For over a decade, HeyTaco has been built on one idea: the people closest to the work notice good work best. When a teammate unblocks you, you give them a taco. Simple, social, and it happens where your team already talks.
That model works. But it has a blind spot.
Peer recognition rewards only what is seen
Peer recognition depends on a witness. Someone has to notice and take a few seconds to say thanks.
A lot of what you want more of at work doesn't have a witness:
- The new hire who finishes every onboarding module
- The engineer who finally documents the system only she understands
- The person who takes a 15-minute walk instead of eating lunch at their desk
- The teammate who fills out the engagement survey everyone else is ignoring
- The rep who volunteers at the food bank on a Saturday
None of that shows up in a Slack thread, so none of it gets a taco.
Quests fixes that.
What are Quests?
Quests lets admins turn tasks into rewards. You create a Quest, set the taco amount, and your team goes after it. When someone completes it, they earn tacos.
No one has to notice first.
How Quests work
- Launch a Quest. Start from a template or build your own, then set the reward.
- Complete or nominate. People submit Quests they completed, or nominate a teammate who did.
- Earn tacos. Approve automatically or manually. Tacos land in their balance.
Two ways to participate
🙋 Self-submit
Someone does the thing and submits it themselves, with proof if you ask. This is for the behaviors that happen quietly.
👀 Nominate
A teammate flags someone else for doing something worth rewarding. The tacos go to the nominee, not the person who flagged them. This is for the big moments — the "saved the day" and "brought the team together" moments that deserve more than a single taco.
You pick one or both when you build the Quest.
Quest ideas to steal
Here are a few from the template catalog:
| Quest | Reward |
|---|---|
| Brought the team together | 15 🌮 |
| Saved the day | 15 🌮 |
| Complete an hour of community service | 10 🌮 |
| Learn something new | 10 🌮 |
| Attend a team event | 10 🌮 |
| Finish a book | 8 🌮 |
| Meet someone outside your team | 5 🌮 |
| Complete a survey | 5 🌮 |
| Take a walk during the workday | 3 🌮 |
And beyond the templates, teams are pointing Quests at:
- Onboarding — welcome a new hire, finish training
- Knowledge sharing — document a process, share customer feedback
- Hiring — refer a candidate
- Wellness — join a wellness challenge
- Company goals — hit a team goal, join a company initiative
If it matters to your culture, it can be a Quest.
You stay in control
Quests is admin-owned. You decide:
- The reward — how many tacos each Quest is worth
- Approval — review submissions in Admin → Quests, or skip approval and award tacos instantly
- Proof — require it on some Quests, skip it on others
- Limits — per-user, per-team, or unlimited
- Lifecycle — edit, pause, or end any Quest anytime
When you deny a submission, the person receives a DM with your note. They can try again, and it doesn't count against their limit.
Ready to make appreciation an everyday habit?
Try HeyTaco free for 30 days. No credit card required.
Try HeyTaco freeSame tacos. Not a side currency.
We didn't build a separate points system. Quest rewards go into the same taco balance as peer recognition, milestones, and everything else. People redeem them the same way, for custom rewards, swag, donations, or 2,000+ instant gift cards.
That matters. A second currency splits attention and confuses people. One economy keeps it simple.
Why this makes recognition stronger
Peer recognition is bottom-up. It shows you what your team values.
Quests is top-down. It lets you say what the company values, and reward it on purpose.
You need both. Peer recognition without Quests leaves out the quiet stuff. Without peer recognition, Quests becomes a checklist. Together, you get a recognition program that covers what people notice and what you want more of.
Frequently asked questions
Is Quests available on my plan?
Yes. Quests is included on every HeyTaco plan. It's available for Slack today.
Who can create Quests?
Admins build and manage the Quest catalog. Anyone on HeyTaco can complete a published Quest.
Do people get tacos right away?
Only if the Quest skips approval. Otherwise, tacos go out when an admin approves.
Can someone complete a Quest more than once?
Depends on your settings: per-user limit, per-team limit, or unlimited.
Get started
Already on HeyTaco for Slack? Head to Admin → Quests and launch your first one from a template. It takes a few seconds.
New to HeyTaco? Try it free, no credit card required, or see all the details on Quests.
