How does the Birthday Award work?
On a user's birthday, Nectar will:
Post a birthday shoutout to the social feed
Include a point award from the company
Allow teammates to add to the shoutout and celebrate together
Please note:
Birthday Award points are funded by the company, not deducted from individual user balances.
Birthday awards are sent at approximately 3:00 AM MST on the employee's birthday.
How do I configure the Birthday Award?
The Birthday Award is pre-installed in all accounts and comes with a default message and award amount. You can customize the award by going to:
Workspace Settings in your Nectar dashboard and go to Awards.
Select the Automated tab and click on Happy Birthday.
You will be redirected to edit the award info:
Basic Information:
add a custom Award Image
Private toggle: Choose whether the message should be publicly visible
Edit the message that displays on the homefeed.
Your birthday message must include these keywords:
@receiver_username – for the system to automatically tag the new user
+amount – to show the awarded points
Award Amount:
The point amount associated with this Automated Award. There are several settings options available:
Fixed Amount:
The point amount of the Award is a fixed amount for every award and taken from a single budget.
Variable Amount:
Each rule maps a set of conditions to an award amount. Rules are evaluated top to bottom — the first rule that matches an employee wins.
You can add one or more custom property conditions to any rule, so employees receive different award amounts based on attributes like employment type, department, or location.
To add a custom property condition:
Click Add Rule (or edit an existing rule)
Click + Add Condition
Choose a property (e.g., "Employment Type") and a value (e.g., "Full Time")
Enter the Award Amount
Click Save
Combining multiple conditions (AND / OR)
Rules support multi-condition logic:
AND — the employee must match all conditions (e.g., Full Time AND Manager)
OR — the employee must match any condition (e.g., Full Time OR Contractor)
Add additional conditions within the same rule using the + Add Condition button, then toggle the logic operator between AND and OR.
Rule priority
📌 Rules are evaluated top to bottom — the first matching rule wins. Drag rules to reorder them and control priority.
✅ Tip: Add a rule with no conditions at the bottom as a fallback to ensure every employee receives something, even if none of the property-based rules match.
Frequently asked questions about the birthday award
How do I add user's birthdays?
🌟 Please note: Birthday dates cannot be added by individual users. Only admins have the ability to add or edit birthday information.
You can add birthday info in three ways:
1. HRIS Integration (automatic)
If your account is connected to an HRIS, birthdays will sync automatically.
2. CSV Bulk Upload
Include it in a CSV file and use our bulk upload feature.
Birthdays should be formatted like:
DD-Mon(e.g.,8-Jun)Do not include leading zeros (e.g., use
8-Jun, not08-Jun)
3. Manually in User Profile
Go to the Users tab
Click the user’s name
Scroll to the Birth Date field
Select the date and click Save Changes
Reminder: Only users with a valid birth date in their profile will receive the automated award.
Why didn’t a birthday shoutout go out?
If a birthday shoutout does not go out on a user’s birthday, it could be due to one or more of the following issues. Refer to the steps below for guidance.
The Birthday Award is turned off
The user’s birthdate is missing or formatted incorrectly
The birthdate is set to the wrong day
The birthdate information was added or changed after the automation was triggered that day or later.
The user has not been invited yet. Automated awards only go out to users who have been invited or have logged in at least once.
Why does my birthday shoutout have points?
Your company's birthday award settings might be configured to allocate 0 points, resulting in no points being awarded. Please check with your company admins if you got the shoutout, but no points.
Can a birthday shoutout be re-triggered?
Yes! Contact Nectar Support and they can manually re-trigger the birthday award if it was missed. However, they cannot modify the birthday award settings, which are managed by your company's HR team or administrators.
Can the birthday award be private?
Yes, you can choose to make all birthday shoutouts private during configuration or you can make individual user's birthday shoutout private from their profile.
Individuals can also make their birthday shoutout private from their own profile page. More information here.
Can I turn off the birthday award for specific individuals?
Yes, there are two ways:
No birth date in the profile = no automation.
If you have an HRIS Integration, this option does not work.
In the user's profile, check Disable Birthday Shoutout, then click Save Changes
Individuals can also disable their birthday shoutout from their own profile page.
Who manages birthday award settings?
Company HR teams have direct control over the birthday reward settings. Nectar Support is unable to modify these configurations as this responsibility lies with your organization's administrators.
Can the email sent to for the birthday award be customized?
When the email is sent for the birthday award, it will show the same message and image that is set up for the award.
What if no rule matches an employee?
If no rule matches, the employee won't receive a birthday award. Add a fallback rule with no conditions to ensure full coverage.
What if an employee's properties change after their award is sent?
Rule matching happens at the time the award is triggered. Property changes after the fact have no effect on that award.
Where do custom properties come from?
Properties available in the rule builder come from your workspace employee settings or HRIS sync. Check Admin > Settings > Employee Properties if you need to add one.
Can I disable Birthday Awards entirely?
Yes — toggle the feature off in Admin > Settings > Awards > Birthday.