Creating and Managing Nomination Programs

Use Nomination Programs to collect nominations, run approval and voting rounds, recognize final winners, and let every nominee—even those who don’t win—know they were nominated and why, so everyone feels seen and appreciated.

1. Value of Nomination Programs
2. Creating a Nomination Program
   • Settings Tab
   • Round Management Tab
   • Program Questions Tab
   • Nominations Tab
   • Open Nominations Button
3. Adding the Nominations Widget to the Homepage
4. Managing Nominations & Round Management
   • Controlling the Nomination Rounds
   • Approval Setup
   • Voting Setup
   • Multiple Rounds
   • Ending Rounds
5. Finalizing Winners and Sending Recognitions
   • Final Results Tab
   • Recognizing Winners
   • Notifying Nominees Who Did Not Win
6. Reporting on Nominations
7. Implications and Things to Consider
8. FAQ

Value and Impact of Nomination Programs

Nomination Programs help you:

• Gather nominations from a wide group of employees.
• Use approvals and voting rounds to narrow down nominees.
• Recognize winners with awards.
• Notify non-winners that they were nominated and share key nomination details.
• Add a structured way to run contests, awards, and peer nominations.
• Give clear visibility into nominations, approvers, and voting rounds.
• Automate notifications and recognitions for both winners and nominees.

This keeps your programs transparent, fair, and engaging for your whole company.

Creating a Nomination Program

Use these steps to create a Nomination Program from start to finish.

1. Log in to your Awardco platform.
2. On the homepage, select the “Admin” button at the bottom of the left navigation menu.
3. From the left navigation menu, click “Recognition,” “Programs,” then “Nomination Programs.”
4. Select “Create Nomination Program,” name the program, and select “Create Program”.

Settings Tab

Upon adding the Nomination Program, the General Tab will display the complete list of settings.

General Settings

• Program Name
• Program Description: Brief description to help users identify the program (125-character limit).
• ‘Learn More’ Link Message: Text shown when users select "learn more" for program information (2,000-character limit).
• Program Cover Image: Upload a header image for the program; recommended dimensions are 1200x600 px and 50MB in size.
• Program Feed Banner: Use a 1200x300 image for the recognition in the feed. Ideal for distinguishing recognitions, this can be customized with icons.

Nomination Rules

• Recipient Configuration: Determine if only individuals, groups, or both groups and individuals can be nominated. 
  • If Groups is selected, set the minimum and maximum amount of individuals per group. 
• Toggle between yes/no to allow a person to nominate themselves.
• Toggle between yes/no to allow a person to nominate the same person multiple times.
• Enter the number of nominations an individual can give or select “Unlimited Nominations.”

Nomination Eligibility

• Giver Eligibility
  • Select “Everyone” to allow all users to give recognitions.
  • Select “Limit Givers” to define eligible users by:
    • Users: Specify individual users.
    • Metadata: Define eligibility using metadata tags, e.g., users with "VP" or "Manager" titles, or users tagged as "Employee" in one category and "Part-time" in another.
• Recipient Eligibility
  • Select “Everyone” to allow all users to receive recognitions.
  • Select “Limit Recipients” to define eligible recipients by Users or Metadata, using similar logic as above.
    • Select “Same as Giver” when working with metadata to match recipients to the same metadata group as eligible givers.

Winner Award Settings

• Select the Budget the points will pull from to be awarded to the winner.
• Select the Award Network that the points will be associated with.
• Allow Custom Amounts: This setting is read-only and cannot be adjusted. It is there to inform that, when recognizing winners, the nomination program administrators are able to enter a custom point amount at that time.
• Program Feed Banner: Unlike the other General Program Feed Banner, his image will appear only on the winner's recognition that is posted to the feed.
  • Use a 1200x300 image for the recognition in the feed. Ideal for distinguishing recognitions, this can be customized with icons.

Notification Settings

• Select the email template for winners.
• Select the email template for nominee notifications. This notification can be sent to all nominees, including winners.
  • Only nominees who are manually removed from the nomination program by an admin will not receive a notification.

NOTE: We recommend starting from the standard Recognition email template for both winner and nominee notifications, then adjusting the content to fit your specific nomination program.

Round Management Tab

Nomination Programs support round management, which lets you run multiple rounds of approvals and voting. 

• Voting
  • Deciders select a set number of individuals from the group of nominees they are assigned, helping narrow down nominees in a more competitive way.
  • Voter assignment is managed on the Nominations page for each specific round and is assigned manually by the nomination program admin.
  • When the admin starts the round, they define how many nominations each voter must select to move forward.

*Example image of what a review will see for a voting round

• Approval
  • Simple pass / fail step.
  • The approver decides if a nomination moves forward or stops.
    • Approvers are either automatically the supervisor of the nominee or manually selected by the Nomination Program Administrator.

*Example image of what a review will see for an approval round

For Round Management, different types of rounds can be run (for example, first-round approvals and second-round voting) by selecting the “Add Round” button. There is no limit to the number of rounds, but 2–3 rounds are ideal.

Program Questions Tab

The primary question is “Why do you want to nominate this person?” You can modify the text of this open-ended question for your program, but it cannot be reordered and will always appear first after the nominator selects whom they want to nominate. The “Who are you nominating?” user search question is already included by default, so you do not need to add an extra User Selection question just to pick the nominee; only use User Selection if you need an additional user-based question elsewhere in your form.

Click “Add Question” to create questions for your survey. You can choose from the following types:

• Short Answer: Prompts concise written responses.
  • Enter the Question Text.
  • Check the Participant’s Answer is Required box if applicable.
  • Click “Save.”
  • Note: The character limit for a short answer is 600.
    
    
    
     
• Long Answer: Invites detailed written responses.
  • Enter the Question Text.
  • Check the Participant’s Answer is Required box if necessary.
  • Click “Save.”
  • Note: The character limit for a long answer is 4,000.

• Single-Select: Similar to a multiple-choice question, a Single-Select question allows only one answer.
  • Enter the Question Text.
  • Add multiple answer options by typing an answer and hitting enter.
  • Check the Participant’s Answer is Required box if necessary.
  • Click “Save.”
    
    
    
     
• Multi-Select: Allows participants to choose multiple answers.
  • Enter the Question Text and the answer options.
  • Check the Participant’s Answer is Required box if needed.
  • Click “Save.”

• User Selection: Prompts respondents to nominate a user for a specific question. NOTE: An initial user search question is already included by default, so you do not need to add an extra User Selection question just to pick the nominee; only use User Selection if you need an additional user-based question elsewhere in your form.
  • Enter the Question Text.
  • Check the Participant’s Answer is Required box if necessary.
  • Click “Save.”
     

• File Upload: Prompts respondents to upload a file.
  • Enter the Question Text.
  • Check the Participant’s Answer is Required box if necessary.
  • Click “Save.”

• Media: Prompts respondents to upload a media file.
  • Enter the Question Text.
  • Check the Participant’s Answer is Required box if necessary.
  • Click “Save.”

Reorder questions by dragging and dropping the six-dot icon next to any question, except the primary question, which cannot be reordered at this time.

Nominations Tab

This is the hub for round management once the Nomination Program is Open and running. Look at the "Managing Nominations & Round Management" section for more information on this tab.

Open Nominations Button

Selecting the “Open Nominations” button will make the program visible and actionable within the Nomination Programs widget on the home page. All eligible employees will then be able to discover the program and begin submitting their nominations. Once the nomination program is open, you’ll be able to start round 1.

NOTE: It is recommended to complete the “Adding the Nominations Program Widget on the Homepage” steps (for both desktop and mobile) before selecting “Open Nominations” to officially open the program.

Adding the Nominations Program Widget on the Homepage

The Nominations Program Widget appears in a dedicated homepage widget for maximum visibility. From the widget, employees can click to quickly access the nomination program(s).

Setting up the pinned announcement widget:

1. On the homepage, select the “Admin” button at the bottom of the left navigation menu.
2. From the left navigation menu, click “Customize” then “Homepage Editor.”
3. On the left-hand or right-hand side of the homepage editor, click “Add Content” and add “Nomination Programs.”

4. Optional, edit the widget title if desired.
5. Add the Nomination Programs widget to the mobile homepage layout as well, making sure it is visible and easy to access.

NOTE: It is recommended to move this widget closer to the top of your homepage, at least above the “Recognition Feed” widget. Ensure you also preview the widget placement on mobile homepage as well.

For more detailed instructions on customizing your layout, please refer to our Homepage Editor support article.

Managing Nominations & Round Management

To manage the nomination program and the rounds in the program access your nominations program:

1. On the homepage, select the “Admin” button at the bottom of the left navigation menu.
2. From the left navigation menu, click “Recognition,” “Programs,” then “Nomination Programs.”
3. Select the 3 dots by your nomination program and select “Edit” or select the program name to edit.

Use the “Nominations” tab to keep track of what is happening in your live program.

From here, you can:

• See all nominees in the program, filter nominations by metadata, and download a CSV file.
• Review nominated metrics, nominee metrics, and participation rate for the program.
• Share the link, or a QR code, to take individuals directly to the nomination program.
• View nominee status (for example, pending approval, in voting, winner).
• See the number of nominations each person has.
• See who is assigned for round voting or approvals for each nomination. If no approver is assigned automatically, they can be manually assigned on the specific round page.

Controlling the Nomination Rounds

Admins manually control when nominations are open and close:

• Select “Close Nominations” when you are ready to stop new entries.
• Re-open nominations if you need to accept more nominations and have not started Round 1.

Once nominations are closed, approvers and voters are assigned. Assigning of approvers and voters happens after nominations start coming in, from the Nominations tab for each round (for example, Round 1). You won’t assign approvers/voters before opening nominations, which is different from how many standard Recognition Programs are configured.

Once your approvers and voters are assigned, you can:

• Start the first round when you are ready to begin review.

NOTE: You cannot start a round until every nomination has been assigned an approver or voter.

Approval Setup

Use approvals when you want a simple “yes/no” check on nominations.

1. Choose your approval type
   • Supervisor approvers:
     • The nomination goes to the nominee’s supervisor.
   • Manual assignment:
     • Admins manually assign approvers as nominations come in. No nominee will have an assigned supervisor from the start; they must be manually assigned by the admin.
2. Assign approvers
   • Filter nominations by metadata (like department, location, or role).

   • Bulk assign approvers to save time when you have many nominations you want to assign to one person.

      

     

      

   • Make sure every nomination has an approver.
3. Review before starting the round
   • Admins see an overview of:
     • All nominations in the round.
     • Who is assigned to approve each nomination.
   • Confirm that the setup looks correct.
4. Approver experience
   • Approvers get an email when they have nominations to review.

   • They can click a link in the email to open their nominations.

      

     

      

   • For each nomination, the approver approves or denies it.

A round cannot start until all nominations in that round have an assigned approver.

Voting Setup

Use voting when you want deciders to pick a smaller group of nominees from a larger set.

1. Assign nominees to voters
   • Voting is always manually assigned.
   • Filter nominations by metadata (like department, location, or role).
   • Bulk assign voters to save time when you have many nominations.
   • Make sure every nomination has an assigned voter.
2. Set how many nominees each voter can select
   • When you select “Start Round,” you define:
     • How many nominations can each voter vote for out of the total they are assigned. In other words, limit how many of the nominations each voter can select to move to the next round.
   • Example: A voter has 10 nominees and can vote for 2 to move on.

3. Select “Start Round” to enable the voting round
   • Admins review the round setup.
   • Start the round once all nominations are assigned.
4. Voter experience

   • Voters get an email with a link to their voting list, found in their approval queue under “Management” on the homepage.

      

     

      

   • They select the allowed number of nominees from their group.

• Their choices determine which nominees move on to the next round or become finalists. Once their selection is made, they’ll select “Confirm Selections” to move nominees to the next round.

Multiple Rounds

You can have multiple rounds of approvals or voting.

• Decide the number of rounds when you create the nomination program.
• Each new round can:
  • Use a smaller pool of nominees.
  • Use either approvals or voting again.
• Rounds are like stages in a review pipeline that nominations move through. In each round, a specific group of approvers or voters reviews the nominations and decides which ones move on, so you can narrow the list step by step until you reach your final winners.
  • Can’t move to the next round unless all decision makers have made their decisions for the round. See “Ending Rounds” below if there are pending nominations. 

Ending Rounds

Once reviewer's decisions are made, the admin will close the round. The round will be finalized, and no further changes can be made after the round has ended.

If there are still pending nominations that require approval, the admin can:

• Approve remaining nomination(s)
• Deny remaining nominations(s)

Finalizing Winners and Sending Recognitions

When all rounds are complete, use the “Finalize Winners” button to finish your program.

Final Results Tab

Once all rounds are finished and the winners are finalized, a new “Final Results” tab will show in the nomination program. From the final results tab, you can:

• See the final list of winners.
• Review final status for all nominees.
• Confirm who will be recognized and celebrated.

Recognizing Winners

Use the “Final Results” tab to:

• Send recognitions for winners based on your award settings.
• Make sure winners receive:
  • Their points or awards.
  • The correct program messaging and branding.
• Can be scheduled to be sent for a later date or immediately

NOTE: There will be no “from” shown when the recognition is given

Notifying Nominees Who Did Not Win

You can still celebrate everyone who was nominated, even if they did not win.

From the final results area, you can:

• Send out all nominations so that:
  • Nominees who did not win are notified that they were nominated.
  • They can see the answer to the primary nomination question (for example, why they were nominated or what they did well).
  • NOTE: This feature notifies all nominees—including winners and anyone declined by an approver or voter; only nominees whose nominations are super-removed by an admin will not be notified.

This keeps the program positive and lets nominees know that their effort was seen. The nominations can only go out at the end of the nomination program, not during or after rounds.

NOTE: Banner image is the same for winners and those nominated. So if you wish to have them different for winners and nominators, you’ll have to manually change the image after you recognize the winners and before you share the nominations.

Reporting on Nominations

Use the “Nominations” tab in your program settings as your main reporting view.

In this tab, you can:

• See the status of each nominee (for example, pending, in review, winner, not selected).
• See the total number of nominations in the program.
• View who is assigned to each nomination or round.
• Review participation rate and other high-level metrics.
• Export or review data (as available) via a CSV file to share with leaders or track program success.

Can view winners and those who received nominations via the recognition details report. 

Implications and Things to Consider

When you set up a Nomination Program, keep these points in mind:

• Budget and awards
  • Make sure your award budget matches the number of expected winners.
  • Decide if all winners get the same award or if you will have tiers.
• Approver and voter workload
  • Do not give one approver too many nominations to review.
  • Use filters and bulk assignment to spread work fairly.
• Timeline
  • Clearly define:
    • Nomination open and close dates.
    • Each round’s start and end dates.
    • When will the winners be announced.
• Communication
  • Tell employees:
    • Who can nominate.
    • What makes a strong nomination.
    • How and when winners will be chosen.
  • Plan announcements for:
    • Program launch.
    • Nominations closing.
    • Winners and nominees notifications.
• Data and fairness
  • Use consistent criteria in your program questions.
  • Make sure approvers and voters understand what they should look for.
  • Use multiple rounds if you need more control or more review.

FAQ

Who can use Nomination Programs?

Nomination Programs are designed for Awardco Admins and Program Owners who manage recognition programs. End users see the nomination form and notifications you set up, but only admins manage rounds and results.

What is the difference between approval and voting?

Approval is a simple pass/fail decision for each nomination. Voting lets approvers choose a set number of nominees from a group, which is useful when you need to narrow down a large group to a smaller set of finalists or winners.

Can I have more than one round?
Yes. You can create multiple rounds of approvals and/or voting. You decide how many rounds you want when you set up the program.

When do nominees get notified?

On the final round, once your decision makers have made their selections and you click “Finalize Winners,” the Final Results tab will open, where you as the admin can recognize winners and send notifications to nominees.

Can I see how many people participated?
Yes. The All Nominations tab shows participation rate, total nominations, and other key metrics for your program.

For those who were nominated but not winners, what text shows up on their recognition feed?

The nominee will see the response the nominator typed for the primary question, usually “Why do you want to nominate this person?”

If you have any questions, please contact Awardco Admin Support.