Configure Mo to automatically reward colleagues on special occasions, saving time and ensuring consistent recognition for milestones.
Purpose: Automate birthday and work anniversary rewards so no milestone goes unrecognised.
Note: You need Rewards Admin permissions to set up automated rewards.
What Are Automated Rewards?
Automated rewards send recognition automatically when:
Colleague's birthday occurs
Colleague's work anniversary occurs
Benefits:
Never miss recognising a milestone
Consistent recognition across the organisation
Time-saving for managers and HR
Scalable recognition programme
Fair treatment for all colleagues
How it works:
Mo monitors occasion dates
Automatically creates and sends reward Moment on the date
Reward appears publicly in feed (or privately if colleague hides occasions)
Colleague receives reward notification
Store credit or points added to their balance
Before You Start
Prerequisites
System setup required:
Occasion dates entered for users (birthdays, work anniversaries)
Budget created for automated rewards
Spending pot created within that budget
Reward types created and assigned to spending pot
Sender identified and added to spending pot
Recommended approach: Create dedicated budget, spending pot, and
reward types specifically for automated rewards to keep them
separate from manual recognition.
Planning considerations:
Which occasions to automate (birthdays, work anniversaries, or both)
Who should receive automated rewards (everyone or specific groups)
Reward values appropriate for occasions
Message content and tone
Who the sender should be
Required Setup Guides
If you haven't set up the rewards structure yet:
Accessing Automated Rewards Setup
From 'Manage Organisations', go to the Rewards
Select Reward Automation option under Reward Set up
Click Set up an automation button near bottom of screen
From this page you can:
View existing automations
Create new automations
Manage active automations
Access automation logs
Creating an Automated Reward
The setup form has three main sections:
Section 1: Automation Settings
Configure which occasion triggers the reward and who receives it.
What's the Occasion? Choose the trigger event:
Birthdays - Sends reward on colleague's birthday
Work Anniversaries - Sends reward on anniversary of start date
Who Should Receive It? Select recipients:
Everyone - All colleagues with occasion dates in Mo
Customise - Specific groups based on your Mo data (department, location, etc.)
Customisation options: Use your organisation's groups to target specific populations:
By department (e.g., only Sales team)
By location (e.g., only UK offices)
By any custom groupings you've configured in Mo
For group configuration, see Managing User Groups.
Reward Details Help manage multiple automations:
Name - Descriptive name (e.g., "Birthday Rewards - All Staff", "5 Year Anniversary")
Description - Short note explaining the automation's purpose
Section 2: Reward Information
Select the budget, spending pot, and reward type to use.
Budget Selection Choose the budget funding these automated rewards:
Select from your existing budgets
Recommended: Dedicated budget for automated rewards
Spending Pot Selection Choose the spending pot within that budget:
Select from pots within your chosen budget
Critical: Ensure the sender (next section) is added to this pot
Recommended: Dedicated pot for automated occasions
Reward Type Selection Choose which reward to send:
Select from reward types assigned to your chosen pot
If using currency: Shows monetary value (e.g., £25)
If using points: Shows points value (e.g., 250 points)
Consider appropriate values for the occasion type
Section 3: Post Information
Customise the Moment that accompanies the automated reward.
Message Content Write the message colleagues will see:
Personalise the occasion greeting
Keep tone warm and genuine
Acknowledge the milestone
Can include merge fields for personalisation
Example messages:
Birthday: "Happy Birthday! Wishing you a wonderful day and year ahead. Enjoy this reward!"
Work Anniversary: "Congratulations on [X] years with us! Thank you for your continued contributions. Celebrate with this reward!"
Visual Content (Optional) Enhance the Moment:
Add GIF - Celebratory animations
Add image - Birthday or anniversary imagery
Add video - Personal message or celebration video
Add Moment card - Themed visual design
Company Values Select relevant values this aligns with:
Recognition
People First
Celebration
Any custom values
Sender Choose who the Moment appears to come from:
Individual person (CEO, HR Director, Manager)
Generic account (HR Team, Recognition Team)
Important: This sender must be added to the spending pot
selected in Section 2 to be selected.
Visibility Automated rewards are sent as:
Public Moments - Visible to all colleagues (default)
Private Moments - Only if recipient has hidden their occasions in profile settings
Grouping: All occasion Moments for the same person on the same day are grouped together in their occasion feed.
Finalising Your Automation
Review and Create
Review all three sections for accuracy
Verify sender is in spending pot
Check message content and tone
Ensure budget has sufficient funds
Click create automation button at bottom
After Creation
Once created:
Automation appears at top of automation directory
Automatically active (toggled on)
Runs starting next calendar day
Sends rewards on matching occasions
If you are not ready to run the automation: Toggle the automation off using the switch on the left until you're ready to activate.
Managing Your Automations
Automation Directory
From the Reward Automation page, you can:
View All Automations:
See list of all configured automations
Check active/inactive status
Review occasion type and recipients
See associated rewards
Common Actions:
Toggle On/Off:
Switch on left side of each automation
On: Active and sending rewards
Off: Paused, not sending rewards
Edit Automation:
Click to open automation details
Modify any of the three sections
Update message, reward, or recipients
Save changes
Duplicate Automation:
Copy existing automation
Modify for different group or occasion
Saves time setting up similar automations
Useful for different departments or locations
Delete Automation:
Remove automations no longer needed
Permanent action - cannot be undone
Stops all future automated rewards from this rule
Access Automation Log:
View history of all attempted automations
See successful sends
Identify any failures
Troubleshoot issues
Automation Timing and Execution
When Automations Run
Schedule:
Automations check daily for matching occasions
Rewards sent on the actual occasion date
Runs automatically without manual intervention
Time of execution:
Processes during early morning hours
Rewards appear in recipients' accounts during their morning
Notification sent when reward is issued
First execution:
New automations start the next calendar day after creation
Won't send retroactively for past dates
Only processes forward-going occasions
Occasion Date Requirements
For automation to work:
Colleague must have occasion date in their Mo profile
Date must be visible (or will send privately if hidden)
Colleague must have active Mo account
Sender must have access to spending pot
Best Practices
Budget and Spending Pot Strategy
Dedicated resources:
Create separate budget for automated rewards
Prevents conflict with manual recognition
Easier tracking and reporting
Clear cost attribution
Adequate funding:
Calculate expected annual cost (employees × reward value × occasions)
Include buffer for growth
Monitor utilisation regularly
Adjust budget as needed
Example calculation:
100 employees
£25 birthday reward (or 250 points)
£25 work anniversary reward (or 250 points)
2 occasions per employee = 200 rewards per year
Budget needed: £5,000 annually (or 50,000 points)
Message Best Practices
Effective occasion messages:
Personal and warm tone
Acknowledge the specific occasion
Express genuine appreciation
Brief but meaningful
Consistent with company voice
Avoid:
Generic, impersonal messages
Overly formal or corporate tone
Messages that feel automated
Incorrect occasion references
Sender Selection
Good sender choices:
CEO or leadership (adds weight)
HR Director (appropriate for milestones)
Recognition Team account (if you have one)
Department head (for department-specific automations)
Ensure sender:
Has appropriate seniority for the occasion
Is added to the spending pot
Account is active and maintained
Multiple Automation Strategy
Common approaches:
By occasion type:
Separate automation for birthdays
Separate automation for work anniversaries
Allows different messages and rewards
By employee group:
Different automations per department
Location-based automations
Seniority-based (different rewards for 5, 10, 15 years)
By reward value:
Standard birthday reward for all
Tiered anniversary rewards (5 years, 10 years, etc.)
Different rewards for different groups
Troubleshooting
Automation Not Sending Rewards
Check these factors:
Automation is toggled ON (active)
Occasion date exists in colleague's profile
Colleague hasn't hidden their occasions (if checking public Moments)
Sender is added to the spending pot
Spending pot has available budget
Budget hasn't been exhausted
Reward type is assigned to the spending pot
Solutions:
Verify automation status
Check colleague profile has correct dates
Confirm sender access to spending pot
Review budget availability
Check automation log for errors
Colleagues Not Receiving Notifications
Possible causes:
Email notifications disabled
Occasion hidden in profile (sent privately)
Account inactive
Notification delay
Solutions:
Check colleague's notification settings
Verify occasion visibility settings
Ensure account is active
Wait for notification processing (can take minutes)
Wrong Reward or Amount
Issues:
Incorrect reward type selected
Wrong spending pot chosen
Using currency when should be points (or vice versa)
Resolution:
Edit the automation
Select correct reward type
Verify spending pot configuration
Save changes for future sends
Budget Depleted Quickly
Causes:
More colleagues than expected
Reward value too high
Multiple automations drawing from same budget
Anniversary clustering (many hires same month)
Solutions:
Increase budget allocation
Review and adjust reward values
Stagger automations or separate budgets
Monitor spending more frequently
Plan for seasonal hiring patterns
Monitoring and Reporting
Automation Log
Access the log to review:
All attempted automated rewards
Successful sends with details
Failed attempts with reasons
Date and time of each automation
Recipient information
Associated reward details
Use the log to:
Verify automations are working
Identify patterns or issues
Track programme costs
Audit reward distribution
Troubleshoot problems
Regular Reviews
Monthly checks:
Review automation log for issues
Verify budget utilisation
Check colleague feedback
Ensure automations still appropriate
Quarterly reviews:
Analyse cost and volume trends
Assess reward values still appropriate
Review message content effectiveness
Update automations as needed
Plan budget for next period