Case Study: Cultural Vistas boosts employee engagement and recognition with Kudos

Nonprofit Cultural Vistas Turns to Culture and Recognition to Compete in Today’s Labor Market

Cultural Vistas, an international nonprofit focused on experiential exchange programs, faced a sudden remote-work reality and tight nonprofit compensation that threatened employee engagement and retention. To preserve mission-driven culture and give staff meaningful non‑salary incentives, Cultural Vistas adopted Kudos, an employee engagement, culture, and analytics platform.

Using Kudos, Cultural Vistas implemented peer-to-peer recognition, values-tagging and points-based rewards, and created monthly awards driven by Kudos data (most recognized, most recognizing, and most values‑aligned). The Kudos program was added to official benefits, is promoted in hiring, and has measurably boosted morale—pulse surveys now show “the team” as employees’ top‑rated aspect—and employees typically earn hundreds of dollars a year in Kudos rewards.

Cultural Vistas

Laura Gross

Director of Administration, People + Culture