Bucketlist Rewards Implementation Guide

Implementing Bucketlist Rewards is an opportunity to intentionally shape how recognition shows up in your organization. While the platform is flexible, a thoughtful setup ensures employee recognition feels meaningful, rewards are easy to access, and employees adopt the program quickly.

This implementation guide walks through how to configure, test, and launch the Bucketlist Rewards platform step by step using the platform’s actual features and workflows. Throughout onboarding, your Bucketlist onboarding specialist or customer success manager (CSM) will work closely with you to guide decisions, assist with technical setup, and ensure everything is ready for launch. This guide is designed to complement that support by helping you understand what to expect, what to prepare, and how the pieces fit together.

Many organizations complete their Bucketlist Rewards recognition platform set-up behind the scenes before inviting employees. You can move through this guide at your own pace and return to sections as needed.

Executive Summary: Bucketlist Rewards Implementation

Implementing Bucketlist Rewards is a guided, low-lift process designed to help organizations launch a scalable employee recognition and rewards program quickly and confidently.

With a dedicated onboarding specialist supporting you end-to-end, most organizations complete Bucketlist Rewards implementation in 6–10 weeks, spending only 8–16 total hours of internal time across HR, IT, and Finance.

This guide explains:

• How Bucketlist Rewards implementation works step by step
• What decisions are required before launch
• How integrations, funding, and training are handled
• How to launch successfully and drive adoption over time

Bucketlist Rewards Implementation at a Glance

Bucketlist Rewards is easy to implement, requires minimal IT effort, and is fully guided by a dedicated onboarding specialist.

Bucketlist Rewards Implementation Overview

Item	What to Expect
Typical timeline	6–10 weeks
Customer time required	8–16 total hours
Primary owner	HR or People Operations
IT involvement	Light (HRIS, SSO, Slack/Teams if used)
Finance involvement	Rewards funding setup
Integrations	Optional but recommended
Support model	Onboarding specialist + CSM

Bucketlist Rewards Implementation Timeline & Onboarding Journey

Bucketlist Rewards follows a proven 10-step onboarding journey delivered over four stages, with hands-on guidance from your onboarding specialist.

Stage 1: Project Kickoff & Program Design (2–3 weeks)

• Project kickoff and implementation planning
• Define goals, success metrics, and ownership
• Align HR, IT, and Finance expectations

Stage 2: Platform Setup & Configuration (3–4 weeks)

Step	What Happens
Admin training	HR leaders learn platform features
Budget & award mapping	Allocate budget using calculators
HRIS & integrations	IT sets up provisioning & SSO
Rewards marketplace	Enable global and custom rewards

Your onboarding specialist:

• Provides award recommendations
• Reviews points strategy and budget impact
• Coordinates integration testing

Stage 3: Launch Preparation (1–2 weeks)

• Recruit ambassadors
• Build employee communication plan
• Conduct pre-launch training
• Perform quality assurance (QA)

Stage 4: Launch & Post-Launch Support

• Turn on integrations
• Send employee invitations
• Deliver company-wide training
• Begin recognition and redemptions

Post-launch support includes optimization guidance, reporting reviews, and (for eligible plans) quarterly business reviews.

What to expect during Bucketlist Rewards implementation

Bucketlist Rewards implementation is led by HR or People Operations, with light involvement from IT and Finance, and hands-on guidance from a dedicated onboarding specialist.

Before you begin configuring the platform, it helps to align internally on ownership, integrations, and funding. Early clarity helps prevent delays and ensures a smooth launch.

At this stage, your focus should be on understanding how you want recognition to work at a high level and identifying who internally will support setup decisions.

What to consider before setup

• Who will own the recognition program internally
• Who should be assigned as Company Admins
• Whether you plan to integrate with an HR system or SSO provider
• Whether you plan to integrate Bucketlist Rewards with Slack or Microsoft Teams
• Who from Finance will support rewards funding
  
  

Your onboarding specialist will help you validate these decisions and adjust configurations as needed.

Implementation checklist 

Bucketlist Rewards follows a consistent implementation sequence to reduce rework and speed up launch.

Typical order of operations for your Bucketlist Rewards implementation

1. Define recognition and points strategy
   
   
2. Set up admin access and roles
   
   
3. Add or sync employees
   
   
4. Configure integrations (if applicable)
   
   
5. Apply branding and core values
   
   
6. Configure awards and rewards
   
   
7. Test the end-to-end experience
   
   
8. Prepare for launch
   
   

Each section below walks through these steps in detail.

Team setup for Bucketlist Rewards

Team setup establishes who can access the platform, how recognition is funded, and how employees are added and managed.

Adding Company Admins

Company Admins have full access to the platform, including:

• User management
• Program configuration
• Award creation
• Reporting and integrations
  
  

Best practice: Assign at least two Company Admins to ensure continuity.

Admins are typically members of HR, People Operations, or Internal Communications teams and are added through the Members section by assigning the Admin role.

Your onboarding specialist can help confirm that the correct individuals have admin access before you proceed further.

Adding employees

Employees must be added to Bucketlist Rewards before they can participate in recognition and rewards.

Supported methods

There are three supported methods for adding employees, and your onboarding specialist can help you choose the best option based on your organization’s size and systems.

• Manual entry for smaller teams

For manual entry, admins will enter each employee’s name, work email, role, and optional profile details.

• CSV upload for bulk imports and updates

CSV upload allows you to add or update many employees at once. This helps ensure consistent profile data.

• HRIS integration for automated syncing

HRIS integrations automate employee management. When integrated, Bucketlist syncs employee data directly from your HR system. New hires are added automatically, profile updates stay in sync, and departing employees are removed from the platform.

Accurate employee data is critical:

• Hire dates power service anniversary awards
• Birthdays enable birthday awards

Your onboarding specialist will help verify that employee data is loaded correctly before launch.

Configuring roles and points in Bucketlist Rewards

Roles control how recognition points are allocated and who can give recognition.

Bucketlist Rewards includes default roles:

• Employee
• Manager
• Company Admin

Each role can be configured independently to define:

• Points allocation
• Reset frequency (monthly or quarterly)
• Rollover or expiration rules

Common best practice: Enable zero-point recognitions so employees can always recognize peers, even when points are used.

Bucketlist includes a points budget calculator to help you understand the potential financial impact of your configuration.

Your onboarding specialist will work with you to review your points strategy and ensure it aligns with your goals and budget.

Integrations for Bucketlist Rewards

Integrations make Bucketlist Rewards easier to access and manage, and setup is guided by your onboarding specialist.

Common Bucketlist Rewards Integrations

• HRIS systems for employee provisioning: HRIS integrations keep employee data up to date automatically and reduce administrative overhead
• Single Sign-On (SSO) providers: Single Sign-On (SSO) allows employees to log in using their existing company credentials and is commonly configured with providers such as Azure AD, Okta, or ADFS.
• Slack or Microsoft Teams: Slack and Microsoft Teams integrations allow employees to send recognition and view activity directly within the tools they already use. These integrations help embed recognition into everyday workflows.
• Email allowlisting: Email allowlisting ensures that Bucketlist invitation and notification emails are delivered reliably and not filtered as spam. This step typically requires IT involvement.

Integrations are optional, and most require minimal IT involvement. Your onboarding specialist coordinates setup, testing, and validation with your IT team.

You can learn more about our available integrations here.

Funding your Bucketlist rewards account

Bucketlist uses a rewards float to fund employee redemptions.

When an employee redeems a reward:

• Points are deducted from their account
• The monetary value of the reward is deducted from your rewards float

Funding is coordinated with your onboarding specialist or CSM, who will:

• Help estimate initial funding needs
• Review available funding methods
• Set up low-balance alerts
  
  

Company-specific rewards fulfilled internally (e.g., PTO) are not deducted from the float.

This step requires Finance involvement, and your onboarding specialist will help ensure expectations are aligned before launch.

Branding and core program setup in Bucketlist Rewards

Branding ensures Bucketlist Rewards feels like part of your internal employee experience.

Branding

Admins can:

• Set program or company name
• Upload a logo
• Configure colors
  
  

Branding appears across the platform and in email notifications and can be updated at any time.

Branding can be updated at any time, but most organizations finalize it before launch.

Core values in Bucketlist Rewards

Every recognition in Bucketlist Rewards must be tied to a core value.

Core values provide structure and meaning to recognition by reinforcing behaviors that matter most to your organization. 

Core values:

• Reinforce desired behaviors
• Add meaning to recognition
• Enable values-based reporting
  
  

If your organization does not have formal values, many teams use principles or behaviors instead.

Your onboarding specialist can help review your values and ensure they are configured correctly.

Recognition and awards configuration

Recognition

Recognition is the foundation of Bucketlist Rewards.

Employees can recognize peers or team members by:

• Writing a message
• Selecting one or more core values
• Optionally attaching points

Recognition activity appears in the platform feed and helps create visibility across teams.

Admins can configure whether likes and comments are enabled and whether they award points.

Awards in the Bucketlist Rewards recognition platform

Awards provide structured recognition and can be automated or manually given.

Common award types include:

• Birthday awards
• Service anniversary awards
• First-login or welcome awards
• Manual or nomination-based awards

Awards can include:

• Points
• Messages
• Approval workflows

Your onboarding specialist will help you determine which awards make sense to configure before launch and which can be introduced later.

Rewards marketplace setup

The rewards marketplace allows employees to redeem points for meaningful rewards.

Available rewards may include:

• Digital gift cards
• Experiences
• Donations
• Merchandise

Reward availability depends on employee location and currency.

Your onboarding specialist will help ensure the correct reward catalogs are enabled and ready before launch.

Company-specific rewards

In addition to marketplace rewards, you can offer company-specific rewards fulfilled internally, such as additional PTO, lunch with leadership, or internal swag.

These rewards are uploaded using a template and managed by your internal team, your CSM can assist with the set-up of company-specific rewards.

Launch planning and launch day steps

Pre-launch planning

Before inviting employees:

• Confirm integrations are active
• Verify rewards funding
• Test recognition and redemptions
• Finalize branding and values

Bucketlist provides marketing and launch materials to support employee communication. Your onboarding specialist can help review your launch plan and timing.

Launch day

On launch day:

• Invitations are sent
• Employees log in and complete profiles
• Recognition begins
  
  

Early participation from leaders and champions helps set the tone and encourage adoption and organizations can also host a live demo or training session to encourage early participation.

Launch week activation

During the first week, organizations often encourage managers to:

• Recognize their teams
• Run recognition challenges
• Highlight strong examples
• Promote the mobile app

These activities help normalize recognition and build momentum to maximize employee adoption of Bucketlist Rewards.

Post-launch adoption and reporting

Admin dashboard

The admin dashboard provides visibility into:

• Recognition activity
• Award distribution
• Core value trends
• Reward redemptions

Reports

Admins can generate downloadable reports for:

• Recognition activity
• Awards
• Employee logins
• Points balances
• Reward redemptions

Reports help monitor adoption and identify opportunities to improve engagement.

Ongoing engagement

Ongoing engagement strategies include:

• Regular communications
• New awards or rewards
• Campaigns tied to key moments

Your CSM supports continuous optimization.

Typical questions, troubleshooting, and support

Bucketlist Rewards’ Help Center includes step-by-step articles for common questions such as missing invitations, login issues, points configuration, and reward redemption. Support is available if additional help is needed.

Final note

Bucketlist is most effective when recognition becomes part of everyday work. This guide helps ensure your platform is set up correctly, while your onboarding specialist and customer success team support you throughout implementation and beyond.

 

Bucketlist Rewards Implementation FAQs 

How long does Bucketlist Rewards implementation take?

Most organizations complete their Bucketlist Rewards implementation in 6–10 weeks with only 8–16 hours of internal time.

Is Bucketlist Rewards difficult to implement?

No. Bucketlist Rewards is designed to be easy to implement with guided onboarding and minimal technical effort.

What teams need to be involved in Bucketlist Rewards implementation?

HR, IT, and Finance. HR owns the program, IT supports integrations if used, and Finance assists with rewards funding.

Does Bucketlist Rewards require IT support?

Sometimes, but minimally. IT is only needed for HRIS, SSO, or communication tool integrations, and setup is guided by Bucketlist.

What integrations does Bucketlist Rewards support?

HRIS, SSO, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and more. All integrations are optional and configured with onboarding specialist support.

How does Bucketlist Rewards help ensure a successful launch?

Through planning, training, QA, and launch playbooks. Bucketlist provides templates, training, ambassador programs, and post-launch optimization support.