A lot of admins run into the same question here: should this be built as Awardco Nominations, a Simple Survey, or a standard Recognition Program? Getting that choice right matters because it affects how much manual cleanup you own later, how easy the experience feels for employees and leaders, and how likely the program is to actually stick long term. When the setup matches the goal, you get cleaner participation, smoother reviews, and a better path to ongoing platform adoption instead of one more process living in spreadsheets and side emails.
Start with the outcome you actually need
Before you build anything, pause and define what kind of experience you want to run. These three tools can all support nomination-style use cases, but they are not built for the same job.
Use Awardco Nominations if you need:
- A formal award process with a clear begining and end
- Multiple in-platform review rounds
- Approval or voting to narrow down finalists
- Winner recognition plus visibility for nominees (that visibility of those who were nominated is HUGE!)
Use Simple Surveys if you need:
- A fast, one-time way to collect basic input
- A lightweight “nominate someone” question
- Basic responses you can review manually
- A low-stakes, ad-hoc process
Use a Recognition Program if you need:
- A direct recognition submission flow
- Standard eligibility, limits, and approvals
- A simpler nomination-style experience without multi-round approvals
- A non-ending program that runs year-round
A quick way to pressure-test your choice:
- If you hear “committee,” “finalists,” “voting,” or “award cycle,” start with Nominations.
- If you hear “we just need to gather names and reasons quickly,” start with Simple Surveys.
- If you hear “we want managers or employees to submit recognitions year-round through a controlled program,” start with a Recognition Program.
Pro tip: If you already know you will be exporting responses, sorting finalists manually, and emailing leaders for decisions, that is usually a sign you want Awardco Nominations instead of Simple Surveys.
Quick reference 📌
If your goal is... | Best fit in Awardco | Where to build it |
|---|
Run a formal award with reviews, voting, and finalists | Awardco Nominations | Admin → Recognition → Programs → Nomination Programs |
Collect quick one-time nominations or ideas | Simple Surveys | Engagement → Surveys → Create Survey → Simple |
Create a controlled recognition flow with approvals that is open year-round | Recognition Program | Admin → Recognition → Programs → Recognition Programs |
Join the Conversation
How are you handling nomination-style programs in Awardco today?
