Building a Culture of Gratitude: How OnoeX Reimagined Peer Recognition with AI-Driven Insights

In the modern enterprise, company culture is not just a poster on the wall; it is the sum of daily interactions between employees. However, HR leaders often struggle to operationalize their core values. How do you move from abstract concepts like "Innovation" or "Teamwork" to tangible actions?

At OnoeX, we believe the answer lies in seamless, integrated experiences. We recently developed a use case that transforms the traditional Employee Recognition program from a clunky, external platform into a native, AI-enhanced experience directly within your existing HR ecosystem.

We call this concept "Values & Victory."

The Challenge: Disconnected Rewards and Generic Feedback

Most recognition programs suffer from two fatal flaws:

1. Friction: Employees have to log in to a third-party vendor site to send a "kudos," causing low adoption rates.

2. Low Quality: "Great job" is nice, but it doesn't reinforce specific behaviors. Without guidance, recognition becomes generic and loses its impact on culture.

The Solution: A Native, Intelligent Hub

Leveraging the power of Workday Extend, OnoeX designed a solution that allows employees to allocate reward dollars—integrated directly with payroll—to their peers based on specific company values.

Here is how we architected the user journey to drive engagement and quality.

1. The Values Hub: A Visual Center for Culture

Instead of a dry list of drop-down menus, we created a rich, visual "Hub." Employees are greeted with a dashboard that visualizes their available reward budget and their history of given recognition.

We treat Company Values (e.g., "Customer Obsession," "Integrity") as distinct entities, managed by HR admins. Each Value is represented by custom iconography and branding, making the experience visually immersive. Employees can browse these values just as they would browse a catalog, ensuring they align their reward with a specific cultural pillar.

2. AI-Powered Writing Coach

This is where the OnoeX solution stands apart. We integrated machine learning capabilities directly into the recognition workflow.

When an employee types a message to accompany their reward (e.g., "Thanks for helping with the project"), the system creates a feedback loop. Before submission, the user can click "Analyze Message."

• Sentiment Analysis: The application reads the text and gauges the sentiment and confidence of the message.

• Real-Time Feedback: If the message is too brief or neutral, the system prompts the user to add more detail or enthusiasm.

• Quality Control: This ensures that when an employee receives recognition, it is meaningful, specific, and culturally aligned.

3. Seamless Payroll Integration

Financial rewards should not require manual reconciliation by the finance team at the end of the month.

Our solution utilizes direct inputs to the payroll engine. When an employee sends a monetary reward (either a one-time spot bonus or a recurring monthly allocation for mentorship), the system automatically triggers the appropriate earning codes and deduction balancing in the background. It is a closed-loop system:

• For the Giver: Immediate visibility into budget utilization.

• For the Receiver: Rewards appear seamlessly on their next payslip.

• For HR/Finance: Zero manual data entry or CSV uploads.

4. Administrative Agility

We know that company initiatives change. We built the backend to allow HR administrators to easily:

• Create and Edit Values: Launching a new diversity initiative? Admins can spin up a new "Value Category" in minutes.

• Manage Assets: Update logos and descriptions for initiatives without IT support.

• Monitor Engagement: View analytics on which values are receiving the most peer support and financial allocation.

The Impact

By bringing recognition "in-house," organizations can expect:

• Higher Adoption: By removing the barrier of external logins.

• Cultural Alignment: By forcing a connection between rewards and specific company values.

• Operational Efficiency: By automating the financial flow from allocation to paycheck.

At OnoeX, we don't just build apps; we build bridges between your technology and your people strategy. Values & Victory is just one example of how we are using data and sentiment analysis to humanize the workplace.

Ready to modernize your employee experience? Contact OnoeX today to learn more about our custom Extend solutions.