O.C. Tanner Debuts “Say Thanks,” Enabling Recognition Beyond the Company

September 18, 2025 at 09:00 AM EDT

Culture Cloud’s newest feature ushers in a new era of recognition by enabling customers, clients, and patients to express gratitude

O.C. Tanner, the global leader in employee recognition and workplace culture solutions, proudly announces the launch of Say Thanks, a new feature designed to give external stakeholders – customers, patients, and clients – the opportunity to thank frontline employees.

This comes at a critical time, especially for the 80% of the world’s workforce who do not work at a desk and may not have the same opportunities to be recognized, as they are often less integrated and connected to organizational technology and communication systems than their corporate peers. Half of these workers say their organization treats them as expendable, only 30% feel seen and valued, and just 26% feel the recognition they receive is actually meaningful. Say Thanks is flipping the narrative, enabling the individuals with whom the 80% interact most often to give recognition and provide another way for them to feel valued in a meaningful way.

“This product is an exciting way for companies to enable all recognition to be captured inside and outside their walls,” said Chief Product Officer Dave Hilton. “Not only does Say Thanks broaden how recognition is shared, it also ensures frontline workers feel genuinely valued and energized by the people they serve every day.”

Say Thanks is a new feature within O.C. Tanner’s Culture Cloud platform, an employee recognition solution that helps companies appreciate great work. After a customer or other visitor interacts with an employee, they can access Say Thanks via the Culture Cloud platform or QR code on a badge, physical signage, or digitally in an email to recognize that employee. This recognition becomes visible to the employees’ manager, peers, and leaders across the company, serving as a powerful source of real-time customer insight and authentic testimonials of appreciation.

According to O.C. Tanner’s newly launched 2026 Global Culture Report, recognition from customers and direct leaders carries the greatest impact for employees, with both sources tied at 72% for meaningfulness. By comparison, peer recognition holds significance for 58% of employees. The findings highlight the powerful role that customer feedback plays in shaping employee experience. In fact, employees who regularly hear customer feedback are 2.3x more likely to say their work has purpose.

Designed with accessibility and convenience for external users in mind, Say Thanks is currently being leveraged by culture-conscious companies. For more information about O.C. Tanner’s complete recognition platform, Culture Cloud, visit octanner.com

About O.C. Tanner

O.C. Tanner is the global leader in software and services that improve workplace culture through meaningful employee recognition experiences. Our Culture Cloud employee recognition platform helps tens of millions of people thrive at work. Our team of more than 1,600 programmers, researchers, designers, client professionals, and craftspeople hail from 58 countries and speak 62 languages. Together, we create the technology, tools, and awards that help our clients shape productive work environments, drive innovation, and fuel positive business results. Learn more at octanner.com.