Recognition programs are everywhere.
Many organizations encourage recognition. Many invest in employee recognition platforms. Yet recognition still falls flat in many workplaces because managers are busy, programs feel complicated, or leaders simply are not sure how to recognize employees effectively.
That gap matters more than many organizations realize.
Employee recognition remains one of the most effective ways organizations strengthen engagement, retention, and performance. According to Gallup, organizations with high employee engagement see 23% higher profitability, 18% higher productivity, 78% lower absenteeism, and 21% lower turnover.
The challenge is not believing recognition matters.
The challenge is making recognition easy and consistent for managers.
To help with that, the Guusto team has started hosting quarterly product showcases, where we walk through the latest product improvements and share what’s coming next.
This article summarizes the key updates from the Guusto Q1 2026 Product Showcase webinar.
This Q1 showcase highlights three new employee recognition features now available in Guusto:
- Manager Insights
- Manager Delivery for frontline teams
- Integrated company swag rewards
As Guusto founder Skai Dalziel explained during the session:
“Over the last year, we really focused on making recognition easier and more impactful.”
Here’s a closer look at the updates.
1. Manager Insights: Helping Leaders Build Recognition Habits
Employee recognition programs succeed when managers actively recognize their teams. Yet many managers simply do not have visibility into how recognition is happening across their group.
Kwesi Thomas, Executive HR Advisor at Guusto, describes recognition as something leaders must intentionally build.
“Recognition is a habit you have to build. I liken it to building a muscle.”
To support that habit, Guusto expanded the Manager Insights dashboard, giving leaders clearer visibility into recognition activity across their teams.
Managers can now see:
- Recognition trends across their team over time
- Participation rates across direct reports
- Employees who may be under-recognized
- Individual recognition activity
Senior Product Manager Cam Waind explained how this helps leaders guide recognition more intentionally.
“It’s really easy now to see how recognition is being used on your team and how that’s trending over time.”
Managers can also run recognition draws to encourage participation and reinforce positive behavior within their teams.
Instead of HR trying to drive recognition across the entire organization, managers now have the visibility to guide recognition where it matters most: within their own teams.
2. Manager Delivery: Reaching Frontline Employees More Easily
Many employee recognition programs struggle with one practical challenge.
Frontline employees often do not have corporate email addresses or consistent device access. That can make recognition difficult to deliver, especially in industries like manufacturing, retail, healthcare, logistics, and field services.
Kwesi explained the challenge clearly during the webinar:
“A lot of frontline employees don’t have the same employee data you would have in a desk-first environment. Delivering recognition to them has always been a challenge.”
To help solve this, Guusto utilizes Manager Delivery.
If the system does not have direct contact details for an employee, rewards can now be routed through managers who can deliver them in person.
Managers can now:
- Share recognition through a QR code
- Print rewards to hand out in person
- Copy gift links and send them directly
Cam explained why connecting frontline teams matters so much.
“It connects a group of employees that historically have had problems being connected to recognition programs.”
For organizations with large frontline workforces, this makes recognition easier to deliver in the moment, in the places where employees actually work.
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3. Integrated Swag: Rewards Employees Actually Want
Rewards play an important role in recognition. The type of reward can shape how meaningful the experience feels for employees.
Over the past few years, many organizations shifted heavily toward digital gift cards. Recently, companies have started asking for ways to bring company-branded merchandise back into their recognition programs.
Kwesi explained why this matters:
“We’re seeing a lot of demand for employees to still have that swag component where they can proudly wear their company and showcase their company.”
Guusto now integrates company swag directly into the redemption experience.
Employees can redeem recognition points for branded merchandise without leaving the platform.
Cam walked through how the feature works:
“What we’ve worked on is integrating with vendors so that we can bring company swag directly into the redemption experience.”
Organizations can configure:
- Branded apparel and merchandise
- Custom colors and designs
- Milestone items such as anniversary jackets or onboarding kits
For employees, this creates rewards that feel personal and connected to the organization they represent.
For HR teams, it simplifies managing swag alongside other recognition rewards.
Recognition Built Around Real HR Challenges
One theme that came through clearly during the webinar is that these features were not built in isolation.
They were built from real customer needs.
Kwesi summarized it well:
“This is not just built out of theory. It’s built from what organizations were already doing and finding value in.”
Employee recognition works best when tools adapt to how organizations actually operate.
Frontline teams need flexible delivery.
Managers need visibility.
Employees want rewards that feel meaningful.
These updates aim to support all three.
Watch on demand: Guusto Product Showcase Q1 2026
What’s Coming Next
This Q1 showcase only covered part of what the Guusto product team is building.
The team plans to host product showcases every quarter, sharing new features, improvements, and insights from customer programs.
Several updates to manager insights, reporting, and automation are already in development and will be highlighted in the Q2 product showcase.
As Cam hinted during the webinar:
“There’s a lot more coming to Manager Insights in the coming year.”
If recognition is an important part of your employee experience strategy, there will be plenty more to explore in the months ahead.
— Skai Dalziel, Co-Founder & CEO @ Guusto