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"Bonusly recreates the energy of an in-person event."
For a company built on the power of live events, SeatGeek has had to reimagine connection itself. What began as an in-person culture rooted in shared experiences has evolved into a sophisticated global operation spanning continents—from New York to Israel to Romania.
When People Program Manager Erin Bourne returned to the company after time away, this transformation was impossible to miss.
Erin first joined SeatGeek in 2016 to help open its Portland office and managed that location for five years, later returning in 2022 to focus on global employee programs. That "boomerang" path gave her a unique vantage point on the company's growth.
"The SeatGeek I started with has seen a lot of evolution over time. The company I work for today is bigger, more mature, but still manages to retain the best parts of its culture while allowing for change," Erin reflects. "We've had the same leadership, but our industry has shifted, our team has grown, and we've had to flex with that. What's stayed consistent is the desire to build culture collaboratively with employees."
That collaborative ethos made Bonusly a natural fit.
Recognition rooted in SeatGeek's values
What makes SeatGeek's recognition unique is how deeply it's woven into company core values.
SeatGeek's values are memorable, from Pull Back the Curtains (transparency) to Play Longball (long-term thinking), and each one comes alive through Bonusly daily.
"We require every recognition to include a hashtag tied to a value," Erin explains. "That creates a living ledger of how values show up in real work."
The company's six values include Be Humbold (balance bold ideas with humility), Fan First (care deeply about fans and the industry), and Don’t Do B.S. Work (keep work simple and efficient). Leaders use Bonusly analytics to review which values are most recognized each quarter. Erin even pulls reports before SeatGeek's biannual Values Awards, nudging managers if a teammate has received dozens of mentions tied to a specific value.
"It's one way we make sure people living out our values don't go unnoticed," she says.
Empowering managers to design their own recognition
This values-driven approach works because SeatGeek empowers the people who know their teams best—managers—to design recognition that matters. Rather than HR creating all awards, the recognition program is intentionally decentralized.
When managers want to set up a new award, they fill out a form through the company's internal wiki, where Erin's team provides guidance and examples to help them launch something meaningful.
"Managers know their teams best," Erin says. "They know what's timely and relevant. Our job is to give them the tools and flexibility to celebrate that."
To keep budgets balanced, Erin tracks departmental allocations, redistributing unused funds where needed. Managers also receive digest emails and access to Bonusly analytics to help them spot gaps in recognition and ensure appreciation reaches everyone.
Connecting a global workforce
This decentralized, manager-driven approach has proven especially powerful for connecting SeatGeek's global workforce. The company spans time zones and cultures, and Bonusly creates visibility across all locations.
"Even if I'm not directly involved, I'll scroll through the feed and react to recognitions," Erin notes. "It's a way of showing appreciation and nudging others to engage."
She points to the maps team in Romania as a standout example. "They're incredibly active—sharing weekly recognitions, celebrating projects, and even posting in different languages. Without Bonusly, I wouldn't have known how close-knit that team is and what they're exactly working on."
This visibility helps employees see their own contributions celebrated while learning about projects and wins happening across the company.
"It helps connect our pods together," Erin says, "whether it's the New York office, remote folks in the Pacific Northwest, or teammates in Europe and Israel."
Creative recognition that reflects culture
Manager creativity has produced a rich catalog of awards that reflect both business impact and cultural values. Two standouts demonstrate SeatGeek's innovative approach:
1. Phishing Incentive: The Security team runs quarterly awards where employees who report simulated phishing emails win Bonusly points. It's a clever way to reinforce compliance, living the Pull Back the Curtains value.
2. Hackathon Awards: Twice a year, SeatGeek hosts hackathons where employees across departments tackle projects big and small. From product prototypes to playful inventions (like a whiskey dispenser built out of a sanitizer machine; don't worry, you won't be finding that in any stadium), Bonusly awards amplify the creativity and camaraderie of the events.
"With remote hackathons, you don't see the same buzz as being in a room together. Bonusly gives me that window—it recreates the energy of an in-person event."
Other popular awards include Migration & Project Support recognitions for major launches, and through "GiveGeek," employees earn Bonusly points for volunteering and participate in an annual Giving Tuesday event. The latter has become a leading tradition that people look forward to every year.
Recognition that drives performance
This manager-driven approach has delivered significant results. SeatGeek's awards have grown nearly 4x since Erin started, a substantial jump that demonstrates the program's adoption and cultural integration.
"I always tell people: when it's performance review time, look at your Bonusly feed," Erin says. "It's a timeline of your contributions, full of peer-driven examples."
Recognition at SeatGeek celebrates good work, but it drives performance too. Managers use Bonusly analytics and digest emails to ensure recognition is equitable, spotting teammates who might otherwise go unseen.
The impact is twofold: recognition clarifies what matters most and strengthens SeatGeek's values, while also providing leaders with concrete insights into team wins and engagement.
Building community and joy at work
For Erin, the transformation from her first tenure to now represents how to sustain and build culture at scale.
"Especially when so much in the world feels heavy, Bonusly creates space for connection and levity," she says. "It helps us build community and joy at work. And as the admin, it's doubly meaningful for me—when I see people adopting Bonusly—it shows the program itself is thriving."
Erin has seen how the organization has digitized recognition and democratized it, creating a culture where appreciation flows through and across teams—guided by shared values and empowered by the managers who know their teams best.
