The best way to launch Rewards

Wondering how and when to launch rewards? Here is a simple strategy that we have seen our customers successfully implement over the years.

Rewards Launch Strategy

Use HeyTaco for at least one month to determine the number of redeemable tacos available.
Come up with a budget (usually $100-$500) for the first month of rewards.
Start with setting up two custom rewards (1 monetary reward & 1 non-monetary reward)
Start with setting up 2 collaborative rewards (1 monetary reward & 1 non-monetary reward)
Set a limit on the quantity of each reward to help keep within budget

In general, great experience-based rewards consist of one or more of the following attributes:

Meaningful (feel-good) - These rewards check the "feel-good" box, such as charity donations, pay it forward, or personal experiences. For example, a one-on-one with leadership can be a meaningful experience for someone.
Amusing (fun) - These rewards bring people joy. We have seen examples as simple and silly as a high five from the CEO. These fun and light-hearted rewards put a smile on people's faces.
Collective (purpose) - These rewards bring people together around a shared goal. Examples include rewards for you and your colleagues to do something together, either virtually or in person.

If you want to include rewards in your recognition program, we recommend waiting. After a month or two, you'll have engagement data to look at, making it easier to price your rewards. But more importantly, people engaging without rewards is a good sign. It means they're giving for the intrinsic value—how it feels to give and receive recognition. When you decide to add rewards, it will be like icing on the cake. 25-50 tacos for custom rewards and 50-100 tacos for collaborative rewards are good starting points, and based on how many and how fast the rewards are redeemed, you can adjust the amounts higher or lower.

We recommend staying away from directly valuing one taco to a dollar value, but we understand that for budgeting purposes, it is necessary to have a ratio; hence we recommend that any dollar value under $1 is excellent per taco valuation. You don't need rewards for your recognition program to be successful. And if you do rewards poorly, they can have adverse effects and cause your recognition program to fail. See the "The surprising truth why most peer recognition programs fail" article here.

Have a question? Please contact us: https://www.heytaco.chat/support