both celebrating and training caregivers

The Results

Immediately strong engagement

Within months, Americare saw strong engagement and cultural impact across all demographics and locations.

• Login rate: 89%‍
• Recognition rate: 112.4%
• 14.6 log-ins/user
• 8 programmes
• 1 month faster than average to complete implementation

“We quickly exceeded engagement on Awardco compared to our previous platform. The ease of use is a huge factor.”
Jason Baxter, Senior VP of IT

Impact on culture and retention

With the change from the legacy platform to Awardco, recognition is now substantially more measurable. Sending recognition has become part of everyday life and is strongly encouraged from leadership down. Interestingly, caregivers send more recognition than managers—reversing the typical top-down dynamic seen in most organisations. Those who receive recognition from leaders are also more likely to recognise their peers, creating a positive cycle that spreads across teams. The Awardco implementation has been part of a robust, multi-year investment in the Americare employee experience. Early results show reductions in both overall turnover and first-90-day turnover.

“Recognition fits into our strategies for turnover and helping us retain good caregivers because everyone wants to know how they're performing. They want to know if they're doing a good job.”
Mary Eaves, Senior VP of Operations

“Caregivers want more than a paycheck—they want to feel valued. Recognition makes that possible.”
Sarah Mazzocco, Chief People Officer

“This is just the beginning. We’re building the case for even more recognition programmes because we know the power of recognition.”
Sarah Mazzocco, Chief People Officer

Recognition isn’t just a tool. It’s a culture transformer. With the right leadership, mindset, and platform, what Americare hasbuilt internally can be replicated anywhere.

Get a demo today to see how recognition can transform your own organisation.