What we're talking about this month:

🎉 The 2026 Celebrations Calendar is here!
New! 2025 Employee Recognition Trends Report
Your Feedback in Action: December Upgrades

Wishing You a Joyful Year-End!

Please keep in mind that our Support Team will be operating under reduced hours from December 23, 2025, to January 2, 2026. Please continue to submit your questions to support@kudos.com and we will answer your inquiries as soon as our team is able to.

We surveyed 300+ HR leaders, and the message is clear: Budgets are tight and expectations are high.

HR is being asked to lift engagement and retention (without adding headcount or spend) and to prove the impact of every initiative with hard numbers.

Our new 2025 Employee Recognition Trends Report has all the data for you:

85% of HR leaders measure engagement as a primary recognition outcome.
64% say budgets limit recognition, yet the best programs tie spend to clear ROI.
67% of organizations saw measurable productivity gains from recognition programs.

...and so much more, like measuring the impact of recognition on engagement and overcoming the biggest barriers in 2026.

Show Me The Data

Kudos Updates

The next generation of Kudos is here — more powerful, more flexible, and built to support the evolving needs of your teams.

From smarter automation to easier budget management, this upgraded version of Kudos helps you engage, recognize, and communicate with your people in more meaningful ways.

Can’t keep up with manual admin work? Let automation do the heavy lifting.
Tired of managers asking for more points? Created dedicated Point Banks for Awards and give managers access.
Want your announcements to actually get read? Put them front and center with read receipts and pinning.

All current clients are eligible to upgrade, and your Kudos Client Success Manager will guide you through every step.

Resources:

📘 FAQs
🎥 Watch the New Kudos Tour
📖 Explore the Full Kudoes Experience Guide

Not sure where to start? Connect with us to schedule your upgrade.

New! Your Feedback in Action: December Upgrades

Every month, we’ll be sharing how we’ve turned your ideas into meaningful improvements. Your Feedback in Action highlights the latest upgrades we’ve made to the next generation Kudos platform, all inspired by what you’ve told us matters most.

December Upgrades:

👥 More Flexible Automated Teams

Automated team rules now support Country and State conditions (for both inclusion and exclusion), and group dropdowns are organized by type to make targeting the right people faster.

📊 New Reports Landing Page

The main menu now includes a Reports button that opens a centralized landing page with all available reports, plus the ability to favourite and filter so you can quickly access what you use most.

📈 Engagement Summary Report

A new high-level Engagement Summary report gives you a quick view of participation, reach, activity counts, and top senders/receivers across the platform.

🔎 Deeper Activity Reporting

New activity reports for Engagement, Incentives, and Recognition provide exportable, user-level detail so you can dig into specific behaviours and outcomes. More to come!

For those still on Legacy Kudos, connect with your Client Success Manager or schedule a meeting to explore what’s new and plan your upgrade.

Culture Enhancer

🎉 It’s finally here: the 2026 Kudos Celebrations Calendar

Our most downloaded, most talked about, and most appreciated calendar is finally here! From heritage months to appreciation days, the 2026 Celebrations Calendar makes it easy to turn everyday moments into meaningful recognition opportunities, because your culture deserves to be celebrated every single day.

Think of this calendar as your year-long culture companion packed with ideas, reminders, and inspiration to help your people feel valued, seen, and supported all year round. In this calendar, each month includes ideas to spark recognition, boost morale, and align your people strategy with the moments that truly matter.

Download

🎁 Your Holiday Go-To Resources

There’s always a lot happening this time of year. 2026 planning is well underway, out-of-office messages are starting to trickle, performance reviews have begun, and you may even be cramming in some last-minute candidate interviews.

But before everyone starts ‘circling back to the new year’ - if you’re looking for some year-end recognition messages or inclusive holiday email templates, we’ve got you covered!

Downloadable Holiday Trivia Game: Can be played remotely or in-person.
Inclusive Holiday Recognition Ideas: to make sure everyone feels included in the celebrations this time of year.
Holiday and Year-End Messages: Email messages your team will love.
Holiday-Themed Recognition Messages: Make sure to send your team year-end recognition (plus we have AI-prompts to help you!)

January 2026 Kudos Banners

Here are your January 2026 banners for your Kudos platform. You can select one of these banners, or create your own, and upload it right into Kudos. Learn more about uploading a banner into your Kudos platform, or how to customize your theme in this support article.

Download Banners

Tip of the Month

💰 Is Your Rewards Float Funded for the Holidays?

The holidays are quickly approaching; now is a great time to ensure you have sufficient funding to cover holiday redemptions. Typically, organizations see a 15-20% increase in average monthly redemptions during November and December.

🎁 Planning to Give Kudos Points as a Holiday Gift?

We’re here to make it easy! Kudos Points are a thoughtful and flexible way to surprise and reward your team this holiday season.

Resource: 10 Employee Gift Ideas Your Team Will Love

If you're organizing a holiday gift through Kudos, please reach out to your Client Success Manager or email us at support@kudos.com. We’ll help take care of the details!

Reach out to us at support@kudos.com

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Kudos Inc.
Suite 2500, 500 4 Ave SW
Calgary AB