Good for your son. Sadly check-box HR ticks are too often required for being recognised, that's something I have to fight against where operations staff are 3x underpaid compered to developers yet arguably far more agile.
Good he found a better employer.
Your story reminds me of my son who graduated with a liberal arts degree right after the financial crash. He completely automated his first job (using excel and VBA) and was not rewarded. Long story short, he went back and got a masters in EECS and works where productivity is recognized.