Guides
Types of Awards
Learn about spot, approval, jury, and incentive award types and when to use each.
Spot awards
Create and configure spot awards — instant, no-approval recognition — plus core value cards, budgets, and bulk awards.
Approval-based awards
Configure single or multi-level approval workflows, auto-approve, and approver selection.
Jury-based awards
Set up peer-reviewed awards with jury panels, rating scales, and moderator approval.
Incentive-based awards
Tie rewards to measurable goals — sales quotas, learning milestones, and wellness targets.
Physical and product-based gifts
Create merchandise and gift card collections to reward employees with tangible items.
Add certificates to awards
Design, upload, and configure printable certificate templates for any award.
Bulk review of nominations
Approve or decline multiple nominations at once from the UI or via CSV upload.
FAQs
Awards
What types of awards can I create?
What types of awards can I create?
You can create four types: Spot Award (instantly given without approval), Approval Award (requires one or more approval levels), Jury Award (nominations reviewed and scored by a panel), and Incentive (goal-based — employees claim after completing measurable targets).
Does Empuls support peer-to-peer and manager-to-employee recognition?
Does Empuls support peer-to-peer and manager-to-employee recognition?
Yes. Empuls supports both peer-to-peer and manager-to-employee recognition, with options for monetary and non-monetary rewards.
- Peer-to-peer: Employees can appreciate colleagues with badges, shout-outs, or monetary points redeemable from a global rewards marketplace.
- Manager-to-employee: Managers can recognise team members with milestone or performance-based rewards and monetary points redeemable for gift cards, experiences, merchandise, travel, and more across 175+ countries.
- Non-monetary: Certificates, compliments, leaderboards, values-based badges, celebrations, and social-feed appreciations.
Can the value of awards be customised?
Can the value of awards be customised?
Yes. You can configure fixed point values or set a minimum/maximum range. For range-based awards, the award giver selects any value within the range at the time of giving. Budgets can also factor in cost-of-living adjustments to ensure fair value across regions.
How does Empuls support team or group nominations?
How does Empuls support team or group nominations?
A nominator can select multiple team members for a single award. Admins configure whether the award value is split equally among recipients or whether each member receives the full configured amount independently. For multinational teams, the platform automatically converts reward points to local currencies and provides region-specific reward catalogs.
Is there provision to create multiple award categories?
Is there provision to create multiple award categories?
Yes. You can create and configure multiple award categories — spot awards, milestone achievements, team contributions, panel-based recognitions, and more. Each category is fully customisable, allowing alignment with company values and objectives.
Can employees get rewards for patent filings or other specific achievements?
Can employees get rewards for patent filings or other specific achievements?
Yes. Admins can set up awards and define criteria for specific achievements such as patent filings. These awards can include a claim workflow where employees upload relevant documentation, and an approver verifies the evidence before issuing the reward.
Can a value statement be shown as a dropdown for each badge or award?
Can a value statement be shown as a dropdown for each badge or award?
Yes. Admins can define value statements for each badge or award, which appear as a dropdown during the nomination process — helping align recognitions with core organisational values.
Can reward points be configured to never expire?
Can reward points be configured to never expire?
Yes. Point expiration is fully configurable. Admins can disable expiration so points remain valid indefinitely until redeemed, or set a custom expiry window aligned with the organisation’s recognition strategy.
Does the platform support auto-generation of award citations?
Does the platform support auto-generation of award citations?
Yes. Empuls includes an AI-powered feature that auto-generates award citations based on the award theme, the recipient’s recognition history, and any inputs provided by the award giver. For awards with predefined questions, the AI uses nominator responses to craft a contextual and personalised citation.
Does Empuls support bulk nominations and award uploads?
Does Empuls support bulk nominations and award uploads?
Yes. HR teams and program managers can upload nominations for multiple employees simultaneously via CSV. Admins can also assign awards to large groups during events like festive bonuses or service anniversaries, and configure multi-level approval hierarchies to govern bulk workflows.
Nominations
Can reviewers approve or reject nominations with comments?
Can reviewers approve or reject nominations with comments?
Yes. Reviewers can approve or reject nominations with comments to justify their decision. Nomination workflows can also be configured for automatic approval if no action is taken within a defined timeframe, subject to budget availability and predefined approval rules.
Are nominees notified in real time when they are nominated?
Are nominees notified in real time when they are nominated?
No. The platform does not notify nominees in real time. Admins can configure a one-time notification informing nominees of their nomination once it has been approved and the award is issued.
Does the system prevent duplicate nominations?
Does the system prevent duplicate nominations?
Yes. Empuls flags frequent nominations of the same individual and nudges nominators to ensure recognition equity. Rules can also be configured to strengthen duplicate-prevention safeguards.
Can I create multiple nomination forms for different award categories?
Can I create multiple nomination forms for different award categories?
Yes. Admins can build multiple nomination forms tailored to each award type, with specific fields, validation rules, and instructions to capture the right information for each award.
Can criteria be defined for who can nominate and who is eligible for awards?
Can criteria be defined for who can nominate and who is eligible for awards?
Yes. You can define precise eligibility criteria for nominators and nominees based on role, department, location, or tenure. Separate eligibility settings can be configured for each award category.
Does Empuls support nomination photos?
Does Empuls support nomination photos?
Yes. Employees or managers can upload images (JPEG or PNG) while nominating peers. These images can be reviewed alongside nomination details and may appear on the Wall of Fame or social recognition feed depending on your configuration.
Budget
Can budgets be allocated to teams, groups, or departments?
Can budgets be allocated to teams, groups, or departments?
Yes. Super Admins can create organisational-level budgets and allocate them to business units, departments, or teams. These budgets can be managed by respective managers or BU heads, with real-time visibility via the My Budgets dashboard.
What controls prevent budgets from being exceeded?
What controls prevent budgets from being exceeded?
Empuls lets admins set budget limits at the organisation, department, manager, or employee level. The platform sends automated alerts as thresholds approach and provides dashboards to track usage. Rules can also restrict award types, timelines, and per-user spending.
Can points be retrieved if they are wrongly credited to an employee?
Can points be retrieved if they are wrongly credited to an employee?
Yes. Super Admins can revoke reward points as long as the recipient has not redeemed any of the associated points, even partially. Revoked points are returned to the nominator’s budget, the feed post is removed, and both parties receive a notification.
Can unused points be retrieved from inactive or exited employees?
Can unused points be retrieved from inactive or exited employees?
Yes. Admins can reallocate points to the HRBP or manager, set points to expire automatically upon exit, or transfer points to the employee’s personal email. These options ensure efficient point management aligned with organisational policy.
Certificates
What certificate options are available?
What certificate options are available?
Both electronic and physical certificates are supported. Electronic certificates are customisable and can be displayed on the employee’s profile or the organisation’s intranet. Physical certificates can be designed, printed, and framed. Designs can vary by award type or milestone level.
Can I bulk download award certificates for employees?
Can I bulk download award certificates for employees?
Yes. Administrators can generate and bulk download award certificates for employees as part of service awards, milestone celebrations, or recognition events. Certificates are customisable, printable, and include personalised messages, company branding, and employee details.
Are certificates emailed to employees, and can managers be CC'd?
Are certificates emailed to employees, and can managers be CC'd?
Yes. Award certificates are sent via email along with the digital badge. The email can be configured to automatically CC the recipient’s manager or other stakeholders. Recognisers also receive an email acknowledging their nomination effort.
Notifications
Does Empuls send real-time notifications for nominations, approvals, and awards?
Does Empuls send real-time notifications for nominations, approvals, and awards?
Yes. Empuls sends configurable real-time notifications at every stage — nomination submitted, approved, declined, and awarded. Notifications can be directed to employees, managers, jury members, or custom roles based on your workflows.
Can reminders be sent to managers who have not recognised employees recently?
Can reminders be sent to managers who have not recognised employees recently?
Yes. Rule-based reminders can be configured to monitor recognition activity and send nudges to managers after a configurable number of days since their last recognition action. These reminders can also be triggered for unused budgets, pending nominations, or active campaigns.
What notification channels are supported?
What notification channels are supported?
Empuls supports in-app, email, and push notifications. SMS alerts are not currently supported. Notifications are also delivered through integrated channels such as Slack and Microsoft Teams if those integrations are enabled.
Gamification
Does Empuls offer gamification features?
Does Empuls offer gamification features?
Yes. Employees can earn digital badges, certificates, and non-monetary credits for completing activities like quizzes, polls, or challenges. The platform features dynamic leaderboards configurable for monthly, quarterly, or campaign-specific competitions. Admins can set rules for gamification campaigns and reward participants with points, swag, or experiences.
Does Empuls support real-time leaderboards?
Does Empuls support real-time leaderboards?
Yes. The leaderboard updates in real time and reflects every recognition activity — spot awards, peer-to-peer appreciations, and milestone celebrations. It can be customised by time period, department, location, or award category, and is accessible from the homepage.
Can I filter recognition by department, team, or individual?
Can I filter recognition by department, team, or individual?
Yes. Recognition dashboards include advanced filters for department, team, and individual views. Users can drill down by timeframe or award type, enabling managers and HR to analyse engagement trends and ensure recognition equity across the organisation.