RPI Announces 2025 Best Practice Standards® Awards Recipients

Achievement Awards Group, American Airlines, Banfield Pet Hospital, General Dynamics Information Technology, Liberty Mutual Insurance, and North American Partners in Anesthesia were honored at the annual IMA Summit for successfully implementing recognition programs that follow RPI Best Practice Standards®.

AUSTIN, TX – July 16, 2025 – Recognition Professionals International (RPI) has honored six organizations with its 2025 Best Practice Standards® Awards for their use of best practices in recognizing and engaging employees. Honorees represent the recognition, travel, healthcare, technology, and insurance industries.

The RPI Best Practice Standards Awards honor organizations for implementing the RPI Best Practice Standards® into their recognition programs. They are based on knowledge gained from academic literature, professional conferences, and shared experiences in developing successful recognition programs. The standards are designed to be useful for creating and evaluating recognition programs in the public and private sectors, large and small organizations, and organizations with single or multiple locations or functions.

RPI’s 7 Best Practice Standards®:

Standard 1: Recognition Strategy
Standard 2: Recognition Roles & Responsibilities
Standard 3: Recognition Program Measurement
Standard 4: Recognition Program Communications
Standard 5: Recognition Training
Standard 6: Recognition Events & Celebrations
Standard 7: Recognition Program Change & Flexibility

Achievement Awards Group

ALL – PINNACLE AWARD

The Achievement Awards Group is awarded the Pinnacle Award for achieving all seven RPI Best Practice Standards® categories with their recognition programs: #1 – Recognition Strategy, #2 - Recognition Roles & Responsibilities, #3 – Recognition Program Measurement, #4 – Recognition Program Communications, #5 – Recognition Training, #6 – Recognition Events & Celebrations, and #7 – Recognition Program Change & Flexibility.

The Achievement Awards Group’s most recent campaign, themed “Let’s Create Magic,” is powered by their proprietary cloud-based platform, which enables real-time, inclusive recognition and seamless rewards fulfilment. To achieve program management, recognition governance is shared and defined across executive, senior and frontline leadership, role modeling accountability and program execution. Through a structured four-tier evaluation model, they can assess program effectiveness across multiple dimensions. This model blends quantitative metrics with qualitative insights from surveys and feedback mechanisms, supporting their culture of continuous improvement.

Their structured communication plan was rolled out through a multichannel, inclusive communication approach to ensure all employees – regardless of work environment – could meaningfully participate. By using a blended, cascade training model, recognition education adapts to every employee level, empowering employees and leaders with the skills, tools, and mindset essential for building a culture where recognition is meaningful, personalized, and aligned to performance. Recognition events strengthen team culture, reinforce values, celebrate personal milestones, and recognize loyalty and outstanding service. The program is designed to evolve through adjusting leadership focus areas, responding to engagement metrics, and adapting to employee feedback.

American Airlines

STANDARDS 1, 2, 7

American Airlines achieved three out of the seven RPI Best Practice Standards® categories with their recognition programs: #1 – Recognition Strategy, #2 - Recognition Roles & Responsibilities, and #7 – Recognition Program Change & Flexibility.

At American Airlines, their mission and recognition strategy are to care for people on life’s journey—not only their customers but also for the over 130,000 team members operating across 361 destinations worldwide who make that journey possible. At American Airlines, recognition is not just a program—it’s a cultural cornerstone that gives their workplace a competitive advantage.

Leaders are the advocates of their recognition philosophy. Each year, they define the organizational strategy, objectives, and operational focus, ensuring that recognition efforts align with broader business goals. The Recognition team ensures programs remain flexible, timely, and relevant, adapting to the evolving needs of the company and its people.

One key recognition program to implement this belief is the Nonstop Thanks Program, a points-based platform that empowers all team members to give and receive recognition. With a budget allocated to both leaders and team members, appreciation can be shared quickly and easily. This approach underscores the power of recognition to foster engagement, drive performance, and ensure every team member feels connected to the mission.

Banfield Pet Hospital

STANDARD 7

Guided by continuous feedback, data insights, and evolving business needs, Banfield Pet Hospital actively connects and engages with over 18,000 Associates across more than 1,000 locations in the United States, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. Through deliberate evolution, Banfield ensures every Associate can contribute meaningful feedback, reinforcing a shared sense of belonging and purpose that drives the organization forward.

Banfield was able to recognize the need to adapt their recognition strategy by identifying key signals for change, such as noticing a declining usage of their previous platform and leveraging external research to benchmark best practices. This insight-driven approach enabled them to evolve in step with their workforce.

Their collaborative review process involving key stakeholders and communication campaigns has been instrumental in shaping a more responsive and impactful recognition experience. Banfield has implemented several key improvements, including updated service award milestones and the launch of a new recognition platform designed with engagement in mind. These recognition enhancements reflect Banfield’s commitment to deliberate listening, thoughtful design, and continuous improvement, ensuring their recognition programs remain meaningful, and relevant.

General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT)

STANDARDS 1, 2, 4

General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) achieved three out of the seven RPI Best Practice Standards® categories with their recognition program Bravo!: #1 – Recognition Strategy, #2 - Recognition Roles & Responsibilities, and #4 – Recognition Program Communications.

Inspired by employee focus groups and survey feedback, GDIT updated their rewards and recognition to put employee choice and recognition at the forefront of Bravo! Their strategy for increasing engagement, retention, and supporting the overall well-being of the people was to centralize recognition under one branded platform and use a cross-functional team to leverage the development, execution, and refinement process.

Bravo! launched in stages starting February 2024. During the rollout, GDIT president demonstrated support of recognition with a video sent to all employees celebrating a milestone and encouraging participation in the program. GDIT People Managers were trained for recognition encouragement and given tools to learn more about promoting program adoption among team members.

Bravo! offers a choice in how rewards are redeemed, which was a key component in employee feedback. Their communication plan reached employees from all areas, using a mobile-friendly approach, weekly touchpoints, and direct mail. Employees could ask for help with the program using several avenues of communication. Bravo! achieved the year-end goal of 50% engagement by December 2024 at 52% and saw 20,500 e-cards sent in the first three months of launch compared to 5,000 in the same three months in 2023.

Liberty Mutual Insurance - USRM Claims & Service

STANDARD 1

The US Retail Markets (USRM) Claims & Services division of Liberty Mutual Insurance Company consists of 9,000 employees who provide essential support to customers and agents. Their recognition and reward strategy includes day-to-day, formal, and informal recognition, ensuring that employees feel seen, valued, and appreciated for their impact. E-cards, welcome kits, thank you points, huddle shout outs, anniversary milestone program, and customer service week offer frequent recognition practices to employees at all levels. Spotlight awards recognize and reward exemplifying values with gift cards or experiences as informal recognition. USRM Claims & Services offers several awards annually and quarterly with a nomination process and ceremony for those that go above and beyond normal work expectations. In 2024, 97% of formal award recipients agreed that winning motivates them, and 97% of employees who received an informal award were satisfied or very satisfied with their recognition experience.

North American Partners in Anesthesia

STANDARD 1

North American Partners in Anesthesia (NAPA) has implemented formal and informal recognition programs since 2021 to celebrate individual and team achievements that drive their mission to be the “Destination of Choice for All.” Their recognition strategy, NAPApplause, brings together multiple programs under one brand. It honors achievements and contributions through corporate recognition programs, reward programs, milestone recognition, and in-the-moment recognition. Rewards also incentivize employee growth, networking, and healthy habits. Employee engagement has been strong, with a milestone of 250 corporate award nominations submitted since 2021, and 93 Give Feedback messages shared in less than a month after the new feature launch in 2025.

Special thanks to the RPI Best Practice Awards judges who gave their time and support to make it possible to recognize and honor these organizations for their use of best practices in recognizing and engaging employees.

Judges – Jim Bittner, CRP, Centricity; Alisha Davidson, CRP, RPI Board of Directors; Emily Gatton, CRP, Engage2Excel; Scotty Glasgow, CRP, Vanderbilt University; Amy Hurley, CRP, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center; Marlene Johnson, CRP, Dash Solutions; Rachel Rump, CRP, RPI Board of Directors.

About RPI

Recognition Professionals International (RPI) is a Strategic Industry Group (SIG) within the Incentive Marketing Association. RPI is the only professional association at the forefront of workforce recognition through its sole focus on recognition innovations and education as a systematic method for improvements in the workplace. RPI members are recognition experts who practice the art of recognition at their companies and recognition solution providers who provide recognition services, tools and platforms to companies as a service (including consultation, program design and technology).

2025 Summit Awards

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR WINNERS!

The prestigious IMA Summit Awards honor the exceptional people, programs, and organizations that exemplify excellence in the incentive and recognition industries. We shine a light on achievements that inspire, impact, and elevate our community. Recipients are honored each year during the Awards Ceremony at the IMA Summit.

View All Winners