Recognition and Rewards Overview and Set Up

The article outlines the setup and functionality of the Recognition and Rewards feature in BambooHR. This program enables employees to recognize coworkers, celebrate achievements, award points, and redeem rewards through a gift card catalog. Administrators can configure settings, manage rewards funding via Tremendous, and control participation through exclusions. Recognition can function independently, but Rewards requires Recognition to be activated. The guide is intended for Account Owners and Full Admin users, detailing prerequisites for activation, including account verification and funding. It also explains how to exclude employees from the program, turn features on or off, and highlights important limitations, such as the lack of mobile app support.

  • Jul 2, 2026
  • Knowledge

Title
Recognition and Rewards Overview and Set Up
Article Text

How do I set up Recognition and Rewards in BambooHR and what functionality is available to my employees?

Summary

Recognition and Rewards allows employees to recognize coworkers, celebrate achievements, award points, and redeem rewards through a gift card catalog. Administrators can configure recognition settings, manage rewards funding through Tremendous, allocate points, and control employee participation through exclusions and permissions. Recognition can be used independently, but Rewards requires Recognition to be enabled.

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Table of Contents

Who this is for

This guide is for:

  • Account Owners
  • Full Admin users

Recognition and Rewards settings are only available to the Account Owner and Full Admins.

Before you start

Before enabling Recognition:

  • Verify you have Account Owner or Full Admin access.
  • Determine whether your organization wants to use Recognition only or Recognition and Rewards.
  • Determine whether any employees should be excluded from the program.

Before enabling Rewards:

  • Verify the steps above for Recognition
  • Create a Tremendous account.
  • Add funds to the Tremendous account.
  • Configure a monthly point allowance. You can set the monthly point allowance to any value from 0 or higher. A value of 0 allows Rewards to remain enabled without automatically giving employees monthly points.

What is Recognition and Rewards?

Recognition and Rewards helps employees celebrate and recognize one another through public or private recognition posts.

Employees can:

  • Send recognition messages.
  • Tag company core values.
  • Add GIFs, emojis, and images.
  • Award points to coworkers.
  • React to and comment on recognition posts.
  • Redeem earned points for gift cards.

Rewards are fulfilled through Tremendous, a third-party rewards provider. Recognition and Rewards is built directly within BambooHR and is not connected to Employee Community.

Recognition and Rewards requirements

Recognition and Rewards can be configured in two ways:

Configuration 

Supported

Recognition only

Yes

Recognition and Rewards

Yes

Rewards only

No

Rewards requires Recognition to be enabled before Rewards can be turned on.

Access Recognition and Rewards settings

  1. Navigate to Settings → Recognition.
  2. Click the Turn On/Off button to turn Recognition on or off.
  3. Review the Recognition Settings section.
  4. Review the Rewards Settings section.
  5. Configure settings before enabling the feature.

Recognition and Rewards Settings

The two parts of the Recognition and Rewards program can be set up below. Rewards requires an active Recognition program to function.

Recognition allows your employees and managers to celebrate great work with posts that are displayed on a feed page.

Rewards enables points to be given along with a recognition post. Points can be redeemed for gift cards. To turn on Rewards, you will need to complete the set-up items below. Recognition must also be on.

Configure recognition settings

Set your Recognition settings using the checkboxes and dropdown options.

  1. Allow Core Values to be tagged in Recognition: By default, core value tagging is disabled, however you can add your company's Core Values in your employee recognition. Options include Allow core value tags or Require core value tags on all recognition posts.
  2. Require Core Value tagging when giving recognition: Once you've added your Core Values you can require your employees to include them when giving recognition.
  3. Allow employees to send Private recognition: By default, private recognition is enabled where only the sender and recipient(s) can view these posts.
  4. Exclusion Options: All employees are included in the Recognition program by default. You can manage exclusions from the dropdown menu including Department, Division, Employment Status, Location, and Individuals.

Configure rewards settings

To use Rewards, you must:

  • Create a Tremendous account.
  • Verify your Tremendous account.
  • Add funds to the account.

Set your Rewards settings using the checkboxes and dropdown options.

  1. Account Details: Your account is charged when your employees redeem their gift cards. Your account must be funded before Rewards can be turned on.
  2. Low Balance Notifications: Turn on notifications for specific employees for a low balance and set the low-balance threshold.
  3. Points Allocation: Choose how many points each employee receives each month. Enter 0 if you don't want employees to automatically receive monthly points.
Setting up your Tremendous account

To create and link your Tremendous account click Create Account and follow the prompts regarding your business. Please note that Tremendous will take estimated 1-2 business days to review your account before funds will be available. Once confirmed, your Recognition settings page will show your connected account. 

Exclude employees from Recognition and Rewards

Administrators can exclude employees using:

  • Department
  • Division
  • Employment Status
  • Location
  • Individual employees

Excluded employees:

  • Cannot access Recognition.
  • Cannot access Rewards.
  • Cannot give recognition.
  • Cannot receive recognition.
  • Cannot view the recognition feed.
  • Cannot redeem points.

If Rewards is active and an employee is excluded, any earned reward points are immediately removed.

Turn Recognition and Rewards on or off

Use the Turn Off/On buttons on the right side of the Settings → Recognition page.

Turn on Recognition

When Recognition is enabled:

  • Recognition becomes available to employees.
  • The Recognition navigation item appears.
  • Employees can access the recognition feed.

Turn on Rewards

Rewards can only be enabled when:

  • Recognition is enabled.
  • A Tremendous account exists.
  • The Tremendous account balance is greater than zero.
  • A monthly point allowance has been entered (0 or greater).

Turn off Recognition:

If Rewards is active, turning off Recognition also disables Rewards.

Turn off

Turning off Rewards:

  • Does not disable Recognition.
  • Removes all earned reward points.
  • Prevents future reward redemption.

Important notes and limitations

  • Recognition can be enabled without Rewards.
  • Rewards cannot be enabled without Recognition.
  • You can set the monthly point allowance to 0 if you don't want employees to automatically receive monthly points.
  • Recognition content does not appear in BambooHR global search.
  • Recognition and Rewards is not connected to Employee Community.
  • Recognition and Rewards is not currently available in the BambooHR mobile app.
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