A kudos channel that outgrew its spreadsheet
Roo runs a Slack channel called #roohoo. “Our company is Roo, so roo and woohoo = roohoo :) We like our puns.” It is the Kudos channel where teammates give each other shoutouts.
At around 40 people, the People team tallied up the points for each kudo by hand and ran a monthly raffle based on those points. “When I was manually having to tally and enter people into a spreadsheet at the end of each day, taking up more time than it needed!”
But as we grew to nearly 100 employees 😱, this manual process wasn't sustainable. We wanted something more fun and scalable: something everyone could enjoy, not just one lucky winner each month.
The trigger, in Sammie’s words: “Needing to focus my efforts on more important things than the manual process that was in place.”
What they were looking for, in their order
- #1Functionality was exactly what we wanted
- #2Cost Efficient
- #3Supporting other start-ups.
Months in, and still running daily
It is no longer a manual process, the team is using it daily.
“Yes! We have been actively using BuddiesHR for months now and it has been great.” Recognition is automated, and the team reached for more of the suite: Pulsy for surveys, Billy for birthdays, Stany for standups.
On the HR side: “Less time spent on manual processes. Better company morale.” And from the rest of the company: “Employees love it!”
Roo’s journey with BuddiesHR highlights how the right tools can make a real difference: not just for HR teams, but for the entire company culture.
By automating time-consuming recognition processes and making them fun and engaging, Roo has successfully scaled their kudos program in a way that’s both sustainable and aligned with their values.
As Roo continues to grow, BuddiesHR is proud to support them in building a more connected, recognized, and joyful workplace.
Every question we asked Sammie Zettler, answered in their own words. Nothing edited.
The challenge
What issues were you trying to fix when you found BuddiesHR?
We have a #roohoo [our company is Roo, so roo and woohoo = roohoo :) We like our puns ] channel in Slack. This is our Kudos channel where teammates can give each other shoutouts. Back when we were around 40 people, we used to manually tally up points for each kudo and do a monthly raffle based on those points.
So now we’ve gamified it! Every clap counts toward points you can actually redeem for rewards.
Not to mention, one of our core values is "Have Fun" so this easily integrated into that.
How did you notice these issues?
When I was manually having to tally and enter people into a spreadsheet at the end of each day, taking up more time than it needed!
What impact did it have on the business?
Better employee morale!
What was the trigger that made you search for a solution?
Needing to focus my efforts on more important things than the manual process that was in place.
Solution and implementation
To fix the issues listed above, what were you looking for? What were the criteria?
#1 Connected with Slack #2 Automated #3 Easy to use #4 Reporting
How did you find BuddiesHR?
Google Search
The main reason that made you purchase?
#1 Functionality was exactly what we wanted #2 Cost Efficient #3 Supporting other start-ups.
Results
Did BuddiesHR fix the problem described above? How?
Yes! We have been actively using BuddiesHR for months now and it has been great.
It is no longer a manual process, the team is using it daily.
We have even been using other features like Pulsy, Billy, and Stany that have added automation to our slack channels.
How has the business changed after using BuddiesHR?
More efficient, better morale.
How was the ease of implementation? (how did it make their life easier?)
Super easy! Everyone was able to adapt to Buddies very quickly.
What impacts did it have on the HR team?
Less time spent on manual processes. Better company morale.
Did you receive feedback from the employees?
Employees love it!
More from our customers
1,000+ teams run their culture on BuddiesHR.
Start free in Slack
Start free in Teams