Staff recognition continues to be a vital aspect of WashU’s employee engagement. As of July 1, 2025, staff recognition programming will be updated to align with existing strategic resources. Recipients and leaders can view new program updates below.
FY26 Staff Milestone Program Details
Moving into the new fiscal year, staff and their managers will receive Workday notifications to support recognition programming in addition to our in-person spring celebrations. WashU will no longer utilize the online vendor, Awardco, for milestone gifts or retirement programming.
View what milestone recipients can expect below:
- Milestone recipients will receive an email from Workday on their anniversary beginning later this summer. Note: Make sure you customize your Workday notification settings to receive your congratulatory email on your anniversary date.
- Managers will also receive an email for their direct reports’ anniversary.
- Staff celebrating milestone anniversaries, along with their managers, will receive an invitation to a recognition event in the spring. Invitations will be emailed in March 2026.
- Recipients may choose to adopt the Zoom backgrounds (PDF) with milestone year to help celebrate this accomplishment.
Note: Faculty recognition will continue to be managed at the individual school level and by the Office of the Provost.
Recognition resources
All employees are encouraged to use the recognition resources to foster a connected community. Recognition resources include our new WashU Kudos Cards that can be printed or emailed to help celebrate and thank colleagues.
Manager toolkit and resources
Managers also have a dedicated toolkit (PDF) to help spark ideas for staff recognition. These toolkits include sample messages (.doc) and templates for recognizing important milestones, such as anniversaries, birthdays, achievements of work goals, retirement and more.
Managers can also use the Getting Started for Managers reference guide that provides holistic support for manager responsibilities in Workday.
Learn more about WashU’s staff recognition programming through the Culture and Community Hub. For question, please contact HR’s Engagement Team at HRevents@wustl.edu.