---

name: recognition-rewards description: 'Recognition register: employee, reward type, category, visibility, message and points awarded. Use for employee recognition programs.' category: business risk: safe source: self source_type: self date_added: "2026-09-26" author: WHOISABHISHEKADHIKARI tags: [sme, business, operations, database, csv, notion, sql, develop] tools: [] source_repo: WHOISABHISHEKADHIKARI/sme-ops-system-builder

Recognition & Rewards

What it is: Celebrating excellence.

Overview

Works out the smallest useful Recognition & Rewards setup for the business in front of it, then builds it only when asked. The default output is a short recommendation, not a spreadsheet. Artifacts - CSV, SQL DDL, JSON Schema, Notion mapping - are produced on request, from one field list so they cannot drift apart.

Layer: Layer 5: Develop. Fits: Growth stage. Table code: n/a.

When to Use This Skill

• employee recognition
• kudos board
• reward tracker
• employee appreciation log

Also use it when the user says "celebrating excellence", or describes the same process happening in a spreadsheet, a document or someone inboxes.

Do not use it for: payroll calculation, tax filing, or legal advice. This skill produces empty templates only - it never holds or processes real employee or customer data.

How It Works

Follow the shared execution contract. The module-specific rules below define only domain fields, decisions, calculations, and safety constraints.

Step 1 - Identify intent

Read the request and pick the intent before asking anything.

• "set up" or "build" or "create" -> the user wants artifacts; go to Step 2.
• "our process is ..." or "it is in a sheet" -> the user wants to move an existing process; capture it, then Step 2.
• "is this right" or "review" or "audit" -> the user wants a check, not a build; answer from what they share.
• "how do I ..." -> advice question; answer directly and offer the build only if it helps.

Ask only if this is the highest-value missing fact; otherwise proceed without an opener:

Q: How often do you recognise people?

Step 2 - Ask only what is missing

Skip anything the user already answered, in any earlier message. Ask the rest one at a time, and stop as soon as the remaining answers would not change the output.

• Cadence - Spot or monthly? / Who gives it? / Anyone or managers?
• Reward - Points, gift or cash? / Budget? / Extra time off?
• Visibility - Public or private? / Whole company or team? / Named or anonymous?
• Current process - Anything now? / Where is it captured? / Does anyone see it?
• Outcome - What do you need? / A log, a wall or reporting?

Never invent an answer. If the user does not know, record it as unknown and carry on.

Step 3 - Hold the internal context

Hold the answers in this shape. It stays internal - it is not shown to the user unless they ask, and it never carries a value the user did not give.

module: recognition-rewards
intent: null            # setup | advice | review | fix | build | convert | export
scale: null             # Starter | Growth | Scale, only if the answer changes it
areas:
  "Cadence": null
  "Reward": null
  "Visibility": null
  "Current process": null
  "Outcome": null
requested_outputs: []   # csv | sql | json | notion | xlsx - requested formats only
confirmed_facts: []     # only what the user actually said
open_questions: []      # the unanswered ones, in the order worth asking

Step 4 - Recommend the smallest workflow

If an artifact was requested, build it after resolving essential missing facts. Otherwise give a short recommendation and offer the relevant artifact.

Recommended approach: Capture recognition as it happens, with a category so you can see what is being valued over time.

Why this one: Recognition programmes fail when entry is effortful. One line at the time of the event is enough; monthly retrospectives are never filled in.

Workflow: Recognition given → Category → Wall or summary → Monthly review

Step 5 - Build only on request

Once the user asks for it, derive the fields from the confirmed context and emit the requested artifacts. For machine-readable text, keep prose outside the data; for files, provide a usable link. Report material validation failures or limitations separately.

A selected Notion output is rendered by notion-manual-import, so route the Notion step there. When the user selects Notion, hand that step to @notion-manual-import: it holds the CSV, the property mapping, the import steps and the verification checklist, and it renders the Field Reference below instead of defining a table of its own. Do not restate the mapping here and do not improvise the import steps. Manual CSV and mapping outputs need no connection. For requested workspace changes, follow the shared contract: verify actual tool access and the target before writing. A user saying "connected" is not tool evidence. Never ask for a Notion password or token.

For an Excel-compatible CSV, use UTF-8 with a byte order mark so Excel opens the text correctly. A CSV is not an .xlsx workbook; create .xlsx only when the user requests a workbook. A CSV carries no types, so after it, name the columns that need a number, date or currency format applied.

Recognition Title,Category,Date,Department,Given By,Message,Month,Notes,Points Awarded,Rec-Rwd ID,Recognised Employee,Reward Type,Visibility,Year
Won the Northwind pitch,Team,2026-01-15,Delivery,Karan Malhotra,Your probation review is due on 28 Feb. Book a slot with your manager.,2026-03,February awards sent; two nominations were duplicates of the same contribution.,50,,Aarav Sharma,Spot Award,Company-wide,2026

CREATE TABLE recognition_rewards (
  recognition_title VARCHAR(255),
  category VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
  date DATE NOT NULL,
  department VARCHAR(255),
  given_by VARCHAR(255),
  message VARCHAR(255),
  month VARCHAR(255),
  notes TEXT,
  points_awarded NUMERIC NOT NULL,
  rec_rwd_id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  recognised_employee VARCHAR(255),
  reward_type VARCHAR(100) NOT NULL,
  visibility VARCHAR(255),
  year VARCHAR(255),
  created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW(),
  updated_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT NOW()
);

{
  "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
  "title": "Recognition & Rewards",
  "type": "object",
  "additionalProperties": false,
  "properties": {
      "Recognition Title": { "type": "string" },
      "Category": { "type": "string" },
      "Date": { "type": "string", "format": "date" },
      "Department": { "type": "string" },
      "Given By": { "type": "string" },
      "Message": { "type": "string" },
      "Month": { "type": "string" },
      "Notes": { "type": "string" },
      "Points Awarded": { "type": "number" },
      "Rec-Rwd ID": { "type": "integer" },
      "Recognised Employee": { "type": "string" },
      "Reward Type": { "type": "string" },
      "Visibility": { "type": "string" },
      "Year": { "type": "string" }
  },
  "required": [
      "Category",
      "Date",
      "Points Awarded",
      "Reward Type"
  ]
}

| CSV column | Notion property | Set after import |
|---|---|---|
| Recognition Title | Title | Use as the database title |
| Category | Select (add options after import) | Convert to Select, add options: "Team", "Individual", "Department", "Company", "Values" |
| Date | Date | Convert to Date |
| Department | Text | Leave as Text |
| Given By | Text | Leave as Text |
| Message | Text | Leave as Text |
| Month | Text | Leave as Text |
| Notes | Text | Leave as Text |
| Points Awarded | Number | Convert to Number |
| Rec-Rwd ID | Text (preserve source ID) | Keep imported IDs as Text; optionally add a separate Unique ID property |
| Recognised Employee | Text | Leave as Text |
| Reward Type | Select (add options after import) | Convert to Select, add options: "Spot Award", "Gift", "Voucher", "Cash", "Time Off", "Recognition" |
| Visibility | Text | Leave as Text |
| Year | Text | Leave as Text |

The rows above are documentation examples only. Emit empty templates unless the user explicitly requests examples. Money stays currency, dates stay date, and anything pointing at another table stays relation.

Field Reference

#	Field	Type	SQL	JSON Schema	Notion	CSV example
1	Recognition Title	text	VARCHAR(255)	string	Text	Won the Northwind pitch
2	Category	select	VARCHAR(100)	string	Select (add options after import)	Team
3	Date	date	DATE	string, format: date	Date	2026-01-15
4	Department	text	VARCHAR(255)	string	Text	Delivery
5	Given By	text	VARCHAR(255)	string	Text	Karan Malhotra
6	Message	text	VARCHAR(255)	string	Text	Your probation review is due on 28 Feb. Book a slot with your manager.
7	Month	text	VARCHAR(255)	string	Text	2026-03
8	Notes	long_text	TEXT	string	Text	February awards sent; two nominations were duplicates of the same contribution.
9	Points Awarded	number	NUMERIC	number	Number	50
10	Rec-Rwd ID	id	SERIAL PRIMARY KEY	integer	Text (preserve source ID)	(blank)
11	Recognised Employee	text	VARCHAR(255)	string	Text	Aarav Sharma
12	Reward Type	select	VARCHAR(100)	string	Select (add options after import)	Spot Award
13	Visibility	text	VARCHAR(255)	string	Text	Company-wide
14	Year	text	VARCHAR(255)	string	Text	2026

Select Options

Category

Team | Individual | Department | Company | Values

Reward Type

Spot Award | Gift | Voucher | Cash | Time Off | Recognition

Relations

Link fields: none

Examples

Prompt

Good work gets noticed but never written down.

Context first - one question per message, nothing already answered:

Q: Spot or monthly? A: Spot.

Q: Who gives it? A: Anyone.

Q: Public? A: Yes.

Recommended next step - offered, not built:

Capture recognition as it happens, with a category so you can see what is being valued over time.

Workflow: Recognition given → Category → Wall or summary → Monthly review

Want the CSV, SQL, JSON Schema and Notion mapping for this?

Best Practices

• Build when requested; recommend and offer a build for advice-only requests.
• One question per message. A batched intake reads as a form and gets guessed at.
• Keep display names identical across CSV and JSON; document normalized SQL identifiers.
• Use relation for anything that points at another table, text only for free text.
• Money fields are currency, never text. Dates are date, never free text.
• If the user requests an example row, keep it obviously fake so nobody imports it as real data.

Limitations

• Empty template only. It does not compute payroll, tax, leave balances or KPIs.
• Notion relations need both databases imported before the link column resolves.
• Select options are a starting set. Rename them to match how the business talks.
• No automation, reminders or sync. Those need the integration layer.
• Does not deliver rewards or pay anything.
• Legal, tax and HR review is still required before this drives real decisions.

Security & Safety Notes

• Never fill in real names, salaries, medical or banking data. Placeholders only.
• Label example rows as synthetic, and keep bank details masked.
• Local reads, generation commands, and validation are part of a requested artifact build. External writes, messages, provisioning, and publication require authorization for that action and target; existing explicit authorization does not need to be repeated.
• If sensitive data is supplied, avoid repeating unnecessary identifiers. Use only what the requested review needs; keep generated templates empty. Do not claim deletion from the conversation or service storage.
• Privacy, legal and disciplinary cases need a qualified human reviewer before anything is acted on.

Common Pitfalls

• Problem: a static mapping is described as a completed workspace build. Solution: deliver manual mappings without a connection; claim a live change only after the authorized tool operation succeeds.
• Problem: asked all six questions in one message. Solution: ask one, wait, and drop any the first answer already covered.
• Problem: built a full system when one table was asked for. Solution: build what was requested; mention the parent skill separately.
• Problem: all four artifacts drift apart. Solution: derive all four from the field list in this file, never by hand.
• Problem: Notion import shows every column as Text. Solution: that is expected. Apply the property mapping table once, after import.

Related Skills

• Module Catalog - find the relevant module, then read its skill.
• @people-directory - the employee master record most modules link to.
• @notification-reminder-hub - turns due dates in this module into reminders.

Reusable Prompt

I want to set up celebrating excellence for my company.
Ask me one short question at a time, and only about what I have not already told you.
Then recommend the smallest setup that fits, and wait for me to ask before you build it.
When I ask, output CSV, SQL DDL, JSON Schema, a Notion property mapping or an Excel workbook. Data only.