Recognition Benchmark 2026: How Employees Rate Recognition at Work
Recognition scores 7.63 out of 10 in CultureMonkey's 2026 benchmark, 21st of 22 engagement drivers, with a 0.43 correlation to eNPS (9th strongest of 22).
Industries, regions and company sizes appear here only when they have at least 3 companies for Recognition, so this page can list fewer than the parent's segment tables. Industry rankings cover the 14 industries with a full driver breakdown.
Recognition benchmark for 2026 at a glance
21st of 22 on score, with a 0.43 link to eNPS (9th of 22).
Of the drivers with enough answers to report, the lowest-rated in 2 of 14 industries, Agriculture and Telecommunications.
How much of the ten-point scale Recognition reaches
7.63 out of 10 across all companies
Top quartile starts at 8.06
Industries where employees rate Recognition highest
- Hospitality employees rate Recognition highest, at 8.27 out of 10. That puts it 0.64 above the all-company Recognition score of 7.63.
- Finance employees rate Recognition second highest, at 7.93 out of 10. That puts it 0.30 above the all-company Recognition score of 7.63.
Industries that rate Recognition highest
Industries where employees rate Recognition lowest
- Education employees rate Recognition lowest, at 6.74 out of 10. That puts it 0.89 below the all-company Recognition score of 7.63.
- Agriculture employees rate Recognition second lowest, at 6.96 out of 10. That puts it 0.67 below the all-company Recognition score of 7.63.
- Healthcare employees rate Recognition third lowest, at 7.09 out of 10. That puts it 0.54 below the all-company Recognition score of 7.63.
Industries that rate Recognition lowest
See how all 22 drivers rank on score and on their link to eNPS.
Recognition scores by region and company size
How Recognition varies by region
How Recognition changes as companies get bigger
See employee engagement by region and by company size.
Next in the ranking: Work-Life Balance ranks just above Recognition, and Rewards just below.
Common questions about the Recognition benchmark
What is a good recognition score?
A Recognition score of 8.06 or higher puts a company in the top quartile of CultureMonkey's 2026 benchmark. The all-company Recognition score is 7.63 out of 10, 21st of 22 drivers.
Which industries score highest and lowest on recognition?
Of the industries with enough answers to report, Hospitality (8.27) and Finance (7.93) score highest on Recognition, and Education scores lowest at 6.74.
How strongly does recognition affect eNPS?
Recognition has a 0.43 correlation with eNPS, 9th strongest of the 22 drivers and a moderate link on CultureMonkey's scale (0.35 or more is moderate). It measures how closely the two move together across benchmark segments and does not prove that one causes the other.
What does the recognition driver measure in an employee engagement survey?
Whether good work is noticed and appreciated, promptly and specifically. That is how CultureMonkey defines Recognition, one of 22 engagement drivers scored from 0 to 10.
How does the recognition score differ between regions?
Across all 5 regions, APAC scores highest on Recognition at 7.85 and North America lowest at 7.37.
How does the recognition score differ by company size?
Recognition rises with company size, from 7.36 at micro companies (under 100 employees) to 7.82 at enterprise companies (2,000 or more employees).
How does the recognition score compare with other engagement drivers?
Recognition ranks 21st of 22 engagement drivers on score at 7.63, below Work-Life Balance (7.66) and above Rewards (7.14). On its link to eNPS it ranks 9th of 22.
What is the average recognition score?
Across CultureMonkey's 2026 benchmark, the average Recognition score is 7.63 out of 10, based on ~744,000 survey answers. It is the mean of company-level Recognition scores.
Make recognition land when and where it counts
Recognition scores 7.63 out of 10 across all companies, 21st of 22 on score. Compare your own Recognition score against the CultureMonkey Employee Engagement Benchmarks, built on Q3 2026 data, then turn the gaps into an action plan your managers can run.
Book a free, no-obligation product demo call with our experts.