How an organization with 2000+ Employee size partnered with Benepik to make Recognition instant, Social & Rewarding- driving a 42% increase in Peer-to-Peer Recognition & turning everyday appreciation into a habit.
Client Profile & Executive Summary
About the Client
The client is a leading technology and business service provider with a workforce of 2000+ employees spread across multiple locations and functions. The client has a mix of corporate, operational and remote teams, the organization wanted to build a stronger culture of appreciation that extended beyond the annual award ceremonies.
The client did have a recognition programme, but it was largely structured around quarterly and annual awards. While these programmes celebrated significant achievements but everyday contributions like helping a colleague meet a deadline, supporting another team, or simply going an extra mile- often went unrecognized.
To bridge this gap, the organization partnered with Benepik and introduced Say Cheers, a peer-to-peer recognition platform designed to make appreciation immediate and effortless. As an employee appreciation software solution, Say Cheers enabled employees to recognise colleagues in the moment through personalised digital or physical cards, with reward points attached to the recognition.
Within 90 days of adoption, the organization recorded a 42% increase in Peer-to-Peer Recognition, with more than 3,800 Cheers exchanged and a 31% increase in weekly recognition participation.
The Challenge: Recognition was happening, but too late!
For the organisation, recognition was already part of the employee experience. The problem was that it was largely tied to formal recognition cycles.
Although these annual awards and quarterly programmes worked well for celebrating major milestones and accomplishments, they created gap between the moment something happened and the moment is was recognised.
A colleague who stayed late to help another team, a manager who supported an employee through a difficult project, or a cross-functional team that solved an urgent customer issue could wait weeks or months to receive formal appreciation.
This created four key friction points:
- Recognition felt event driven
Recognition was not based on everyday employee interaction and accomplishments rather associated with annual awards, quarterly reviews and formal milestones
- Micro-contributions were oftenmissed
Many contributions were too small to qualify for a formal award but too important to ignore. Everyday collaboration, knowledge sharing and peer support often happened without recognition.
- Appreciation remained largely top-down
Managers played the central role in recognising employees, leaving limited opportunity for employees to appreciate the colleagues they worked with every day.
- Appreciation lacked immediacy
By the time formal recognition arrived, the moment had passed. The organisation needed a way to make appreciation real-time, personal and visible.
The goal was not to replace formal awards but to create a recognition layer that could operate between them. For organisations looking to build a scalable peer recognition program approach, the challenge is to make recognition simple, accessible and relevant enough to become part of everyday employee interactions- not just another annual HR initiative.
The Strategy: Turning “Thank You” Into a 30-Second Habit
Benepik introduced Say Cheers as an always-on peer recognition layer within the organisation’s employee experience ecosystem.
The fundamental shift was simple:
Recognition shouldn’t only come from the top. It should come from everyone.
Instead of waiting for HR or managers to identify achievements, employees could appreciate their peers whenever a meaningful contribution happened.
Instant Recognition through Personalised Cheers cards
With Say Cheers, employees could send personalised appreciation cards directly to their colleagues.
Whether it was:
- “Thank you for helping me close that project.”
- “Great job handling the client escalation.”
- “Appreciate you stepping in when the team needed you.”
- “Cheers to an amazing presentation!”
The Recognition now happened right in the moment, rather than being saved for the next review cycle.
The Say Cheers could be shared digitally with peers or used as a physical appreciation card, creating a more tangible recognition experience.
Recognize with a Reward Attached
Say Cheers brought together appreciation with rewards.
Each card carried pre-loaded reward points, allowing the recipients to scan the QR code on the card and access the reward points which could be then redeemed on Benepik Plus.
Recognition became a more memorable experience when shared along the rewards.
Making Recognition Social
Recognition became more visible through an internal social feed, allowing appreciation moments to become part of the broader employee culture.
Instead of a “thank you” disappearing in a private conversation, employees could see colleagues being appreciated for teamwork, innovation, customer focus and other organisational values when the appreciation cards were shared on the organizations social wall and social media platforms.
This helped reinforce the behaviours the organisation wanted to encourage.
Low-Friction, Mobile-First Experience
The experience was designed around one principal: recognition should be easier than ignoring the contribution.
Employees could recognise a colleague without navigating a lengthy nomination process or waiting for an approval cycle. As a daily employee recognition tool, Say Cheers made appreciation accessible at the exact moment it mattered, allowing employees to turn a quick “thank you” into a meaningful recognition experience.
The result was a recognition interaction that could take less than 30 seconds.
The Impact: From Recognition Events to Everyday Appreciation
Within the first 90 days of launching Say Cheers, the organization saw measurable changes in how employees participated in recognition.
- 42% Increase in Peer-to-Peer Recognition
The number of peer recognitions increased by 42%, indicating that recognition was moving beyond manager-led programmes and becoming a shared employee behaviour.
- 31% Increase in Weekly Participation
Weekly participation in the recognition programme increased by 31%, signalling stronger adoption of recognition as an ongoing activity rather than a periodic HR initiative.
- 38% Increase in Cross-Functional Recognition
Recognitions exchanged between employees from different departments increased by 38%, helping surface contributions that might otherwise remain invisible within individual teams.
- 3,800+ Cheers in 90 Days
More than 3,800 Cheers were exchanged within the first three months of launch- an average of over 40 recognition moments every working day.
- 27% Increase in Recognition-Related Sentiment
In the organisation’s employee pulse survey, the positive response to the statement “I feel recognised for my contributions at work” increased by 27% following the programme rollout.
| Recognition Experience |
Before Say Cheers |
After Say Cheers |
|---|---|---|
| Recognition frequency |
Quarterly / Annual |
Everyday |
| Primary recogniser | Managers & HR |
Everyone |
| Recognition timing | Delayed | Real-time |
| Recognition format | Formal awards | Personalised Cheers + rewards |
| Employee participation |
Periodic | Continuous |
| Reward experience | Programme- based |
Recognition-linked |
| Cross-functional appreciation |
Limited | 38% increase |
The Cultural Shift
The biggest difference was not simply the number of Cheers sent but it was change in how the employees thought about recognition.
Previously, recognition was something that the employees waited for annually. With Say Cheers, recognition became a continuous process for the employees and something they could give.
A colleague no longer had to wait for an annual award to know their contribution mattered. A manager did not have to wait for the next review cycle to acknowledge great work. And employees could recognise the people who supported them every day- regardless of title, team or function.
Say Cheers effectively created a continuous layer of appreciation around the employee experience.
Client Testimonial
“Say Cheers has changed the way appreciation happens across our organization. Employees now instantly acknowledge each other, as recognition is no longer confined to formal events or annual awards. And I love how these appreciation cards come along with the rewards, which makes the experience more connected and reinforces stronger relations within the company. The combination of a personal message with a meaningful reward makes the experience much more memorable. It has helped us make appreciation a part of everyday work.”
– CHRO, Client Organization
Why it Worked?
The success of Say Cheers came down to three simple principals:
- Make it Instant
Recognition always has greater relevance when it happens close to the moment of achievement.
- Make it Personal
A personalised message makes appreciation feel human rather than transactional.
- Make it Rewarding
Giving employees the freedom to redeem recognition-linked rewards adds tangible value to the experience.
Together, these elements helped turn recognition from a programme employees participated in into a habit employees practised.
Transform Recognition into a Daily Habit with Benepik
Annual awards will always have their place. But a strong culture of appreciation cannot depend only on annual celebrations.
With Benepik Say Cheers, organisations can create an always-on peer recognition experience where appreciation happens when the moment happens.
Because the best time to say “You did a great job” isn’t three months later.
It’s now.
Want to make recognition a daily habit at your organisation?
Bring instant, peer-to-peer appreciation to your workforce with Benepik Say Cheers.
Book a Demo with Benepik Today.
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