OneStream Builds an Always-On Culture of Recognition with WorkTango

In 2019, OneStream had grown rapidly since its founding in 2012, with over 250 employees across nine countries. Until then, OneStream had relied heavily on in-person experiences to nurture its culture. Most organizational celebrations centered around point-in-time events rather than recognizing team or individual accomplishments. While recognition and celebrations existed in limited pockets across the company, the absence of an official employee recognition program limited organizational visibility and effectiveness. OneStream found it a challenge to provide consistent and equitable recognition across all teams and departments, and the existing manual processes would not work with the expected rapid global growth.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 sparked a transition to a remote work model, which posed a potential risk to the company’s vibrant culture. OneStream was an onsite workplace and had to transition to remote/hybrid. As the company navigated this pivotal period, OneStream sought out an Employee Recognition Platform to ensure that its growing culture of recognition not only endured but continued to evolve to meet the needs of a rapidly maturing business.

OneStream purchased WorkTango’s Recognition & Rewards software platform to help run a more consistent, equitable, and scalable employee recognition and rewards program. WorkTango met the criteria OneStream was looking for, including significantly reducing manual efforts, successfully operating and providing local rewards in all countries where employees were located, ensuring equal recognition opportunities across all departments, and increasing recognition visibility across the entire company.

OneStream rolled out WorkTango as part of a well-planned and comprehensive launch that occurred during “OneStreamer Appreciation Month” and aligned with the organization’s 10-year milestone celebration.

OneStream adopted four strategic pillars that played a pivotal role in the ultimate success of its new Employee Recognition & Rewards program:

1. Leadership Participation: OneStream strongly emphasized engaging its leaders as early WorkTango platform adopters to drive cross-organizational participation and buy-in, given leadership’s pivotal role in setting the cultural tone of the organization.
2. Tying Recognition & Incentives to Strategic Goals: The People Operations team at OneStream thoughtfully connected Employee Recognition and Incentives to desired employee behaviors within the WorkTango platform. This approach enhanced the meaning of recognition and aligned platform interactions with the company’s strategic goals, fostering a stronger corporate culture.
3. Personalizing & Customizing the Platform to Reflect the OneStream Identity: OneStream deliberately treated WorkTango’s Recognition & Rewards platform as a cultural catalyst and aligned its branding with employees’ identity as “OneStreamers.” OneStream’s People Operations team introduced the concept of “Streamies” as a branded universal currency instead of the more generic “Rewards Points.”
4. Ongoing Communication & Reminders: Post-launch, OneStream’s People Operations team consistently communicates platform updates, underscoring the importance of employee recognition and highlighting instances of employees regularly being recognized by their peers. The communication strategy unfolded through various channels, starting with reminders about WorkTango within regular monthly newsletters. The strategy continues with updates and resources regarding Recognition being shared through the company’s intranet. OneStream also shares inspiring stories by recognizing specific employees during company-wide meetings. Finally, OneStream also uses WorkTango’s Announcements feature to communicate important in-platform news and remind employees to send their points each quarter.

In the first 90 days after launching the WorkTango Recognition & Rewards platform, 52% of OneStream employees logged in to WorkTango to send recognition through the platform, demonstrating widespread engagement and adoption.

71.1% of all employee redemptions have been for additional recognition points, indicating that OneStream’s team members value the act of giving recognition to others more than receiving rewards (such as merchandise) themselves.

Between 2020 and 2023, OneStream’s headcount grew significantly and now consists of over 1,300 employees in 18 countries. WorkTango’s scalable Recognition & Rewards platform has become integral to OneStream’s dynamic and flourishing global culture.

Key metrics