less likely to leave within two years when employees are well recognized
Gallup, 2024
47%
of frontline workers say their company has two cultures: theirs and everyone else's
UKG, 2025
26%
of frontline workers name a lack of recognition as a reason they'd quit
UKG, 2025
Five takeaways
What keeps frontline employees from leaving
Less is more1:35
1
Reach
Why doesn't recognition reach the frontline?
Most programs run on desk tools like Teams and Slack, and one frontline manager can have 200 reports. If people have to learn where to go, it won't get used.
One manager for frontline teams could have 200 employees. That would never fly in our organization for desk workers.Kendall Carroll, UKG
Try this
Put recognition where employees already clock in and check schedules.
Cut any step that needs a work email.
Keep it to a few taps on a phone.
Feeling seen
What makes frontline employees leave?
Pay comes first, but schedules and recognition aren't far behind. 26% of frontline workers name a lack of recognition as a reason they'd quit (UKG, 2025).
Sometimes you just punch in, punch out and wonder if anyone's really seeing the good work that you're doing.Kendall Carroll, UKG
Try this
Each week, thank three people nobody has noticed lately.
Name the specific thing they did.
Make shift swaps easy to request.
2
Just a number2:00
What gets recognized gets repeated0:59
3
Visibility
Should recognition be public or private?
Public, for most frontline teams. A shared feed shows everyone what good looks like and invites peers to join in.
What gets recognized gets repeated, and gets emulated by others.Kendall Carroll, UKG
Try this
Post to the smallest group that knows the person.
Invite peers to comment and add their own thanks.
Offer a private option on request.
Timing
Does the timing of recognition matter?
A milestone acknowledged months late reads as an afterthought. Automate the predictable moments so managers aren't relying on memory.
No one wants to be the person that gets their grandma's birthday card three months after their birthday.Kendall Carroll, UKG
Try this
Automate anniversaries, birthdays and first 90 days.
If it happened this shift, say it this shift.
Check next month's milestones every Monday.
4
The right moment1:38
The empty room1:53
5
Adoption
How do you make a new frontline tool stick?
Nobody returns to an empty feed. Plan your comms before launch, keep managers posting, and let people talk to each other.
No one wants to go to a community that's empty and dead.Kendall Carroll, UKG
Try this
Schedule two weeks of content before day one.
Give every site lead a weekly recognition target.
Open peer chat with clear guidelines.
Free download
The 21-Day Frontline Recognition Checklist
Turn these five takeaways into a habit your managers can keep.
PDF · 3 pages
Setup list for HR and people leaders
21 daily actions for frontline managers
30/60/90-day scorecard
It's on its way.
Check your inbox for the checklist. Want it now? Download the PDF.
Guusto x UKG · Certified UKG Technology Partner
Recognition lives in the UKG apps your frontline already opens
Guusto connects with the full UKG suite. Employee data syncs in from UKG, and recognition flows back out into UKG Talk, UKG Pro and UKG Pro WFM. Employees don't download anything new, and managers don't learn a new system.
Recognize
JTTo: Jamal T.
Thanks for covering two call-outs on Saturday. The floor never went short.
+ $25 rewardSend
1
Recognize in seconds
A manager sends a specific thank‑you from their phone, with a reward if they choose.
UKG Talk feed
MRMaria R. recognized Jamal T.
👏 12❤️ 8💬 4
2
The whole team sees it
It posts to the team's UKG Talk feed, where peers react and add their own thanks.
Rewards
CoffeeGroceriesDiningGas
$25 to spendRedeem
3
They pick the reward
Employees choose a reward they'll actually use, from gift cards at 100+ merchants.
Guusto solves a key problem for us, which is how do I make sure that managers are able to recognize employees in the moments that matter.Kendall Carroll, UKG
Six UKG integrations
Beyond Talk: Guusto works across your whole UKG stack
From the floor to the office, recognition and employee data move through the UKG apps your teams already use.
Employee data in
UKG Pro · Ready · Pro WFM
Recognition out
Talk feed · Pro home · WFM tile
Recognition outWhere employees see it
UKG TalkNew
Live feed · real-time
UKG Pro widgetNew
Home page widget
UKG Pro WFM tileNew
Home page tile
Employee data inWhat keeps it automatic
UKG Pro
Data sync · daily
UKG Ready
Data sync · daily
UKG Pro WFM
Data sync · daily
What Guusto brings to your UKG stack
Reaches everyonePrint, SMS or QR code for anyone without a work email.
Runs every programPeer-to-peer, manager and safety programs, each with its own budget.
Rewards that countGift cards from 100+ merchants, with no markups.
Already on UKG?
See what recognition in UKG Talk looks like for your team
A short call with a specialist who works with UKG customers. We'll map where recognition fits in your rollout.
“It’s not a transactional experience. It’s a relational one.”Kendall Carroll, UKG
FAQ
Quick answers
What is UKG Talk?
UKG's frontline communication tool. It lets employees without a work email chat, see announcements and celebrate wins inside the UKG mobile app, where they already clock in and check schedules.
How does Guusto work with UKG Talk?
Every gift and shoutout sent in Guusto posts to the UKG Talk feed in real time, under a dedicated Guusto integration account, so the team sees it without leaving UKG. Setup takes about 15 minutes and needs a UKG WFM tenant with Talk activated plus a Guusto Essential plan or higher.
Which UKG products does Guusto integrate with?
Six: UKG Talk, a UKG Pro home page widget and a UKG Pro WFM custom tile for recognition in the flow of work, plus daily employee data syncs with UKG Pro, UKG Ready and UKG Pro WFM that auto-enroll new hires and automate birthday and work anniversary recognition.
Does employee recognition reduce turnover?
Yes. Gallup found well-recognized employees are 45% less likely to have left two years later, and 26% of frontline workers in UKG's 2025 study named a lack of recognition as a reason they'd quit.
How do you make the case to leadership?
Tie recognition to the numbers they already track. Report recognition reach alongside 90-day and 12-month turnover by site.
How do you measure frontline recognition?
Track the share of frontline employees recognized each month, how many milestones are recognized on the day, and turnover for recognized vs. not-yet-recognized employees.
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