How Achievers turned engagement into productivity and growth

As a company, Achievers doesn’t just build employee recognition software — we use it every day. Our platform is designed to help organizations turn appreciation into action by making recognition social, meaningful, and tied to what matters most: the behaviors that drive performance. Because when people feel seen and valued, retention improves, productivity rises, and results follow. That belief is a theory, and it’s how we run our own business.

Using recognition to design performance

At Achievers, recognition isn’t a feel-good add-on. It’s a deliberate way to shape behavior, accelerate performance, and build a business that lasts.

That belief guides how we approached recognition across the organization. Rather than treating appreciation as a moment or a message, we design it as a system — one that intentionally connects recognition to the outcomes that matter most when building a forever company: engagement, productivity, and performance.

That strategy comes to life through Aspire, our internal recognition program. Powered by data and embedded into the flow of work, Aspire makes it easy for people leaders and employees alike to reinforce the behaviors that move the business forward — in real time, and at scale.

The impact is clear and measurable:

• 99% of people leaders are monthly active users
• 93% of individual contributors are monthly active users
• 87% of individual contributors receive at least one recognition per month
• 10% year-over-year increase in ARR

And these results didn’t happen by accident. They were driven by a series of intentional recognition initiatives — each designed to reinforce our five core values:

• It’s the People
• Be Bold
• Own the Outcome
• One Team
• Win with Customers

Together, these campaigns turned values into visible behaviors, and recognition into a real performance lever — activated in the moments that matter most. And this strategy came to life through campaigns like these:

Initiative #1: Bringing customer appreciation to the frontline

Challenge: An overlooked frontline

Recognition data exposed a clear risk. Support operations — including customer support, service operations, and technical support — received approximately 45% less recognitions than other customer-facing teams.

For functions that play a critical role in the customer experience, that gap signaled more than a morale issue. It was an engagement risk.

Solution: Introducing customers to the recognition loop

To close that gap, Achievers launched External Recognition, inviting customers to directly recognize the employees who support them. The initiative expanded recognition beyond internal praise, making customer appreciation visible, timely, and meaningful for teams closest to the work.

Execution: Recognition embedded where the work happens

Rather than treating External Recognition as a stand-alone program, the team embedded it directly into daily workflows. Links were added to customer close emails, email signatures, and team communications, ensuring recognition happened in the moment, not after the fact.

Impact: Engagement lift correlated with performance

The results were immediate:

• Support Operations, previously well below average, saw a 64% increase in recognitions received
• Customer Success achieved an additional 8% increase, even with already high recognition volume

Among employees who received five or more External Recognitions in the six months following the launch of external recognition:

• 50% exceeded expectations in performance reviews
• 37% were promoted

External Recognition didn’t just increase appreciation; it reinforced performance, growth, and career momentum.

Initiative #2: Making bold behavior impossible to miss

Challenge: An unenforced core value

As Achievers entered a period of transformation, leadership identified a critical signal. While our values were well understood, Be Bold consistently scored lower than every other value.

But bold behaviors weren’t absent; they just weren’t being consistently recognized or reinforced. And to put an alternate spin on an oft used phrase at Achievers: what doesn’t get recognized, doesn’t get repeated.

Solution: A value turned into a movement

Rather than introducing something new, Achievers elevated what already mattered. The Be Bold campaign was launched to make bold action visible, celebrated, and repeatable, reinforcing the behaviors needed to accelerate innovation, execution, and decision-making.

Execution: Recognition as a change engine

With strong executive sponsorship and a high-visibility launch, Be Bold became a shared movement. A refreshed visual identity, clear behavioral definitions, and real-time recognition helped employees see what boldness looks like in practice.

For recipients, the recognition was deeply personal:

Impact: A cultural shift with business results to match

The campaign drove a step change in recognition behavior:

• 168% increase in Be Bold recognitions during the campaign year over year
• 38% year-over-year increase beyond the campaign window
• 82% of Be Bold recipients were promoted in the months that followed

With record-breaking performance, Be Bold recognitions continue to rise, reinforcing the link between visibility, courage, and growth.

Initiative #3: Recognizing the people who change the game

Challenge: Executive recognition needed elevation

During a period of change, Achievers realized the existing approach to our traditional CEO Award no longer captured the actions leadership needed to recognize to move the business forward. So, a plan was formed to reimagine it to better reflect the level of impact leaders were driving across the organization.

Solution: Honoring behaviors that move the business forward

The Game Changer Award was introduced as a quarterly, executive-level recognition designed to spotlight employees delivering transformational results. It focused on individuals whose leadership and decision-making helped the company grow, adapt, and succeed through change.

Execution: From nomination to celebration

The program combines open nominations with thoughtful selection by senior leadership, ensuring a broad range of voices and perspectives. Winners were recognized during company-wide meetings, giving their contributions visibility and reinforcing what impactful leadership looks like at Achievers.

Impact: Proven impact on retention and performance

• 0% turnover among Game Changer recipients
• 70% promoted within two years
• 72% consistently exceeding expectations
• 86% reported increased motivation
• 85% reported increased confidence in decision-making

Recognition at the highest level reinforced what impact looks like, making it easier to see and celebrate those driving meaningful results.

Initiative #4: Turning sales competition into a team sport

Challenge: Sales motivation in need of reimagining

Sales campaigns hadn’t previously lived inside the Achievers platform, leaving a gap between recognition and the behaviors that build pipeline. The team needed a new approach; one that would motivate consistent, early-stage sales activity, increase participation, and sustain energy without relying solely on outcome-based pressure.

Solution: A campaign built on recognition and momentum

Switchvivor — an Achievers-specific campaign inspired by the reality TV show Survivor — was launched to bring that approach to life. Designed as a quarter-long, in-platform experience, it blended competition, collaboration, and recognition, rewarding both individual contributions and team-driven progress to keep momentum building over time.

Execution: Energy at an all-time high

A mix of phased challenges, surprise recognition moments, executive shout-outs, and peer-to-peer recognition kept the campaign dynamic and engaging. By regularly surfacing progress and celebrating behaviors in real time, the program maintained visibility and motivation from kickoff through close.

Impact: Strong sales results, stronger engagement

Switchvivor delivered a 20% increase in sales opportunities, while reinforcing the behaviors sales teams can control, repeat, and improve.

Proof that recognition is a growth multiplier

Across every initiative, one truth is held: recognition works best when it’s intentional.

By embedding recognition into daily work, reinforcing the behaviors that matter most, and making impact visible at every level, Achievers strengthened engagement, accelerated productivity, and delivered growth that outpaced the market.

This is what happens when recognition isn’t just a program, it’s a strategy. And it’s a strategy any organization can put to work. Because when recognition is done right, it doesn’t just feel good, it shapes behavior, fuels performance, and drives results.