Help employees and managers feel confident using Recognize by making training easy to find, easy to join, and easy to put into practice. Use this guide to plan your outreach, copy ready-to-use messages, and follow up with a simple action that builds a recognition habit.
Who this is for: Company Admins, HR teams, and program champions promoting Recognize training during launch, onboarding, or a program refresh.
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Build Training Into Onboarding
Use a Simple Communication Plan
Copy and Customize Your Messages
Choose the Right Training
Start with the audience and the action you want them to feel comfortable taking afterward. Share the relevant resource page so employees can find training details and supporting guides in one place.
| Audience | Focus | Training resources |
|---|---|---|
| Employees | Getting started, sending meaningful recognition, and using the features available in your organization's program. | General User Training |
| Managers | Recognizing team members consistently, understanding the Manager Portal, and encouraging team participation. | Manager Training & Engagement Resources |
Make it relevant: Before sending an invitation, confirm how employees access Recognize and which features your organization uses. Customize your message so it reflects your program.
Use the linked training pages for registration information and available resources. Check session details before adding a date or time to your own invitation.
Build Training Into Onboarding
Give training a clear place in your existing process rather than relying on employees to discover it themselves.
- At launch: Introduce the purpose of your recognition program, explain how to sign in, and share the appropriate training link before asking employees to participate.
- For new employees: Add a training invitation to your onboarding checklist once their Recognize account and access are ready. Ask their manager or onboarding buddy to help them send their first recognition.
- For new managers: Include Manager Training when someone joins the company as a manager or moves into a role with direct reports. Confirm their manager access is set up.
- For a refresher: Offer training when you introduce a feature, refresh your program, or identify a team that needs additional support.
Assign an owner: Choose who will send invitations, answer questions, follow up on completion, and review any training Challenge submissions. This could be your program admin, HR team, or onboarding coordinator.
Use a Simple Communication Plan
The timing below is a suggested starting point. Adjust it to your onboarding schedule, session availability, and employees' working patterns.
| When | What to send | What to include |
|---|---|---|
|
Invitation During onboarding or 1–2 weeks before a planned session |
A short email with one clear next step. | Who the training is for, why it is useful, the registration or resource link, and any internal completion deadline. |
|
Reminder A few days before your internal deadline |
A brief reminder to employees who still need to complete training. | The same link, the deadline, and where to ask for help. If employees already registered, direct them to their session confirmation for joining details. |
|
Follow-up After completion |
A thank-you and one practical action. | A relevant guide or available recording, one action to try in Recognize, and any Challenge submission instructions. |
- Meet employees where they are: Reinforce the email in Teams, Slack, your intranet, or a team meeting. For employees with limited email access, ask managers to share the details during a huddle.
- Make time for learning: Coordinate with managers so employees have an opportunity to attend or use an available training resource.
- Keep the next step clear: Distinguish between registering for a session and completing training. If training is required internally, state that expectation and the deadline.
Copy and Customize Your Messages
Before you send: Replace every bracketed placeholder, include the correct training link, and remove any wording that does not apply to your program. Add incentive language only if your organization has approved and set up the incentive.
Employee Training Invitation
Subject: Get started with Recognize
Hi [First Name],
Recognize is where we celebrate the great work happening across [Company Name]. Join User Training to learn the basics and feel confident sending recognition to your colleagues.
Your next step: Visit [User Training Link] to register for a session. Please complete training by [Internal Deadline].
Once you have completed training, try sending a recognition that describes what a colleague did and why it made a difference.
Questions or trouble signing in? Contact [Internal Contact].
Thank you,
[Sender Name / Team]
Manager Training Invitation
Subject: Build recognition into your leadership routine
Hi [First Name],
Your recognition helps employees understand that their contributions matter. Join Recognize Manager Training to learn how to recognize your team consistently, use the Manager Portal, and encourage participation.
Your next step: Visit [Manager Training Link] to register for a session. Please complete training by [Internal Deadline].
After training, choose a regular time each week to recognize a specific contribution from someone on your team.
Questions or need help with manager access? Contact [Internal Contact].
Thank you,
[Sender Name / Team]
Training Reminder
Subject: Reminder: Complete your Recognize training by [Deadline]
Hi [First Name],
A quick reminder to complete [User / Manager] Training by [Internal Deadline]. Visit [Training Link] to find a session and training resources.
Already registered? Use your session confirmation for the date, time, and joining details. If you have already completed training, thank you! [Add any internal completion reporting instructions, if needed.]
Need help getting started? Contact [Internal Contact].
Post-Training Follow-Up
Subject: Put your Recognize training into practice
Hi [First Name],
Thank you for completing Recognize training! This week, send a recognition to a colleague and include what they did and the impact it had.
You can revisit helpful resources here: [Relevant Training Resource Link].
[For managers: Choose a regular time each week to review team recognition activity and recognize a contribution you observed.]
Questions? Contact [Internal Contact].
Short Teams or Slack Message
New to Recognize or ready for a refresher? Visit [Training Link] to find [User / Manager] Training and helpful resources. Please complete training by [Internal Deadline], then put it into practice by recognizing a colleague for something specific they did. Questions? Contact [Internal Contact].
Optional Incentive Add-On
If you offer a training Challenge, add this paragraph to your invitation or follow-up:
Complete [Training Name] by [Deadline] and submit the “[Challenge Name]” Challenge in Recognize. In your submission, include [Required Completion Details]. Once your submission is reviewed and approved, you will receive [Points Amount] points. [Add eligibility and one-time completion rules.]
Offer an Optional Training Incentive
If your organization uses Challenges and points, you can create a training Challenge to encourage completion. Keep the reward modest, define what counts as completion, and make the submission process easy to understand.
- Choose the audience. Create separate User Training and Manager Training Challenges if they have different requirements. Use Company Roles to limit eligibility when needed; leaving Roles blank makes a Challenge available to all users.
- Define completion. State whether employees should attend a live session or complete an approved training resource. Tell them what to include in their submission, such as the training name, completion date, and one takeaway.
- Set the points and limits. Choose a points amount within your budget and set an appropriate per-user submission limit. For a one-time incentive, plan how you will avoid repeat awards; Challenge submission limits reset with each campaign.
- Choose the approval process. If someone will verify completion, keep automatic approval off and choose whether Company Admins alone or both Company Admins and direct Managers can approve submissions. Confirm who will review them.
- Communicate and follow through. Share the Challenge name, training link, completion deadline, submission instructions, and points amount. Review submissions promptly so employees know their effort was acknowledged.
For setup and submission instructions, see Challenges: Step-by-Step Instructions.
Example Training Challenge
Name: Complete Recognize User Training
Points: [Amount approved for your program]
Description: Complete Recognize User Training by [Deadline]. Attend a live session or complete [Approved Training Resource]. Submit this Challenge with the training name, your completion date, and one thing you learned. Approved submissions earn [Points Amount] points. This incentive is available to [Eligible Group] and may be earned once per person for this training.
Suggested review: Manual approval by your designated program admin or eligible manager.
Confirm completion in a way that works for your team: Use the details requested in the Challenge and any attendance information available to your organization. Only require a certificate if you have confirmed that one is provided. Registration alone should not count as completion.
If you do not offer points, you can still thank employees for completing training and encourage them to practice what they learned.
Check Whether Training Helped
Track both completion and the actions employees take afterward. Start with a simple roster that includes the employee, training type, invitation date, completion status, and follow-up date. Record registrations and verified completions separately.
| What to check | How to use it |
|---|---|
| Training completion | Compare confirmed completions with the number of employees invited or expected to complete training. Follow up with those who need help. |
| Employee participation | Look at whether trained employees begin sending recognition or participate more consistently over the next 2–4 weeks. |
| Manager participation | Review whether trained managers recognize their teams more regularly and whether recognition reaches more team members. |
| Questions and barriers | Ask what remains unclear. Use responses to improve your invitation, access instructions, or follow-up. |
Use results to guide your next step: If employees complete training but still do not participate, ask what is getting in the way. Access issues, unclear expectations, time constraints, or a need for manager support may require a different follow-up.
Compare activity before and after training where possible, while considering other changes such as a campaign or program relaunch. Use the comparison to identify where support is needed; it does not establish that training alone caused a change.
Need help choosing training resources for your organization? Contact support@recognizeapp.com.