Explore the new State of Recognition 2026 report

 

Employee Competitions & Challenges

Challenge. Motivate. Reward.

Whether it’s a sales SPIFF, wellness challenge, or safety initiative, Awardco helps teams stay motivated, engaged, and rewarded every step of the way.

Competition & Challenge Features

Tools to incentivise, reward, and delight your teams

Everything needed to run meaningful competitions that boost motivation and incentivise performance.

Custom Challenges

Motivate positive participation with minimal management.

Offer specialty rewards tailored for specific audiences
Launch to the entire company or target a specific group
Quick and easy to launch

Gamification

Real-time rankings keep participation and momentum high.

Automated leaderboards encourage participation
Healthy competition and real-time stats
Push notifications that drive engagement

Easy Administration

Consolidated programme management and tracking.

Upload data manually or integrate with existing tools
Visual real-time participation dashboards
Keep it simple and scalable, no matter the challenge type

Automate Rewards

Automatically reward participation and achievement.

Award points and adjust values for different challenges
Custom reward catalogues for specific programmes
Recognise individual and team accomplishments 

Spot Recognition

Keep the energy high with instant kudos.

Celebrate small wins throughout the challenge
Recognise teamwork and milestones
Boost morale with frequent, meaningful moments of praise

Return on recognition

Motivation meets psychology

Humans are wired for achievement, progress, and a little healthy competition. Challenge-based recognition taps into our drive and keeps performance on the rise.

60
%
increase in employee engagement when gamification is used.
89
%
more productivity and happier employees with incentives and recognition.
83
%
of employees feel motivated by gamified elements.

testimonials

See how teams succeed with Awardco

Citizens Business Bank
How do we better recognise our associates on the day to day? One of our engagement survey questions is, 'In the last seven days, have you been recognised for doing good work?' Awardco really allows us to to do that and to do a better job of that.
Jenny Ketchepaw
VP, Talent Engagement
Americare Senior Living
Thanks to Christi and the Awardco Center 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
Lockton
When I joined Lockton, we didn’t have a recognition platform. It was the first thing I pushed for—because I’ve seen firsthand how important it is. People want to feel seen and validated.
Selia Wood
AVP, Talent & Engagement
4Refuel
Everybody at 4Refuel understands how they make a difference. Whether you’re on a customer site or supporting from the office, you bring value every day.
Shawn McGuire
Manager, Communications - North America
NIBCO
Awardco has definitely helped us do recognition even better. Recognising someone you work with, even if you don’t see them every day, has been empowering.
Ashley Martin
President & CEO
Beckman Coulter
Change management was a concern when exploring new vendors. However, our leadership, HR, and associates have smoothly transitioned to Awardco, and they appreciate its straightforward and intuitive design, which surpasses the complexities of previous platforms.
Kerie Rogers
HR Operations Leader
Ampirical
Our client success rep helped us create a training and recording module of the platform to show employees how to properly use it. You rarely find a company willing to spend the time to make sure you're properly equipped.
Ryan Zellner
Marketing & Corporate Communications Manager
Lockton
It’s incredibly accessible. You don’t have to be tech-savvy—you can use it on your phone, through Outlook, or even a Teams plugin. It meets people where they are.
Mallory Pence
Marketing Manager
 
 

Motivate, incentivise, and challenge your teams

Ready to drive performance with smarter challenges and better rewards? Let’s build a competition programme your team will be excited about.