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HeyTaco Overview: Peer Recognition for Slack & Teams

Why recognition drives engagement, how HeyTaco works, every feature, customer proof, and how to build a culture of recognition in three steps.

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HeyTaco Overview preview

The problem

Engagement is low. Morale is slipping. Culture feels disconnected.

  • People feel unseen โ€” the small daily wins often go unnoticed.
  • Teams are siloed โ€” collaboration happens, but connection doesn't.
  • Engagement efforts fizzle โ€” they spike, then fade away.
  • Tools sit outside daily work โ€” they don't become part of everyday life.

When people don't feel appreciated, they disengage โ€” and culture starts to crumble.

The solution: start with recognition

To fix engagement, start with recognition. When people feel appreciated, they feel connected. And when they feel connected, they engage.

Peer recognition is the fastest way to spark that connection โ€” but only if it's consistent, visible, and woven into everyday work.

That's where HeyTaco comes in

  • Effortless and visible. Tacos live inside Slack and Microsoft Teams, where work happens.
  • Daily habit. Everyone gets 5 tacos a day, turning appreciation into a natural rhythm.
  • Cross-team connection. Recognition flows peer-to-peer, across roles and departments.
  • Meaningful rewards. Gift cards, custom perks, and team rewards keep it fun without overshadowing gratitude.

HeyTaco makes recognition the heartbeat of your culture โ€” and engagement grows from there.

How it works

HeyTaco makes recognition effortless and fun. Everyone gets 5 tacos a day to give to teammates.

  • Tacos appear on leaderboards and can be redeemed for rewards.
  • A daily reset keeps the habit going.
  • No extra tools. No logins. Just gratitude in the flow of work.

Give tacos by tagging someone in any channel HeyTaco is part of:

@Alex thanks for jumping in to help! ๐ŸŒฎ

Why it works

Built on human psychology, HeyTaco is designed to make recognition stick.

  • Workflow integration โ€” lives in Slack and Microsoft Teams.
  • Scarcity โ€” a daily taco limit keeps recognition intentional.
  • Public recognition โ€” amplifies impact when others see it.
  • Playfulness โ€” tacos make gratitude feel fun, not forced.
  • Rituals โ€” leaderboards, values, and milestones build habit.
  • Rewards โ€” custom, instant, and team-based rewards keep it fresh.

The result? A culture where recognition happens naturally โ€” not because it's mandated, but because people enjoy it. With HeyTaco, culture belongs to everyone.

Why this matters

When people feel appreciated, they do their best work โ€” and stick around.

StatFindingSource
22%Only 22% of employees say they get the right amount of recognition for their workGallup & Workhuman, 2024
2.9ร—Employees who get even one element of high-quality recognition are 2.9ร— as likely to be engaged as those who get noneGallup & Workhuman, 2024
45%Well-recognized employees were 45% less likely to have changed organizations two years laterGallup & Workhuman, 2024

Features

Peer recognition that builds a habit

  • Public: recognition happens where everyone can see it.
  • Daily: 5 tacos a day build a consistent habit.
  • Fun: makes appreciation feel easy and authentic.

Learn more about peer-to-peer recognition

Boost engagement with gamification

  • Friendly competition drives team-wide participation.
  • Customize gamification to reflect your culture.
  • Unlock taco levels and work toward the Hall of Fame.

Learn more about gamification

Celebrate with rewards that fit your team

  • Choose from custom, collaborative, or instant gift card rewards.
  • Control your budget and reward mix.
  • Meaningful rewards create lasting memories.

Learn more about rewards

Core values make recognition matter more

  • Tag tacos with #corevalues to connect recognition to what matters.
  • Spotlight values in action through campaigns and challenges.
  • Track usage and celebrate your core value champions.

Learn more about values

Milestones celebrate special days

  • Automatically celebrate birthdays and work anniversaries with tacos.
  • Start a taco party โ€” teammates can add notes and tacos.
  • Flexible: teammates choose how (or if) they want to be celebrated.

Learn more about milestones

Quests reward the behaviors you value (Slack only)

  • Turn what matters into quests โ€” volunteering, mentoring, wellness challenges, surveys.
  • Teammates self-submit, or nominate someone (hello, teammate of the month).
  • Complete a quest, earn tacos.

Learn more about quests

Reporting and Taco TV

  • Reporting: dashboards and downloads to track recognition.
  • Taco TV: broadcast recognition on office displays.

The API puts taco data to work (Slack only)

  • Pull live leaderboard data โ€” given, received, or combined, from today to all-time.
  • Build it into dashboards, bots, and your BI tool.
  • Personal, scoped tokens โ€” admins see and manage every one.

Example request: GET /leaderboard?type=received&timeframe=month

Learn more about the HeyTaco API, or read the docs at api.heytaco.com.

How to build a culture of recognition in 3 steps

  1. Recognition. Short, sincere, and shared by everyone. Make praise specific, tie it to your values, and keep it flowing daily in the tools people already use.
  2. Rituals. Build simple habits that show up on the calendar. Weekly shoutouts, monthly highlights, or manager-led moments in 1:1s โ€” whatever fits each team's vibe.
  3. Rewards. Keep it fun, low-pressure, and varied. Mix personal and team rewards, include non-monetary options, and celebrate shared wins together.

Does this work? Yes!

  • 10 years
  • 5,000+ teams
  • 45+ countries
  • Millions of tacos given
G2 Highest User Adoption badge G2 Best Estimated ROI badge G2 Easiest Admin badge

Loved by end-users and administrators

"I love how HeyTaco encourages peer-to-peer recognition in a lighthearted and engaging way. It has strengthened our team culture and helped everyone feel appreciated."

Leslie G., Vice President of Customer Success ยท Review on G2

"I've been using HeyTaco as both an admin and user for our fully remote team, and it's been a fantastic tool for boosting team morale and encouraging recognition across the organization."

Mary C., UX Designer ยท Review on G2

"The taco system is really fun, and genuinely motivates our team members to acknowledge each other's hard work and contributions EVERY DAY!"

Oleg S., Technical Architect ยท Review on G2

"The taco awards are a lighthearted and engaging way to recognize peers. It's simple, fast, and creates an instant boost in morale."

Caroline C., Proposal Writer ยท Review on G2

"It encourages a culture of gratitude. Small wins and behind-the-scenes efforts often go unnoticed โ€” but with tacos, I can easily give someone a shoutout and make their day."

Bradley B., Senior QA Analyst ยท Review on G2

"People love getting acknowledged publicly, and it's especially great in remote teams where spontaneous praise is harder to give."

Daniela S., Fraud Analyst ยท Review on G2

Pricing and plans

From $3/user/month, with plans for teams of every size and discounts for enterprise teams. See current plans and pricing.

Security

SOC 2 Type II ยท GDPR. See our Trust Center for reports and policies, or read more about how we protect your data.

Ready to start building your culture of recognition?

Start your free trial or email support@heytaco.com.

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