At Awardco, we understand the profound impact that employee recognition can have on workplace culture, engagement, and overall success. The 2023 Recognize Awards have given us the opportunity to spotlight and celebrate the exceptional efforts of our valued clients who have transformed their organizations through innovative recognition strategies. Each winner has excelled in a unique category, showcasing their commitment to fostering a culture of appreciation and empowerment.
Best Launch - Rush University Medical
Rush launched their program to 15,000 employees, and created a robust communication plan to notify every employee and train new managers on their new recognition efforts. This included flyers, QR codes, and several reminder emails going out before the platform went live. This all created a ton of buzz for their program and led to measurable engagement for their organization.
Best Reward Program - America First Credit Union
What good is a reward if it isn’t used? AFCU has taken this to heart and has the best redemption rate we’ve ever seen on our platform—95%! And that is a sign of a program that employees find truly rewarding. AFCU has made great use of point balance reminders and in-house encouragement to make sure their employees know and remember they have lots of reward options.
Best Change Management - Beckman Coulter
Beckman Coulter had worked with a different recognition vendor for over 20 years, and wanted to make sure the transition to a new vendor was smooth and efficient. By incorporating custom content to enhance the user experience for associates and managers, their teams have smoothly transitioned to Awardco with a “seamless transition for our entire organization.”
Best Recognition Strategy - Children’s Hospital & Medical Center of Omaha, Nebraska
Children’s Hospital & Medical Center of Omaha, Nebraska used research to guide their recognition strategy, realizing that studies have shown 5 positive interactions are needed to counter one negative one. They used that as their guiding light as they created a “Sunshine Recognition Hub” that has seen a 139% increase in recognitions in one quarter—all because of their deliberate approach to recognition.
Best Incentive Program - Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System
Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System demonstrated how wellness programs can significantly impact engagement. With a high redemption rate and a focus on recognizing wellness achievements, they have created a dynamic and effective program that resonates with their employees' well-being. Through thoughtful rewards and incentives, they have successfully encouraged positive behaviors and fostered a culture of health and wellness.
Best Milestone Program - Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Orlando Resort has a lot of on-site and loyal employees, and they’ve created a fantastic milestone rewards program to celebrate their people everywhere they work. Universal Orlando Resort’s utilization of physical workstations, qr codes in break rooms, and physical packets sent to recipients has led to one of the highest redemption rates we’ve seen—a good sign that the program is working well.
Best Offline Program - All Access Staging
All Access Staging is responsible for setting up incredible events across the nation, including Rihanna’s most recent Super Bowl performance. Because most of their employees are on-site setting up events, All Access Staging deployed AwardCodes to help them recognize their offline employees on the go, and has seen a boost in engagement and employee satisfaction as a result.
Best Life Event Program - BNY Mellon
BNY Mellon has a unique “Moments that Matter” program that highlights the life events of their employees with recognition & support, including things like birthdays, new babies, marriages, retirement, and bereavement. Their unique approach to life events has made them our most impactful client in this space—nobody does it like BNY Mellon.
Best Global Strategy - Okta
Okta has a “People First” initiative that has worked to create a company-wide effort in service of a shared sense of ownership and vision. That’s hard to do when your organization spans the entire globe, including 30 countries. However, through their unique approach to strategy, regular training, and comprehensive support resources, Okta has seen incredible global success with 87% participation and triple the number of recognitions in a year.
Best Employee Engagement - Brooks Running
Brooks Running wanted every employee, regardless of location, to feel like a part of the team. To achieve this they created many different regional programs specific to the location, showing their teams they care about their cultures and individual lives. Brooks has seen wonderful engagement as a result of these efforts.
Celebrating Exceptional Achievement
The winners of the 2023 Awardco Recognize Awards have demonstrated exceptional dedication, creativity, and innovation in the realm of employee recognition. These organizations have leveraged Awardco to create cultures of appreciation that boost productivity, reduce spend, and build culture as they work to recognize the good all around them. We celebrate their achievements and look forward to seeing their continued success in fostering workplaces where every employee feels valued and empowered.
Superhero nerd. Book reader. Dungeons and Dragons enthusiast. Gryffindor. Bronson's background includes degrees in Psychology and Marketing, and he's passionate about the workplace experience of modern times and how to make it better.
