Culture by Design: Making Connection and Recognition Real for Frontline Teams
When was the last time someone genuinely recognized your work—where you felt seen, valued, and reminded that your contributions matter? That question, posed by Dave Nixon, co-founder and CEO of Enablo, set the stage during the From Day One webinar on recognition and connection. Nixon spoke with Heather Halliday, customer success manager at Flip, to explore how leaders can make recognition more real, especially for frontline teams. These deskless workers make up roughly 80% of the global workforce: retail associates, healthcare professionals, hotel staff, bank tellers, and many others who keep businesses running. Yet too often, they feel isolated from leadership and disconnected from the company culture. Recognition isn’t just a nice-to-have for them, it’s essential.While recognizing people is simply the right thing to do, it also has a measurable return on investment, says Nixon. “When people are disengaged, a lot more incidents happen,” he said. “They’re 18% less productive, 50% more safety incidents occur, and turnover costs climb.” Meanwhile, when employees feel valued and heard, the results are dramatic: up to 50% fewer safety incidents, 37% higher productivity, and voluntary turnover rates that improve significantly. As Nixon put it, recognition drives a “20x return on investment.”Focus on Daily RecognitionLeaders have many opportunities to recognize their people, but daily recognition is the foundation, says Nixon. Unlike formal awards or quarterly celebrations, daily recognition builds habits, strengthens trust, and reinforces culture in real time.Dave Nixon, the co-founder and CEO of Enablo, led the webinar (company photo)“It’s less formal. Sometimes there’s no monetary value,” Nixon said. “It’s just the simple things done consistently.” While quarterly or annual awards have their place, it’s the frequent, everyday acknowledgments that make the biggest impact.So how can organizations design recognition programs that actually work—especially for frontline employees? Nixon shared three key design principles:First, make it accessible. Recognition should be available where employees already are. “It needs to be in the flow of work, in the tools they already use,” Nixon said. For frontline workers, that often means mobile access during breaks, when checking shifts, or reviewing pay stubs. Recognition can’t sit in a silo—it needs to live in the everyday workflow.Second, make it visible. From the first day on the job, employees should see recognition in action, linked to company values. “When someone accesses the platform, they should immediately get a sense for the culture and what’s important to the company,” Nixon said.And lastly, make it timely. Recognition loses power if it’s delayed. “The magic happens when you celebrate the moment in real time,” Nixon noted. Frequent, immediate acknowledgment keeps the momentum going.Too often, companies roll out recognition platforms that end up unused, stuck on separate apps or hidden behind clunky systems. “Only a fraction of people log in,” Nixon said. “It just sits out there in a silo.” The key is integration: recognition should be intuitive, seamless, and part of the same space where employees already collaborate.Recognition in Action: Lessons from the FrontlineEffective recognition reinforces culture, builds connection between employees and leadership, and directly impacts retention and safety, says Halliday. In her role, Halliday helps companies bring recognition to life for frontline employees, emphasizing that successful programs should follow the design principles Nixon outlined: accessibility, visibility, and timeliness. Flip’s platform integrates these principles into daily workflows, giving employees space to collaborate, connect, and celebrate one another, whether in chats, channels, or automated “Flip Flows.”Halliday shared two reminders for building recognition programs: don’t overwhelm employees; and don’t overwhelm yourself. Tailor streams so recognition feels relevant, and starts small. To illustrate, Halliday offered a few customer examples.First, a European retail chain with 50,000 employees launched a campaign called Together. Staff wrote recognition notes for colleagues on branded cards, posted them on a breakroom board, then snapped photos to share in Flip’s digital channel. Each shout-out doubled as an entry into a raffle, making recognition both visible and fun, she says. Another example was a company looking to reimagine their ‘Employee of the Month’ initiative. Shout-outs were submitted in a dedicated digital channel, and leadership selected winners based on content and variety of nominations. The result was an inclusive program that celebrated many employees, not just the usual few.Bringing Recognition to LifeNixon demonstrated Flip’s platform, showing how it could be white-labeled for a fictitious “Big Box Co” retailer. Frontline employees could access recognition with just one tap, select a colleague, tie the recognition to a company value, and write a personal message. Branding could be customized with logos, GIFs, or even photos, creating a personalized and engaging experience.Once submitted, recognition appears in a dedicated Shout Outs channel. The recognized employee receives a notification, and coworkers can react with likes, comments, and encouragement. “That’s the dopamine hit we talk about,” Nixon said. “That feel-good moment.”Posts don’t clutter the main news feed, which remains reserved for essential company updates. Instead, they live in their own space, allowing employees to engage without distraction. Leaders can tailor visibility based on team, department, or location, Nixon says. Celebrating MilestonesMilestones are key opportunities to celebrate employees in ways that feel personal and meaningful. Years of service can be spotlighted in dedicated channels, paired with thoughtful gifts like flowers or wine, often presented by a senior leader. “It’s such a simple, straightforward thing,” Halliday noted, “but it makes all the difference in whether someone goes home feeling unseen or celebrated.”Retirement provides another meaningful opportunity. One memorable example: a retiree’s high-visibility work jacket was signed by teammates and shared in a farewell post, turning an everyday item into a cherished keepsake.Recognition can also celebrate personal milestones, including weddings, new homes, or births. Halliday highlighted a unique use case: self-recognition via a Winning Channel. Examples included a colleague securing a visa, someone hosting an art show, and Halliday herself sharing that her dog won a local drag competition.Community celebrations can also be recognized. Halliday described campaigns around Thanksgiving, Pride Month, or International Women’s Day, noting one example where employees were given orchids to mark International Women’s Day. “That’s the kind of recognition that stays with you even after you leave the job,” she said.Embedding Recognition Into CultureRecognition should be embedded into the culture by design. “We’ve got to make it so easy, take away the friction, remove the barriers,” Nixon said. Templates and ready-to-use cards allow leaders to recognize quickly and often, building positive habits that last.Equipping managers and champions to lead by example is equally important. Recognition from the top cascades across teams, and digital tools allow those acknowledgments to happen in the moment, reinforcing the values that matter most.Finally, the real power comes from the data. Every recognition post contributes to a stream of real-time cultural insights that surveys cannot capture. Leaders can see which values resonate, where recognition is thriving, or lagging, and uncover hidden influencers. When combined with operational metrics like turnover, safety, or sales, this cultural data proves what many already know instinctively: recognition drives results.Editor’s note: From Day One thanks our partner, Enablo, for sponsoring this webinar. Carrie Snider is a Phoenix-based journalist and marketing copywriter.(Photo by Jacob Wackerhausen/iStock)
Carrie Snider
September 29, 2025
