Pioneering Excellence

Madison is a global leader in employee recognition and incentives, pioneering digital programs since 1995. As an employee-owned company, we deliver recognition, events, and incentive travel solutions that strengthen culture and drive results.

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Designing Sales Meetings That Drive Business Outcomes, Not Just Attendance
Annual sales meetings often represent one of the largest internal investments an organization makes each...
employee traveling
What Actually Drives a Successful Incentive Travel Program After 20 Years in the Field
Incentive travel has never been about the destination. That may sound surprising in an industry that...
employees working together
Sustainability Without Operational Discipline Is Just Messaging
Sustainability is now standard language in meetings and incentive travel. RFPs reference ESG commitments....

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Knowledge Center

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Blog

How to Win Over Digital Natives

The makeup of the workforce is dramatically changing. In less than five years, Digital Natives will outnumber Baby Boomers. In 10 years, they will represent 70% of the talent pool. What should your company be doing now to win the attention and capture the loyalties of this group? This infographic…

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Blog

How to Retain your Millennial Employees

What are the most common assumptions about millennials in the workplace? Well, not only do they represent a higher percentage of workers in American companies than any other generation but they are also tech savvy, creative, innovative and adaptable. They are highly mobile, likely to change jobs more frequently and…

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Blog

What Most Companies Get Wrong About Employee Recognition Programs

The workforce has grown dramatically recently, yet many employee recognition programs have not. When a recognition program doesn’t evolve and grow with its employee base, it can suffer from lack of use or, even worse, it can demotivate employees. Here are six reasons your company’s recognition program is not serving…

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Blog

The 4 C’s of Onboarding Best Practices

A company finds a purple squirrel and hires her immediately. But the new employee never becomes integrated with the company, and her work is never on par with what the company expected from her. What went wrong? What practices can the company change to ensure that new employees are actually…

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Blog

Using Social Recognition to Promote “Inclusion”

In my last edition, I talked about “generational influences” and stressed that they are as important as “job roles” when optimizing employee engagement.   Thanks to countless volumes of research, HR leaders have become well schooled on the conditions that drive an employee’s commitment to the organization. Still there’s so…

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Performance Perspective

3 Things Gen Xers Want Most From a Working Experience

Born between 1965 and 1980, Gen Xers currently represent about a third of the workforce. While they are not the largest contingent in the workplace, they may very well be the most vital. Seasoned, reliable and self-assured, their ability to get the job done whether as managers, team leaders or…

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Blog

2 Ways to Deal With the Complexity of Today’s Global Workforce

In my last post, I maintained that the one thing every HR leader needs to accomplish their talent-related goals in the new year is an effective, flexible and configurable social recognition system like Maestro. After presenting its merits and detailing exactly why it is the solution for a wide range…

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Blog

The 1 Thing You Need to Accomplish Your Talent-Related Goals in 2018

Moving into the new year, HR leaders are facing an abundance of talent–related issues. Issues leading the list include: developing strategies that feed the leadership funnel, preparing to prosper in a gig economy, connecting an increasingly virtual workforce and doing so while sustaining a culture defined by appreciation, cooperation and…

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The Trust Gap: Why Employees Don’t Believe AI-Driven Decisions 
The Most Dangerous Workplace Problem Isn’t Bias — It’s Doubt Organizations are investing heavily in AI to improve decision-making. Performance reviews are becoming data-driven. Promotions are increasingly modeled. Recognition is guided by systems. The goal is clear: more fairness, more consistency, better outcomes. But something unexpected is happening.
No, Gen Z Isn’t the Least Loyal Generation — They’re the Least Tolerant of Bad Culture
A stubborn myth persists in the workplace: “Gen Z is disloyal.” They change jobs quickly. They won’t put up with hardship. They are always looking for the next opportunity. But this interpretation misses the real pattern entirely. Gen Z isn’t less loyal. They are less tolerant of broken culture.
Why Gen Z Won’t Stay Without Recognition: What This Generation Gets Right About Work
There’s a narrative circulating that Gen Z is needy — that they require constant praise, validation, or hand-holding. But research reveals something quite different. Gen Z doesn’t crave praise. They crave recognition — meaningful acknowledgment tied to effort, values, and impact. And here’s the reality: Recognition is not a Gen Z preference. It’s a human requirement Gen Z is simply more honest about.
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