FCCS News & Insights

Customizable Employee Recognition Solutions through Awardco

It feels good to be recognized for our efforts and accomplishments. Whether from the organization, a manager or a peer, such appreciation also helps strengthen company culture and foster stronger employee engagement and renewed commitment. New Passkey Partner Awardco makes employee recognition programs easy with its one-stop, customizable platform that empowers personalized award selection, as well as empowering employees to participate in the recognition process.

“There was a time when a gold watch at retirement carried immense meaning, but today’s employees appreciate the autonomy to select an award that’s meaningful or useful to them,” says Don Nielsen, Employee Recognition Champion and Senior Strategic Partnerships Manager with Awardco.

Most U.S. companies – 89% – have some form of recognition program in place, whether based simply on years of service or a more robust approach that includes peer recognition. And for good reason: according to Awardco, organizations with effective recognition programs see a 17% increase in productivity, and a 31% decrease in voluntary turnover.

Awardco’s peer-to-peer recognition solution can be purely social or based on a basic points system. The organization decides a number of points employees receive to award to each other for any number of reasons: a teammate steps in to meet a deadline; someone in another department takes the time to answer a complex question; someone’s consistent positivity lifts up the team or project. Managers have visibility into their team members’ received and sent recognitions, both to identify who is being recognized and who is not.

A cornerstone of Awardco’s program is its partnership with Amazon Business, which enables employees to “spend” their accumulated recognition points on any product, at any point, with real-time order processing. Integrations with event ticket, hotel and travel sites like Priceline and Viator, offers employees access to unique experiences. For those who choose to “spend” their points on philanthropy, Awardco has partnered with Givinga, through which employees can donate points to numerous non-profit organizations, complete with tax receipt. Another option is to “spend” points on more than 2,800 digital gift cards with immediate delivery. Organizations can also choose to have points spent at its promotional store of branded items.

“Our platform is highly configurable, so organizations can create recognition programs that fit their culture and needs, such as to support return-to-office efforts or to publicly recognize high-impact employees,” says Don.

Implementing Awardco is a relatively speedy process taking 6 to 10 weeks. Implementation is guided by an initial client survey that identifies objectives and other parameters, and requires just 90 minutes per week. Awardco is in use at several Farm Credit organizations, and while it can be effective for organizations of any size, is most cost-effective for organizations with more than 150 or so employees.

For more information on how Awardco can empower your employee recognition program, contact Don Nielsen with Awardco via email or visit their website.

About Passkey

Powered by FCCS and backed by a 20-year track record, Passkey leverages the collective purchasing power of cooperatives, associations, public entities and industry groups to negotiate significant discounts with national partners.

Discounts include business service solutions as well as many personal discounts available to the employees and boards of participating organizations, from car rentals and vacations to telecom services and office supplies. With no cost to participate, we invite you to join the program.

For more information about Passkey, visit our website or contact Heather Tseng, Passkey Sales and Marketing Director at 303.903.8544.