Workday and Achievers: Turning feedback into recognition that drives performance

The partnership between Workday and Achievers has always been about one thing: bringing recognition into the flow of work.

Not bolting it on. Not keeping it siloed. But embedding it directly into the systems employees and managers use every day to manage performance, talent, and growth.

Now, that vision has taken a major step forward. Achievers is the first, and currently only, recognition provider to deliver a bi-directional sync between Workday’s Anytime Feedback module and Achievers recognitions, transforming how organizations capture, share, and act on performance moments in real time.

Recognition, right where work happens

Recognition shouldn’t live in a separate tool. It needs to be part of the everyday moments that drive performance. That’s exactly what the Achievers and Workday partnership delivers. Through Workday Recognition provided by Achievers (Workday’s exclusive recognition solution), organizations can bring recognition directly into the Workday experience employees already use every day.

As Workday’s first and only global recognition partner, Achievers worked side by side with Workday to co-develop a solution that connects recognition to core HR, talent, and performance workflows. The result? A more connected employee experience where recognition feels natural, timely, and easy.

Instead of sitting on the sidelines, recognition becomes integrated in the flow of work, fueling stronger habits, richer insights, and more meaningful employee experiences across the organization. In other words, it’s recognition that actually works where your people do.

Why did Workday partner with Achievers?

The depth of this integration isn’t accidental. Achievers is:

• Workday’s exclusive recognition provider
• A top-tier, embed innovation partner
• Co-developing capabilities directly with Workday

That level of partnership makes it possible to go beyond simple integrations and deliver fully embedded, bi-directional experiences.

While others may connect systems, Achievers is helping turn Workday into what the market increasingly demands: a system of action, not just a system of record.

Why bi-directional sync changes everything

For most organizations, recognition and feedback live in separate systems. Or worse, separate moments.

Recognition happens informally. Feedback happens during reviews. And valuable context gets lost in between.

The Achievers + Workday integration changes that by creating a continuous, shared signal layer:

• Recognitions from Achievers can be sent directly into Workday Anytime Feedback
• Feedback created in Workday can flow back into Achievers as recognition

This creates a loop where every moment, big or small, can be amplified, surfaced, and reused. Instead of feedback and recognition competing for attention, they now reinforce each other.

What changes for employees: A living record of impact

With bi-directional sync, employees aren’t starting from scratch when it comes to performance conversations.

They can:

• Favorite and send meaningful recognitions into Workday Feedback
• Highlight specific achievements tied to behaviors and outcomes
• Build a clear, credible narrative of their contributions over time

Recognition becomes more than a feel-good moment, it becomes evidence.

And because these moments are captured continuously, employees gain a real-time portfolio of their impact, ready for performance reviews, career conversations, and growth opportunities.

What changes for managers: Less chasing, better conversations

For managers, performance management often comes down to one challenge: gathering enough meaningful input. This integration removes that friction.

Instead of chasing examples, managers now have:

• A centralized stream of peer-validated recognition and feedback
• Richer context for one-to-ones and performance discussions
• Clear, behavior-based examples, not vague recency bias

The result:

• Stronger performance reviews
• More balanced, unbiased conversations
• Less admin, more coaching

Managers spend less time collecting input and more time acting on it.

Powering better performance decisions

Turning moments into signals isn’t all about visibility, it’s about data.

By connecting recognition and feedback, organizations unlock a new layer of insight:

• Continuous performance signals, not point-in-time reviews
• Peer-validated behaviors feeding into talent decisions
• Recognition data contributing to skills and performance insights in Workday

In fact, when recognition flows into Workday Feedback, it can also contribute to broader talent intelligence, helping organizations understand not just what employees do, but how they create impact.

Proof at scale

The best part? It’s already delivering results for global organizations.

General Motors: Driving better performance conversations

During a two-week performance review campaign, General Motors (GM) saw:

• 134,911 recognitions synced from Achievers to Workday
• Compared to 88,559 total recognitions across the entire previous year

Employees were encouraged to send their most meaningful recognitions into Workday ahead of reviews, giving managers a ready-made library of specific examples.

The impact: More informed, more actionable performance conversations at scale.

Telstra: Richer one-to-ones

Telstra has seen long-term value from the integration, with:

• 24% of recognitions “favorited” and pulled into Workday Feedback

That means nearly a quarter of recognition moments are actively reused to shape feedback and development conversations.

And it shows up in manager effectiveness:

• Employees whose managers include recognition in one-to-ones are 32% more likely to recommend their manager

That’s not just better conversations, it’s better leadership.

Performance as an always-on conversation

Bi-directional sync isn’t just a feature, it’s a shift. It moves performance management from:

Static → continuous

Subjective → evidence-based

Isolated → connected

When recognition and feedback flow freely, every moment contributes to a bigger picture of performance. And when every moment counts, organizations don’t just measure performance, they actively shape it.

With Achievers and Workday working together, recognition becomes the signal layer that brings performance to life, capturing everyday moments and turning them into meaningful, actionable insight.

 

Find out why Workday chose Achievers

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