At Camunda, we believe that recognition is more than just acknowledging good work. It's about celebrating the unique contributions, behaviours, skills, and achievements of our Camundi that drive our company's success. We define recognition as the genuine expression of appreciation for behaviours, efforts, and results that align with our F.A.I.T.H. values and support our strategic goals.

CamundiKudos is Camunda's framework for meaningful recognition, designed to create a positive flywheel effect where appreciation becomes a natural and integral part of our daily interactions.

toolbox  Recognition toolkit:

Tier

Category

Platform

When to Use / Criteria

Financial Value

Policy Limit

Approach

Shoutouts

CONTINUOUS

Leapsome (Praise)

Peer-to-peer thanks, daily excellence, quick wins, and living F.A.I.T.H. values.

Emotional Salary

Unlimited (Use often!)

Syncs to Slack #shoutouts. Crucial for documenting impact for growth and development.

Spot Awards

SIGNIFICANT

HiBob

Taking ownership of challenges, process improvements, or meaningful difference to team goals.

€/$/£ 200 (Gross)

Max 2 per person / year

Manager-initiated via Bob. Best for moments of high ownership and demonstration of Camunda Values.

Exceptional Achievement

TRANSFORMATIVE

HiBob

Company-wide transformation, strategic projects, or major results across multiple teams.

€750 – €4,000 (Based on impact tier)

Max 1 per person / year

Requires SLT approval. Reserved for results that shift the needle significantly in our One Goal.

One Goal Awards

ANNUAL

Q4 Survey + SLT Review

The highest honor for transformative contributions to our global mission and category leadership.

Individual: €2000

Team: €5000 each

Once per year (Q4)

Peer-nominated via the Q4 survey. Validated by the L-Group and SLT for strategic impact.

Note: Details can be found below!  

🏆 CamundiKudos: Our Recognition Approach

The "Emotional Salary"

Recognition at Camunda is more than a "nice to have"—it is our Emotional Salary2. It is the non-monetary reward that makes work deeply satisfying, connects our global remote team, and reinforces our One Goal.

Five Pillars of Great Recognition

To make your kudos impactful, ensure it is:

  • Timely: Shared promptly
  • Specific: Linked to a particular action or result
  • Personalized: Tailored to the individual’s contributions
  • Value-Aligned: Connected to our F.A.I.T.H. values
  • Meaningful: Delivered with authentic impact in mind

Why It Matters

For ManagersFor Individual Contributors


Morale & Productivity: Boosts team drive



Motivation: Increases job satisfaction



Cohesion: Strengthens loyalty in a remote world



Clarity: Provides feedback on what excellence and success looks like



Growth: Supports retention and career development



Connection: Deepens ties with peers and leadership.

Detailed Award Guidelines:

Note: If a spot recognition/exceptional achievement award is submitted, but approvers request the award category or justification be updated or expanded, only a single re-submission will be permitted. 

A] Praise (AKA Shoutouts!):


Description:

Share Praise via Leapsome to highlight positive impact and wins. This recognition will automatically post to the #shoutouts Slack channel, ensuring company-wide visibility while being permanently recorded and available in Leapsome for the development and reconition of the Camundi you are acknowledging. 

Purpose:

Recognize and reinforce behaviors and achievements that exemplify our F.A.I.T.H. values and create meaningful impact for the team, department, or company

Frequency:

Ongoing, as deserving actions or behaviours are observed

Eligibility:

All Camundi are eligible to give and receive Shoutouts. We encourage all managers to regularly celebrate their directs

Nomination Criteria:

Scope: Contributions within the Camundis's regular job scope that go above and beyond expectations

Impact: Positive impact on the individual, team, or department's productivity, morale, or collaboration

Examples:

  • Consistently delivering high-quality work under tight deadlines(Focus)
  • Proactively offering to help a colleague or sharing knowledge (Talent, Integrity)
  • Bringing a positive, humorous attitude to team interactions (Humor)

Award Mechanism:

Primary Platform: Recognition is shared as Praise within the Leapsome Instant Feedback module.


Slack Integration: All Praise shared in Leapsome automatically cross-posts to the #shoutouts Slack channel, ensuring company-wide visibility and immediate celebration.


Performance Tracking: Unlike standard Slack messages, Leapsome Praise is permanently logged to an Camundis profile and will be directly accessible during Performance Reviews to support fair and data-driven evaluations.


Accessibility: Camundi can give Shoutouts directly via the Leapsome web interface (logged in through Okta) or using the Leapsome Slack integration for real-time recognition.

Process:

Via Leapsome Web: Navigate to the Instant Feedback module, click "Give Praise," and select The Camundi.

Via Slack Integration: Use the Leapsome Slack shortcut to send praise directly from your chat window! Wherever you are type in /leapsome and select the option of praise. 

Log in to Leapsome via Okta to explore the full Praise Wall and history!

B] Spot Recognition Awards:


Description:

Spot Recognition Awards are ad-hoc manager nominations that acknowledge significant contributions or achievements that align with Camunda's values and goals, and have a notable impact on team or department objectives.

Purpose:

Acknowledge significant contributions or achievements that demonstrates behaviours aligned to Lean Camunda and F.A.I.T.H values

This award is not for:

  • Results of a project or goal with general expected outcome
  • Form of retention reward/counteroffer
  • Additional compensation to increase overall pay
  • Recognition for recurring projects/work

Frequency:

  • Monthly, as deserving contributions or achievements are completed.
  • Nominations will be reviewed in bulk during the last week of each month, assessed against equality metrics, and then approved by L-group.
  • Camundi are not eligible to receive more than 2 Spot Recognition Award per calendar year

Value (gross):EUR/USD/GBP

200

Eligibility:

All Camundi are eligible to receive Spot Recognition Awards, as nominated by their manager

Nomination Criteria:

Scope: Consistent demonstration of F.A.I.T.H. values through actions and achievements that positively impact team or department objectives

Impact: Significant, measurable impact on team or department performance, efficiency, or goal achievement

Examples: 

  • Taking full ownership of customer escalations through to resolution
  • Consistently delivering high-quality customer demos that convert prospects
  • Proactively improving team processes without being asked
  • Running effective knowledge sharing sessions that upskill the team
  • Taking initiative to learn new skills and applying them to benefit the team
  • Providing transparent project updates including early risk identification
  • Maintaining documentation that noticeably improves team efficiency
  • Successfully juggling multiple priorities while maintaining quality
  • Keeping the team motivated and positive during challenging projects
  • Creating an environment where teammates feel comfortable contributing
  • Taking ownership of mistakes and implementing preventive solutions
  • Stepping up to effectively mentor new team members
  • Consistently delivering on commitments to customers and teammates
  • Finding constructive solutions to issues while maintaining team spirit

Award Mechanism:

Announcement in team meeting and payout via payroll in the next available cycle post approval

Process:

Manager request:

  1. Navigate to the Bob profile of your direct report > Actions > Update profile > CamundiKudos Request (Spot Recognition)
    1. Note: Requests will be processed once a month, in the last week of the month
      1. Select "Spot Recognition Award" from the dropdown under Award Program
      2. Add an effective date:
          1.  should be added as the 1st of the following month
          2. i.e., A manager who makes a request on June 3rd, should put July 1st as the effective date
          3. Cutoff: All awards submitted from 1-23rd of the month will be processed by Total Rewards between 24-month end. Awards submitted after this date will only be processed along with the subsequent batch
      3. Add a detailed justification

          1. Provide a detailed explanation of why you believe the nominee deserves this award. Focus on the scope of their contributions and the impact they have made. These are behaviours we want to encourage more of in our teams and across Camunda.

      4. Add the local award value
          1. refer to this table to correctly add the award value in the Camundis local currency; 
            1. inc = USD 200
            2. Ltd = GBP 200
            3. GmbH = EUR 200
            4. Remote.com = EUR 200 but must be in the currency of the country, refer to the table below for the exact value
            5. PTE= refer to table below for local award values (currently SGD 262)


Approval Flow:

  1. 1-23 of each month:
    1. Manager enters nomination
    2. PBP reviews award for justification against criteria
  2. 24-27 of each month (3 days):
    1. Total Rewards and PBP review in bulk during the last week of the month and approve 
    2. Total Rewards checks that the Camundi has not already received 2 awards in the calendar year
    3. Total Rewards checks that the amount added is correct and aligned with nominee country
    4. Total Rewards conducts an equality check, and shares with PBPs for review/flags
    5. Total Rewards will determine budget availability and flag for FP&A + Divisional leader as needed
    6. Total Rewards will then approve/reject awards in Bob
  3. 27 to month end of each month (±3-4 days)
    1. Second-level managers are responsible for reviewing and providing final approval for CamundiKudos nominations that have been vetted by PBP and Total Rewards. Timely approvals are essential to ensure a smooth process and prompt award distribution. When reviewing nominations, consider alignment with program criteria, impact and scope of contributions, and consistency across nominations.
      1. Expect to spend 30-60 min per month on this task- a recurring calendar block on a specific day at the end of the month could be helpful. 
    2. The manager will then be notified by a Bob task of the approval, and be requested to inform the Camundi
    3. Payroll will receive an email notification of the award to ensure this is added to the relevant payroll (to note, this is present in the payroll table). 

Management:

  • Total Rewards will monitor program utilization as well as conduct equality checks.
  • FP&A will receive a report which details monthly program utilisation

C] Exceptional Achievement Awards:


Description:

Organizational Excellence

Recognize significant achievements that transform how Camunda operates, competes, or delivers value to customers or our teammates. These awards celebrate work that creates lasting impact across multiple teams and directly advances our goal of category leadership

Strategic Excellence

Major achievements that significantly advance Camunda's strategic goals, such as expanding our market presence, driving operational excellence, or enhancing our global remote team's

Collaborative Excellence

Notable achievements that drive meaningful improvements or results across multiple teams or departments, contributing to Camunda's continuous growth and success.

Purpose:

Recognize extraordinary achievements that have a substantial, cross-functional impact and significantly advance Camunda's strategic objectives as a business

This award is not for:

  • Recognition of overall good performance
  • Form of retention reward/counteroffer
  • Additional compensation to increase overall pay
  • General teamwork recognition
  • Recognition for recurring projects

Frequency:

  • Rare, as deserving, high-impact achievements are completed
  • Camundi are not eligible to receive more than 1 one Award per calendar year and significant justification will be needed if more than one nomination is received within 12 months of the last award.

Value: (gross)EUR/USD/GBP

Organizational Excellence

4000

Strategic Excellence

2000

Collaborative Excellence

750

Eligibility:

All Camundi are eligible to receive Exceptional Achievement Awards, as nominated by their manager

Nomination Criteria:

Organizational Excellence

Scope: Achievements that fundamentally change Camunda's market position or how we operate as a company. These contributions create substantial, measurable impact that enhances our category leadership and will benefit Camunda for years to come.

Impact: Creates lasting company-wide transformation with clear metrics of success.

Strategic Excellence

Scope: Strategic projects or innovations that involve multiple departments and deliver substantial, measurable results aligned with Camunda's key objectives.

Impact: Significant, quantifiable impact on Camunda's performance, efficiency, or competitive position, such as entering new markets, optimizing critical processes, or implementing impactful employee engagement initiatives.

Collaborative Excellence

Scope: Cross-functional initiatives or projects that involve several teams and deliver tangible, measurable benefits for the involved areas.

Impact: Considerable, demonstrable impact on the performance, collaboration, or goal achievement of the involved teams or departments, such as improving key metrics, streamlining workflows, or fostering innovation.

Examples (not exhaustive and all levels are available across all departments):

Organizational Excellence

  • Leading our company's category creation initiative, resulting in formal recognition from major analyst firms and positioning us as a category leader
  • Developing and launching a comprehensive go-to-market framework that unifies multiple divisions and creates measurable improvement in enterprise sales effectiveness
  • Creating a new technical framework that becomes foundational to our product strategy and thought leadership, leading to significant enterprise customer adoption
  • Implementing a company-wide operational transformation that fundamentally changes how we scale, reducing costs while improving effectiveness

Strategic Excellence

  • Driving the successful launch of our product on a new cloud platform, managing both technical implementation and vendor relationships
  • Leading a services team to exceed annual booking targets by 30%, while implementing new service offerings that improve scalability
  • Redesigning audit processes that cut completion time by 50% while implementing sustainable improvements for future audits
  • Creating comprehensive performance benchmarks that directly influence product improvements and sales success
  • Developing new enablement programs that measurably improve sales team effectiveness

Collaborative Excellence

  • Leading the implementation of a new procurement system, collaborating across Finance, Legal, and IT to improve efficiency
  • Creating and implementing a new learning program that enhances manager skills and effectiveness across multiple departments
  • Redesigning onboarding processes that improve new hire effectiveness while reducing administrative overhead
  • Taking ownership of cross-team initiatives that significantly improve operational efficiency while maintaining regular responsibilities
  • Creating a new bug reporting process that cuts resolution time in half
  • Developing a new demo approach that increases technical win rates by 20%

Award Mechanism:

Awards are personal, and we do not expect managers to announce these or share broadly. Payout will take place via payroll in the next available cycle

Process:

Manager request:


  1. Navigate to the Bob profile of your direct report> Actions > Update profile > CamundiKudos Request (Exceptional Achievement)
      1. Select the award level from the dropdown under Award Program
        • EAA- Organizational Excellence
        • EAA- Strategic Excellence
        • EAA- Collaborative Excellence
      2. Add an effective date:
          1.  should be added as the 1st of the following month (dates selected that are not aligned with this date will be rejected for re-submission). Please allow 2 weeks for all approvals to flow through the system, so select an effective date which makes sense here
          2. e.g.,
            1. i.e., A manager who makes a request on June 3rd, should put July 1st as the effective date
            2. i.e., A manager who makes a request on June 15th, should put July 1st as the effective date
            3. i.e., A manager who makes a request on June 23rd, should put August 1st as the effective date
          3. All awards will be processed on a rolling basis and not in bulk as with the spot recognition award
      3. Add a detailed justification

          1. Provide a detailed explanation of why you believe the nominee deserves this award. Focus on the scope of their contributions and the impact they have made

            • EAA- Organizational Excellence

              • Scope: Transformative initiatives that span the entire organization and fundamentally elevate Camunda's competitive advantage or industry standing.

                Impact: Game-changing, measurable impact on Camunda's long-term success, such as establishing clear category leadership, achieving unprecedented revenue growth, or revolutionizing our product offerings.

            • EAA- Strategic Excellence

              • Scope: Strategic projects or innovations that involve multiple departments and deliver substantial, measurable results aligned with Camunda's key objectives.

                Impact: Significant, quantifiable impact on Camunda's performance, efficiency, or competitive position, such as entering new markets, optimizing critical processes, or implementing impactful employee engagement initiatives.

            • EAA- Collaborative Excellence

              • Scope: Cross-functional initiatives or projects that involve several teams and deliver tangible, measurable benefits for the involved areas.

                Impact: Considerable, demonstrable impact on the performance, collaboration, or goal achievement of the involved teams or departments, such as improving key metrics, streamlining workflows, or fostering innovation.



            1. Add the local award value
                1. refer to this table to correctly add the award value in the Camundis local currency; 



Approval Flow:

  1. Manager enters nomination
  2. Total Rewards and PBP review and approve (determine if an award has been received in the past 12 months)
  3. Second-Level manager approves
  4. SLT Member approves
  5. Award is added to next available payroll following final approvals

Management:

  • Total Rewards will monitor program utilization, and add each award to a budget tracker 
  • Quarterly reporting to FP&A

D] One Goal Awards: Annually during kickoff!

Process:

Complete the nomination for a team/individual using this form: Nomination Form - One Goal Awards 2026 

Timeline

December

Week of December 8:

  • Program announcement
  • Communication of timeline and process

Week of December 15 (4 weeks):

  • Nomination period opens (December 15)
  • Nomination submissions
  • Manager support and guidance
  • Nomination period closes (January 9)

Week of January 12:

  • L-group review of nominations
  • Nominations are still blind and reviewed by department batches
  • Finalist selection

Week of January 19:

  • SLT review of nominations and selection of finalists
  • Organising committee equity review

Kickoff Week (January 26-30):

  • Winner announcements
  • Award ceremony on January 29
  • Success story sharing

Selection Process

The selection process follows a two-tier approach to ensure fair representation and recognition across Camunda while maintaining high standards for impact and achievement.

Selection Committee Structure and tasks

  1. Initial Review: L-Group Members (Blind review)
    • Review and shortlist nominations from their departments
    • Ensure nominations meet quality and impact criteria
    • Provide departmental context and validation
  2. Final Approval: SLT (non-blind)
    • Review L-Group recommendations
    • Make final selection decisions
    • Ensure alignment with company strategy and goals
  3. Organizing Committee: Company Productivity (Operationalisation + Communication) & Total Rewards (equity + framework) teams
    • Manage award process end-to-end
    • Conduct equality checks
    • Ensure fair distribution across departments
    • Validate eligibility requirements
    • Coordinate communication and execution

 


Description:

Individual One Goal Award

This award recognizes an individual who drives measurable business impact that clearly advances our goals. A winning nominee is a champion for our "One Goal" focus, consistently prioritizing work that helps us win our category. Most importantly, they embody our F.A.I.T.H. values in action, showing integrity, ambition, and a "do what it takes" mindset while being a positive force for their team.

Team One Goal Award

This award recognizes a cross-functional team that achieved more together than any single department could have alone. A winning team has moved the needle on our category leadership goal through their collective work, creating a significant and measurable impact on our market position or customer value. They have showcased our Lean Principles in action by operating with a clear focus and making effective decisions to drive success

Purpose:

The One Goal Awards are our most prestigious annual recognition, celebrating the Camundi who have made the most significant contributions to our North Star. Announced during our annual Kickoff week, these awards honor ten individuals and two cross-functional teams who have truly embodied our F.A.I.T.H. values and Lean Camunda principles to drive our company forward.

Frequency:These awards take place annually, aligned with our Camunda Kickoff week. 

Value:

(gross)EUR

Individual One Goal Awards

2000

Team One Goal Award

5000 (split equally among members)

Eligibility:

Who Can Nominate?

  • Nominations are open to all Camundi to nominate peers, direct reports, managers, or colleagues from other departments.
  • Any Camundi can nominate a cross-functional team
  • Self-nominations are not accepted for individual awards
  • Teams must include members from at least two departments
  • Cross-departmental nominations are encouraged (e.g., someone in finance nominating someone in products)

Role Eligibility

  • Primary Focus: Individual Contributors and First-Line Managers
  • Limited Eligibility: Senior Managers (requires exceptional justification)
  • Not Eligible: VPs and above
  • Total Awards: 10 individual awards + 2 team awards

Level Distribution Target

  • Individual Contributors: 60-70%
  • First-Line Managers: 20-30%
  • Senior Managers: 10% maximum (exceptional cases only)
  • The organizing team will conduct an equality check to ensure fair distribution

 

What makes a winning individual/team?

Individual One Goal Awards

A winning individual is someone who drives significant, measurable business impact toward our category leadership goal, while exemplifying our F.A.I.T.H. values and Lean Principles in everything they do.

A great nomination will bring this definition to life with specific examples. While the best nominations tell a unique story, here are some examples of the types of behaviors and impact that we celebrate with this award.

What does a winning individual look like in action?

They focus on what matters 

    • An engineer champions architectural decisions that significantly improve our competitive position.

    • A content strategist overhauls our messaging to clearly differentiate our category leadership.

    • A legal counsel streamlines contract terms to accelerate enterprise deals while managing risk

They have a "Do What It Takes" Mindset 

    • A sales engineer creates an innovative demo approach that dramatically improves win rates.

    • A customer success manager develops a new onboarding approach that accelerates time-to-value for our customers.

    • A product manager pivots feature priorities based on critical enterprise customer feedback to deliver a better outcome.

They Demonstrate Performance Impact 


    • A Total Rewards analyst implements a new benefits program that markedly improves employee satisfaction and retention.

    • A field marketing manager exceeds pipeline targets while reducing event spend.

    • An account executive consistently exceeds their quota while maintaining premium pricing.

They Act with Humor and Humility 


    • A tech lead maintains composure and focus during production incidents, keeping the atmosphere constructive and calm.

    • A manager creates psychological safety by modeling calm, authentic leadership during organizational changes.

Team One Goal Award

For the purposes of this recognition program, a team is defined as:

  • A cross-functional group of individuals (regardless of department or reporting structure) who collaborate directly on achieving a specific goal, project, or customer outcome. 
  • The team should be clearly tied to delivering measurable impact through their collective effort.

Examples include:

    • Account teams (Sales, CSM, Productivity working together on customer success) 
    • Project teams assembled for specific initiatives.

A winning team is a cross-functional powerhouse that delivers an exceptional outcome no single department could achieve alone, demonstrably advancing our "One Goal". 

What does a winning team look like in action?

They Demonstrate Cross-Functional Excellence


    • A team combining Product, Engineering, and Customer Success delivers a groundbreaking feature, or service that significantly impacts customer adoption, retention or expansion.

    • A cross-functional team redesigns our enterprise sales motion, combining Sales, Marketing, and Product Marketing to significantly increase our win rates against competitors.

    • A team from Finance, Legal, and Sales Operations streamlines our enterprise contract process, reducing time-to-close by 50% while maintaining compliance.

They Drive Category Leadership Impact


    • Developing a unique product capability that establishes Camunda as the clear choice for enterprise customers.

    • Creating a category-defining thought leadership campaign that positions Camunda as the authority in process orchestration.

They Put Lean Camunda Principles into Action


    • Rapidly pivoting a technical architecture based on enterprise customer feedback, leading to better outcomes with fewer resources.

    • Quickly adapting a sales strategy based on competitive intelligence, resulting in higher win rates.

They Achieve Measurable Business Impact 

    • Achieving a 25% increase in enterprise adoption while reducing implementation time by 40%.

    • Increasing enterprise pipeline generation by 35% while reducing the cost per lead.

    • Improving customer health scores by 40% while scaling the number of accounts per CSM

Nomination Criteria:

A great nomination tells a powerful and concise story of impact. Please structure your justification to cover the following key points:

  • The Situation: Briefly describe the challenge or opportunity. What was the business context?

  • The Action(s): Describe the specific, critical actions the individual or team took. What did they do that was so effective, innovative, or exemplary?

  • The Result(s): Clearly state the measurable impact. Quantify it where possible (e.g., increased revenue, improved efficiency, time saved) and explain how it advanced our "One Goal" of category leadership.

  • The Value Connection: Briefly explain how their actions and results embodied our Camunda values.

Award Mechanism:

Nominations are open to all Camundi, will be short listed by L-group, and then final decisions are made by SLT. The announcement of the winners will take place on the last night of the annual Kickoff



DRI
Wesley Hattingh 
DRTPeople Experience

  • No labels