Company-wide recognition across 275+ employees

Exclaimer is a globally-distributed company with over 275 employees, building email signature management software used by businesses around the world. When the pandemic forced remote work, they faced the challenge common to every newly-distributed team: how do you maintain the energy and appreciation of a shared office across a screen?

Started in engineering, spread everywhere

It started the way most good things do: one engineer tried it. HeyTaco's virtual taco system caught on quickly, and recognition spread department by department until the whole company was participating. Exclaimer created a dedicated Slack channel called "Celebrations" — a place where achievements, milestones, and everyday wins could be acknowledged in real time, across every team. Constant activity in the channel became the norm.

Monthly challenges that reinforce values

To keep momentum going, Exclaimer introduced monthly themed challenges aligned with their core company values — things like teamwork and continuous learning. Each challenge gave people a focused lens for recognition and a reason to engage beyond their immediate team. The prizes stayed on-brand: taco hats, custom keyrings, and other quirky taco-themed rewards. But the prizes were never really the point.

Breaking down silos

The Celebrations channel did something unexpected: the team saw cross-department collaboration improve as recognition crossed organizational silos. As recognition started flowing across teams, people began seeing work happening in corners of the company they'd rarely interacted with. Staff said they felt genuinely valued through regular recognition, and the practice became organically embedded in daily operations — not a program people had to remember, but something they just did.

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What's next

Exclaimer is expanding the program with end-of-year peer nominations, giant taco trophies, and company mascots. What started as an engineering experiment has become a core part of how Exclaimer thinks about culture — proof that accessible, fun recognition practices can build something sustainable, even at scale.