How to Build and Strengthen Your Company Culture with HeyTaco

HeyTaco is more than just a fun way to distribute virtual tacos in Slack or Microsoft Teams; it’s an effective tool for fostering a culture of recognition, camaraderie, and kindness within your organization. By turning peer recognition into a game-like experience, companies can make appreciation an integral part of their daily workflow, enhancing both employee engagement and overall job satisfaction.

1. Strengthening Connections Through Peer Recognition

At its core, HeyTaco allows employees to recognize each other’s contributions by awarding tacos. This simple act of giving thanks can have profound effects. Employees feel valued when they receive tacos for their efforts, and the sense of appreciation fosters stronger interpersonal relationships. In organizations using HeyTaco, recognition isn’t just top-down—it’s peer-to-peer, creating a culture where everyone is encouraged to acknowledge the contributions of others.

For example, emagineHealth, a digital healthcare agency, has used HeyTaco to cultivate a culture of connection and generosity. Their employees freely give out tacos, building a sense of shared success and gratitude that spans across teams. This type of recognition creates a "pay-it-forward" effect, where kindness begets more kindness, positively influencing workplace morale.

2. Gamification and Motivation with Leaderboards

One of the standout features of HeyTaco are its leaderboards, which add an element of friendly competition to the recognition process. Employees can see who has given and received the most tacos, which incentivizes both recognizing others and performing well at work. Organizations like The Bureau of Digital have embraced this feature, using leaderboards to keep engagement high. Members strive not only to receive tacos but to be seen as generous givers, reinforcing a culture of support and teamwork.

To further strengthen the spirit of giving, some companies have implemented “Giver Mode”—a feature that showcases only the top taco givers on leaderboards, encouraging employees to focus on generosity over personal accolades.

3. Customization and Reinforcing Values

HeyTaco also allows companies to integrate their core values into daily interactions through Taco Tags, where employees can attach specific tags that correspond to company values when giving a taco. This makes recognition more meaningful, as it highlights behaviors that align with the organization’s mission. For instance, Ndustrial, a company focused on impact-driven work, has successfully used HeyTaco to reinforce a culture of gratitude, where recognition is tied directly to their core values.

4. Cultivating a Sense of Fun and Engagement

HeyTaco has inspired companies to bring creativity into their recognition programs. Exclaimer, a company with over 275 employees, used HeyTaco to build engagement by holding fun, taco-themed themed events, where they combine team-building activities with taco recognition. This playful approach helps make recognition more memorable and engaging, which strengthens participation across the team.

Additionally, the use of Taco TV—a feature that broadcasts taco activities on office displays—further boosts the visibility of recognition, making it a celebrated part of office culture. Publicly sharing appreciation in this way promotes a positive, connected environment, which has been proven to reduce employee turnover and boost morale.

5. Long-Term Cultural Impact

By integrating recognition into everyday activities, HeyTaco helps companies build a sustainable culture of gratitude. The tool encourages employees to actively contribute to a positive atmosphere, not because it’s required, but because it’s fun and rewarding. This continuous use of HeyTaco over time leads to improved relationships, higher job satisfaction, and ultimately, a more cohesive and productive team.

In conclusion, HeyTaco is not just about tacos—it’s about creating a culture where appreciation, kindness, and generosity are ingrained in daily operations, making work more enjoyable and fostering stronger teams. Companies like emagineHealth, Ndustrial, and Exclaimer have already seen how this simple tool can lead to transformative cultural changes that pay dividends in employee engagement and retention.