Recognition in Slack

People already say thanks in chat. Pointd Pal turns that thanks into something the team can see and count, without asking anyone to open another tool.

Ways to give

• @name ++ for <reason> in any channel the bot is in. The reason is optional, but it’s what makes the thanks useful later. because, thanks for and since work too.
• Several people at once: {@sam, @lena} ++ for the migration plan.
• A whole user group: @design-team ++. Everyone in the group gets a point.
• Emoji operators: @sam :clap:, @sam :thumbsup: and @sam :+1: count the same as ++, skin tones included.
• Your point emoji: if your points are gold stars, @sam :gold-star: for being amazing works too. Repeating the emoji still gives one point.
• A form, no syntax to learn: /recognize (or /plusplus), or the Recognize someone button at the top of the Pointd Pal tab. Pick people, write a reason, pick a company value if you like, send.
• The Recognize this shortcut on any message opens the same form with the message’s author picked and a link to the message in the reason.
• Reactions: react to someone’s message with the workspace’s point emoji and the author gets a point. Remove the reaction and the point goes back.

Private recognition

Not everyone wants their thanks in a busy channel. Tick Keep it private in the form, or give in a DM with Pointd Pal, and nothing is posted in the channel. The person gets a DM, and only they, the giver and the workspace’s admins can see the reason. It still counts toward their score, the allowance and the analytics. Both people see it on their home view. It’s on every plan, Free included.

Reasons that stick

A reason is what makes a point useful later, in the digest and in the analytics. When someone gives a point without one, Pointd Pal privately offers to add a reason, with a short form and a company value to pick. It asks once per message, at most three times a day, and Don’t ask again turns it off for that person. Admins can turn the offer off for the whole workspace.

Turn thanks into points

People say “thanks @lena, that fixed it” far more often than they type ++. With thanks suggestions on, the person who said thanks gets a private, one-tap offer: give @lena a point for this? Nothing is stored unless they tap Give, it’s offered at most once a day, and Don’t suggest again stops it for good. It’s off until an admin turns it on, and it needs a platform where the bot sees every message, so it works in Slack and, when it launches, Microsoft Teams.

Your points, your name for them

Each workspace picks what a point is called and which emoji stands for it. Call them kudos, stars or high-fives. Every message the bot sends uses your wording, and people can give with the emoji itself.

Quiet in busy channels

The bot can confirm with a threaded reply showing the new score, or just react to the message and say nothing. Busy channels usually want the second.

Guardrails that don’t embarrass anyone

• You can’t give yourself points, and bots can’t receive them.
• Giving the same person points over and over in a few minutes is slowed down.
• When something is blocked, the bot tells the giver in a private message, never in the channel.
• Negative points (--) are off by default. A workspace can turn them on, but they never reduce what someone can spend on rewards.

Asking about scores

• @PointdPal score @sam shows Sam’s points and some of the reasons.
• @PointdPal top 10 and @PointdPal top givers 10 show leaderboards on request.