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Learn how social recognition platforms foster engagement, connection, and a culture of appreciation in today’s modern workplace.
In today’s dynamic workplace, employees expect more than a paycheck—they want to feel seen, valued, and connected. Social recognition, the practice of acknowledging employee contributions in a public, peer-driven, and real-time manner, has become a foundational element of modern employee engagement strategies. Unlike traditional top-down recognition, social recognition encourages frequent, meaningful appreciation from colleagues at all levels of an organization.
With the rise of remote and hybrid work, fostering connection and culture requires digital tools that make recognition visible, accessible, and aligned with company values. This has led to a growing market of social recognition platforms designed to support a wide range of team structures, goals, and engagement initiatives. Below, we explore how to evaluate these platforms and highlight some of the top companies in the space.
Social recognition is a form of workplace appreciation where employees are acknowledged by peers or managers for their efforts, accomplishments, or positive behavior. Unlike traditional recognition that often occurs during formal reviews or annual awards, social recognition is ongoing, transparent, and encourages a culture of gratitude.
For distributed teams and diverse workforces, social recognition bridges physical and cultural gaps, making employees feel connected and motivated. It promotes consistent engagement, reinforces desired behaviors, and aligns recognition with core values.
Not all recognition platforms are created equal. When choosing a provider, companies should assess platforms based on functionality, scalability, user experience, and alignment with internal goals. Key evaluation criteria include:
Here are some of the leading social recognition platforms, each offering unique capabilities to serve different organizational needs:
Assembly provides a customizable, peer-driven recognition platform that integrates easily with tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams. Users can give shoutouts, assign reward points, and tag recognitions with company values. Assembly’s focus on simplicity, affordability, and flexibility makes it a strong choice for teams of all sizes. It also offers detailed analytics and a wide range of gift card and reward options.
Bonusly is known for its points-based system where employees give each other micro-bonuses tied to specific contributions. It includes a global rewards catalog and integrates well with popular business tools. Bonusly is especially popular among companies looking for a gamified, budget-friendly option with high employee adoption rates.
Kudos emphasizes culture and value-based recognition, allowing organizations to celebrate milestones, performance, and peer appreciation within one platform. With its in-depth analytics, global reward options, and robust communication tools, Kudos is a strong fit for companies that prioritize culture and visibility.
WorkTango combines recognition with performance management, offering a unified platform for engagement, surveys, and feedback. Its social recognition features support both peer-to-peer and top-down recognition. WorkTango is ideal for organizations seeking a holistic approach to employee experience.
Awardco partners with Amazon Business to offer one of the largest reward catalogs available. Its platform supports peer recognition, milestone awards, and wellness programs. With automated workflows and enterprise-level scalability, Awardco is best suited for large organizations with diverse reward needs.
Motivosity focuses on building community and relationships within teams. Its platform includes peer-to-peer recognition, manager feedback, and tools to foster team connections. Motivosity is especially popular among smaller to mid-sized businesses looking to build a strong sense of camaraderie.
Implementing a social recognition platform offers several advantages:
Selecting the best platform begins with aligning internal goals with external capabilities. Start by identifying your must-have features, desired outcomes, and budget. Request demos from shortlisted providers and invite internal stakeholders to test usability.
Consider launching a pilot program with one team to gather feedback and assess adoption. Use that insight to determine if the platform supports your company’s long-term engagement strategy. Finally, factor in onboarding support, customer service, and vendor responsiveness during the selection process.
In a competitive market for talent, creating a culture where employees feel appreciated is more important than ever. Social recognition platforms provide a powerful way to celebrate achievements, promote positive behaviors, and connect teams—no matter where they work. Whether you are just getting started or ready to upgrade your existing solution, exploring the right provider can make a lasting impact on your company’s culture and employee experience.
Ready to see how social recognition can transform your workplace? Schedule a demo with Assembly today and explore how effortless appreciation can be.
A social recognition platform is a digital tool that enables peer-to-peer and manager-driven acknowledgment of employee contributions in real time.
Benefits include improved morale, higher engagement, stronger team culture, and reduced employee turnover through regular and visible appreciation.
Top providers include Assembly, Bonusly, Kudos, WorkTango, Awardco, and Motivosity—each offering different features and use cases.
Evaluate platforms based on usability, customization, reward options, culture alignment, integration, and your organization’s specific goals and size.
Get the foundational knowledge on creating an employee recognition program that boosts employee engagement and helps them feel valued.
Explore Guide
Yes, at Assembly, security is a top priority. Each quarter, we have ongoing security work that is everyone’s responsibility. While we maintain a strong security posture, it was important for us to prove to our customers that we do everything we claim to do. This led us to pursue a SOC 2 Type II report that would provide evidence of our compliance with industry gold-standard security practice.
There is study after study showing that employee recognition leads to increased engagement. This in return creates an environment where employees are happier and more motivated which increase productivity and reduces voluntary turnover significantly. In order to filled critical roles, companies tend to spend nearly twice the value of an annual salary. Assembly is an investment in your employees that supports your bottom line.
Yes, we will offer contracts for companies with longer-term agreements to help larger customers have more certainty around future costs.
The minimum agreement term is a 12-month subscription.
We do and for FREE! Any new customer needing further support to get started with Assembly to ensure you're set up for success can request custom onboarding support. Improving your employee experience is about much more than just using our amazing software; it’s about transforming your business to create a workplace that people love. That’s much easier to do with the personal support and advice from our passionate people experts.
At the time of redemption (when your employees exchange their points for a paid reward) you'll pay face value. If a reward is a $10 Amazon gift card, your cost will be $10. All paid rewards are billed for on a monthly basis.
The good news is that you don't have to pay for rewards upfront because we only charge you when points are redeemed, not when they're earned.
We offer discounts or educational or charitable organizations. In order to secure a discount, you'll first need to book a demo with a customer support specialist.
For all other organizations, we are willing to consider longer-term agreements in exchange for discounts. To set up annual plans or longer, you will need to book a demo with a customer support specialist.
If you're on a month to month plan, you can go here and cancel anytime. If you're having concerns or need help setting up your account for success, you can always book a demo with a customer support specialist.
If you're on a longer-term custom plan, you'll need to reach out to your customer support specialist to cancel your account or email us at support@joinassembly.com.
Great question! You can customize your core values to match your organization's to boost and track alignment. You can change your currency from the 🏆 emoji (our default) to any emoji of your choice. You can swap our logo for your own. You can also set up company culture rewards such as, "Lunch with the CEO," "Buy a book on us," and so much more!
While we recommend a peer to peer set up where anyone in your organization can give or receive recognition, you can set up Assembly however you want. If you need to limit the people who can give or receive recognition, that's perfectly fine and can be done from your Admin, here.
Assembly connects to the tools your employees use every day to offer an easy, seamless experience with minimal change management.
Assembly has integrations with HCM/HRIS systems like ADP, Google, Office 365, and Slack. We also integrate with communication tools like Slack and Teams so you and your employees can access Assembly wherever they work now.
That depends on the company's permissions set up. That said, over 90% of the employees on Assembly's platform are recognized on a monthly basis. That means nearly every employee across all of our customers are receiving regular recognition from their peers, managers, or leadership. We're extremely proud of this.
They are not required. You can use Assembly without having rewards set up. However, we don't recommend it if you intend to have a high adoption and usage rate. You can always keep the costs down by offering internal culture rewards that are fulfilled by you internally.
No, you can remove allowances from anyone or everyone. It's up to you but we do recommend using points whether they're worth a real dollar value or not. Companies that use points have a much higher engagement rate even if those points don't exchange for real dollars.
Please schedule time with an expert and we will help you to get all your questions answered
