Image: HeyTaco

HeyTaco Helps SMBs Strengthen Teams Through ‘Simple, Social Recognition’

By Brittany Fugate, Founder

Your to-do list as an SMB leader is a mile long, and sometimes employee recognition falls to the bottom. But happy, appreciated teams are productive, engaged teams that benefit your business — and build long-haul employee retention. 

One of the reasons it can slip off your radar as a leader is that we tend to make it overly complex and, well, kind of a pain to execute. The result is employees whose hard work goes overlooked and who can even become resentful or unmotivated because of it.

Building team engagement is as easy as dropping an emoji

That’s the kind of thing I want to avoid as a leader, of course, which is why Cenetric implemented the HeyTaco employee recognition platform. It’s a unique part of the company culture we’ve cultivated over the years. 

HeyTaco is a simple recognition system built right into Slack or Teams, which is where we do a big chunk of our communication as a company. In a dedicated channel, our whole team is allotted three tacos each to give to other employees every day. When someone deserves a shout-out, employees just hop to the channel and insert the taco emoji 🌮along with their teammate’s name, and HeyTaco tracks the recognition each person accumulates automatically.

“Because recognition happens where the team is already communicating, there is no new system to learn, no extra logins to remember, and no training required,” said Doug Dosberg, founder & CEO of HeyTaco. “Just give a taco, share appreciation, and keep moving.” 

Implementing employee recognition for all types of performance 

What earns a taco? Anything really, from jumping in to help another employee when they were sick to handling a tricky implementation. If one of us sees another employee doing something helpful, kind, or above and beyond, we can quickly and easily make sure they get the recognition they deserve.

Gallup 2024 data reports that while 63% of employees said they were recognized for performance on big tasks, just 30% said they felt  appreciated for performance on “little things.” That’s what makes HeyTaco so great — we can appreciate each other for everyday performance just as much as we can for major projects.

When team members accumulate tacos, they can spend them in a store for things like corporate swag, extra half-days of vacation or taking a team member to lunch on the company’s dime. (We even have a mega-prize of two plane tickets anywhere in the world, worth thousands of tacos.) Or the team can pool tacos for group events like a company-wide lunch or outing.  

What I love most about this program is it’s beyond easy for all of us. I don’t have to administer it myself, taking time away from my work to tally up points or manage complicated prize systems. HeyTaco tracks the tacos and lets employees cash them in, with no headaches for me.

For employees, they can pay a compliment and give a taco, right in a tool they’re already using, right when their teammate earns one. There are no complex processes or earnings systems to figure out. 

“That’s why teams using HeyTaco typically see higher daily engagement,” Dosberg said. “Not because of admin features, but because it feels good to use. When recognition is simple, social, and part of everyday work, people naturally keep coming back.”

Making recognition SMB-friendly 

As a fellow SMB leader, I’m sure you can relate. The last thing we need is more complicated tasks to juggle. But when you consider that well-recognized employees are 45% less likely to turn over within two years, it’s important that we find ways like HeyTaco to make sure employees know they’re appreciated.

“The biggest win for SMBs is the daily rhythm it creates,” Dosberg said. “Appreciation becomes a habit, not a chore. Over time, that behavior helps people feel seen, lifts morale, and keeps teams connected as they grow.”

Fostering a happier team makes our clients happy too

I’ve always felt that building a strong employee culture will pay dividends for our clients, and working with HeyTaco has been a fulfilling way to do that. When your team needs managed IT services or any kind of IT support, you can be sure that you’ll work with a team that knows the importance of treating others well — because that starts from the inside.

Looking for IT support from an employee-focused MSP right here in Kansas City? Cenetric has the experience and availability you need to keep running smoothly 24/7. Tell us about your organization and we’ll be in touch to get started right away.