One10 has highlighted frequency, timing and sincerity in a review of Incentive Research Foundation studies on workplace recognition. Its July 2025 article considers how those findings relate to the company’s own employee recognition practices.

The review draws on the IRF’s Building a Culture of Recognition and The Big Three Drivers of a Culture of Recognition reports. One10 interprets the findings as support for recognizing contributions regularly and close to the time they occur.

The original IRF survey covered 1,078 US workers in late March 2025. Its supplement reports the sincerity scores below for groups receiving recognition at different frequencies. These are self-reported group comparisons, not an experiment showing that more frequent praise causes retention. Recruitment, weighting and the sizes of the frequency groups are not disclosed. One10's separate thank-you example mixes two metrics: the original supplement gives thank-you sufficiency scores of 61 and 48, while 27 is the lower group's sincerity score. [S02] [S03]

The data behind the story

Perceived sincerity by reported recognition frequency

Late March 2025 fieldwork; One10 July 2025 commentary.

score out of 100
Sources
IRF original Big Three Drivers supplement, page1; IRF original methodology, page5

Self-reported association, not causal effects on productivity or retention. Scores are not percentages of employees. Group sizes and uncertainty are undisclosed; the never-recognized group is not a controlled intervention.

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Perceived sincerity by reported recognition frequency (score out of 100)
Categoryscore out of 100
Daily84 score out of 100
Weekly78 score out of 100
Monthly74 score out of 100
Rarely53 score out of 100
Never28 score out of 100

The company describes internal approaches including peer recognition, praise from leaders, messages through its platform and rewards such as gift cards or points. These are examples of how it says recognition is incorporated into everyday work.

One10 also emphasizes the explanation accompanying a reward. A specific acknowledgment of an employee’s contribution can give a points award or catalog selection meaning beyond its monetary value.

For hybrid and remote teams, the article identifies a need for deliberate recognition because informal office interactions may occur less often. It recommends tools that let managers and colleagues respond promptly rather than waiting for a formal review.

Choice completes the approach. One10 argues that flexible rewards can respect different employee preferences, while a wider range of people providing recognition helps appreciation become part of the working culture.