New data reflecting 23% growth across hundreds of thousands of eligible employees highlights the role of recognition in employee experience
PALO ALTO, Calif., Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Espresa, the leading global personal benefits platform used by companies including Samsung, Nielsen, and MaineHealth, announced its 2026 Recognition Benchmark and Trends Report, revealing insight into how recognition programs are influencing employee engagement, retention, and workplace culture.
The report draws on Espresa’s proprietary, anonymized data from 2025 through July 2026, representing hundreds of thousands of eligible employees across organizations in dozens of countries, including a 23% increase in eligible employees. The analysis focuses exclusively on recognition activity, including monetary, non-monetary, and marketplace purchases through Espresa’s platform rewards.
The findings point to several key trends shaping the future of recognition in the workplace:
- Recognition is increasingly connected to retention. Employees who engage with Espresa’s recognition capabilities had 15% lower turnover than those who didn’t.
- Managers play an outsized role in recognition, and they need recognition, too. More than 60% of recognitions came from managers, highlighting their critical role in reinforcing workplace culture while underscoring the need for managers to receive meaningful recognition themselves.
- Meaningful recognition doesn’t depend solely on monetary awards. Approximately 45% of recognitions included a monetary award, with an average award value of $75, while non-monetary recognition accounted for the majority of recognition activity.
“Employees want to feel valued for their hard work, especially when going the extra mile on the job,” said Gaby Toledano, xCPO, EA and Tesla. “Being recognized and rewarded in front of peers enhances that sense of appreciation and validates their contribution to the company.”
The report highlights the success of organizations that have connected recognition with broader benefits strategies. At MaineHealth, a regional nonprofit health care system, 25,000 employees had access to Espresa, generating more than 43,000 recognitions and 25,000 peer-to-peer moments in the first eight months after launching its program. Meanwhile, Avalara, a tax compliance services platform saw 64% growth in recognition in its first six months, achieved 31,000 recognitions, with 93% of employees receiving recognition.
As organizations continue navigating workforce expectations around personalization, flexibility, and employee experience, Espresa expects recognition programs to continue evolving. The report points to greater alignment between recognition and company values, stronger leadership participation, and the use of AI to help managers create more meaningful recognition moments while maintaining a human-centered experience.
“Recognition alone is not a retention strategy, but when thoughtfully designed and integrated into the broader employee experience, it becomes a meaningful contributor to culture and workforce stability,” said Alex Shubat, co-founder and CEO of Espresa. “Our data shows that employers don’t necessarily need to spend more to create greater impact. They need programs that make recognition meaningful, accessible, and connected to what employees value.”
The 2026 Recognition Benchmark and Trends Report is available now at https://www.espresa.com/recognition-benchmark-and-trends-report-2026/.
About Espresa
Espresa is powering great workplaces with the industry-leading LSA Plus™ personal benefits platform. Unifying Lifestyle Spending Accounts (LSAs), wellbeing, family care, specialty care (GLP-1s) and recognition into a single solution that drives engagement while helping employers manage costs.
Founded in Palo Alto in 2015, California by Alex Shubat (CEO) and Raghavan Menon (CTO), Espresa supports organizations in delivering modern, personal benefits for a diverse and evolving workforce.
To learn more, visit espresa.com
Media Contact:
BAM for Espresa
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SOURCE Espresa
