Slack
Microsoft Teams.
In the moment
Recognition happens right after the win, not at the end of the semester.
Employee Recognition for Education Teams
From classrooms to campuses, HeyTaco helps education teams feel seen and valued through lightweight recognition inside Slack and Microsoft Teams.
What Is Employee Recognition in Education?
Employee recognition in education is the practice of acknowledging contributions across teachers, staff, and operations—helping people feel valued even when campuses are spread out and critical work happens behind the scenes.
Why Recognition Matters Even More in Education
Education isn't like other industries. The pressure is constant, the stakes are high, and the people doing critical work are often the least visible.
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Campuses don't overlap
Staff at different schools rarely see each other. Recognition that happens in district meetings misses most of the workforce.
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Behind-the-scenes heroes
From transportation to facilities to IT, the people who keep schools running rarely get recognized in the moment.
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Burnout is real
Education workers carry emotional weight beyond their workload. Feeling seen helps build resilience.
Why Recognition Breaks Down In Education
Education turnover averages 16%[1]—and 44% of teachers[3] report feeling burned out. When critical work goes unnoticed, people leave.
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Distributed teams
Staff are spread across schools, departments, and schedules. Great work happens in hallways, classrooms, cafeterias, and buses—not meetings.
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Invisible work
Some of the most important work is invisible. Student support, compliance, and day-to-day problem-solving rarely get public recognition.
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Always on
When the pace is nonstop, appreciation becomes an afterthought. Weeks pass, and the moment is gone.
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Someone else will
In busy schools, everyone assumes someone else noticed. Nobody owns recognition, so it doesn't happen consistently.
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Formal programs fall flat
End-of-year awards and formal programs feel disconnected from daily reality. They miss the small moments that matter most.
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No easy system
Without a simple tool that fits into existing workflows, recognition becomes another task that never happens.
Case Study
Used by education teams from K-12 districts to higher education programs.
How Duke University Increased Peer Recognition 10x
A graduate residency program at Duke University needed a way to support a high-pressure academic environment where meaningful effort often went unseen.
Faculty, program staff, and residents worked across long hours, tight schedules, and constant demands. While collaboration and support were critical, there was no easy way to recognize the everyday moments that kept the program running.
That's why the program turned to HeyTaco.
The result?
A 1000% increase in peer-to-peer recognition.
“We needed a way to support our residents emotionally—and help them feel seen by their peers.”
HeyTaco gave the program a simple, lightweight way for people to recognize one another for teamwork, stepping up, and supporting the group through intense academic periods.
Recognition happened in the moment—inside the tools the team already used—making appreciation visible across the entire cohort.
“It changed the way our team interacted. It created a culture of support, which is critical in medicine.”
Over time, recognition became part of the program's rhythm. Small moments of appreciation helped strengthen relationships, improve morale, and reinforce a sense of belonging in an environment where pressure is constant.
Signs Recognition Is Breaking Down in Your School or District
These warning signs often go unnoticed until they're already hurting morale and retention.
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Awards Miss Daily Effort
End-of-year ceremonies recognize a few people. The daily effort that keeps schools running goes unseen all year.
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Support Staff Feel Invisible
Transportation, facilities, IT, and cafeteria staff rarely get acknowledged. Their work matters but stays behind the scenes.
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Cross-Campus Work Goes Unseen
Someone helped a colleague at another school. Nobody outside that conversation knows it happened.
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Teachers Burn Out Quietly
The emotional weight builds without acknowledgment. Staff carry more than workload—and nobody notices.
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Appreciation Only Flows From Admin
Recognition is top-down. Peers rarely acknowledge each other, even when they see great work firsthand.
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New Staff Feel Disconnected
New hires don't feel welcomed or valued. Their early contributions go unnoticed by the broader team.
How Recognition Fits Into Education Work
Employee recognition works best when it lives where teams already communicate.
Across campuses
Appreciation stays visible across schools, departments, and shifts.
In existing tools
HeyTaco works inside Slack and Microsoft Teams, so there is almost nothing new to learn.
How HeyTaco Supports Education Teams
HeyTaco makes it easy to recognize meaningful work in the moment, helping staff feel supported in a role where burnout is real and appreciation matters.
In Slack and Microsoft Teams
Recognition happens in the tools teams already use. No new logins, no extra workflows, no rollout fatigue.
Visible across the whole district
Recognition travels across campuses and departments so people doing the behind the scenes work feel included, too.
Simple enough to stick
Sending recognition takes seconds. When it is easy, people actually do it, even on the busiest days.
Human, not scripted
Short, genuine recognition feels real. It keeps appreciation personal instead of procedural.
How Recognition Improves Team Connection in Education
When recognition fits into daily workflows, staff feel more connected without adding meetings or admin overhead.
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More collaboration
People step in to help across roles when effort is noticed and appreciated.
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Better handoffs
Recognition carries context across shifts and campuses, helping teams stay aligned.
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Less invisible work
Behind-the-scenes effort gets acknowledged publicly—not just for teachers, but for the staff who keep schools running every day.
Why Education Teams Choose HeyTaco
Because it delivers impact without adding another program to manage.
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No new systems to manage
HeyTaco runs inside Slack and Microsoft Teams, so it fits into existing workflows.
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Easy to roll out across campuses
District teams can enable recognition across schools without heavy change management.
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Adoption happens naturally
Because recognition is simple, people actually use it without training sessions or enforcement.
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Low overhead, high trust
HeyTaco is for appreciation messages, not sensitive student data.
4.8 on G2 • Trusted by 3k+ teams worldwide
Start Recognizing the Work That Keeps Schools Running
See how HeyTaco fits into the tools your team already uses. No new systems.
Start for free Get a demoFrequently Asked Questions
Common questions from district, school, and campus teams.
Does HeyTaco work for districts with multiple schools or campuses?
Yes. Recognition stays visible in Slack or Microsoft Teams, so appreciation travels across campuses, departments, and roles.
Do staff need to learn a new platform?
No. HeyTaco lives inside Slack and Microsoft Teams. If your team already uses one of those, there is almost nothing new to learn.
Can we keep recognition lightweight and optional?
Yes. HeyTaco is designed for short, genuine recognition in the moment. No scripts, no required prompts, no forced participation.
Does HeyTaco handle student data?
HeyTaco is built for staff recognition. Teams typically keep messages free of sensitive student information, just like any other internal chat message.
How long does setup take?
Most teams can start in minutes. Install HeyTaco, choose your defaults, and start recognizing work right away.
Can we align recognition to district values?
Yes. Many teams tag recognition to values like service, collaboration, growth, equity, or student first mindset.
Does it work for hourly and frontline staff?
Yes, as long as they are in the same Slack or Teams environment. Recognition works across roles, including ops and support teams.
What kind of work gets recognized in education?
Anything the team values. Covering for a colleague, mentoring a new teacher, coordinating a schedule, solving an IT issue, supporting a struggling student, or doing the invisible work that keeps schools running.
Sources
- National Center for Education Statistics – Public school teacher turnover rates
- Learning Policy Institute – Teacher replacement cost estimates ($21,000 average)
- Gallup – K-12 worker burnout research (44% of teachers report burnout)