Product Update - January 13, 2026

Configurable Skill Proficiency Level Definitions — Custom skill proficiency standards for employee self-assessment

Organizations can now define custom names and descriptions for each of the five skill proficiency levels directly in admin settings. Previously, proficiency levels used generic built-in labels; now admins can replace them with terminology that reflects their internal competency frameworks — for example, renaming level 3 from "Intermediate" to "Practitioner." A live preview shows exactly how the definitions will appear to employees during self-assessment, and admins can reset to defaults at any time.

Use case: An engineering organization replaces the default proficiency labels with their internal career-ladder terminology, so employees self-assess against the exact standards used in performance reviews.

Available in: Skills Management → Admin Settings → Skill Proficiency Definitions

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PTO-Aware Approval Routing — Automatic skip-level routing when approvers are on leave

When an approver is on approved leave, pending approval requests — including leave requests, timesheets, and employee update requests — are now automatically routed to the next available approver in the reporting chain. Requesters and skip-level managers receive notifications, and a visual indicator surfaces in the approval UI when the primary approver is unavailable. This eliminates delays caused by approvers being away and removes the need for HR teams to manually reassign requests.

Use case: A manager submits a timesheet for approval the day before their manager leaves on a two-week vacation — the request automatically routes to the skip-level manager so payroll processing is not held up.

Available in: Trackers & Workflows → Approval Routing Settings

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Scheduled Compensation Auto-Application — Automatic application of future-dated pay changes on their effective date

Compensation changes that have been approved and scheduled for a future effective date are now automatically applied on that date without any manual action. A daily background job processes pending changes, updates the employee record, and sends admin notifications if any application fails. This closes the gap between the approval of a salary change and the change actually taking effect in the system.

Use case: An HR team approves annual merit increases in December with a January 1 effective date — the increases apply automatically on January 1 without HR needing to revisit each record.

Available in: Merit & Compensation → Compensation Changes → Scheduled Changes

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Tremendous Gift Card Integration — Digital gift card fulfillment through Tremendous for employee rewards

Admins can now connect the Company Store to Tremendous, a digital gift card fulfillment provider, enabling employees to redeem their reward points for a wide catalog of brand-name gift cards. Once connected, admins can browse the Tremendous catalog, filter by region and currency, and sync selected cards directly into the Company Store. Employees redeeming points see only the gift cards available in their region, and orders are fulfilled digitally without any manual processing.

Use case: A recognition program administrator adds a curated selection of gift cards from the Tremendous catalog to the Company Store — employees in different countries each see options priced in their local currency and receive their gift card link immediately upon redemption.

Available in: Rewards & Recognition → Company Store → Provider Settings → Tremendous