Skip to main content

Bonusly Guide: Building stronger teams and better culture

This guide is designed to help you introduce Bonusly to your team, build healthy recognition habits, and strengthen your culture.

Updated today

Now that Bonusly is set up, you're ready to introduce it to your team, establish team habits, and drive significant adoption.

Bonusly gives your team the tools to build a stronger culture together, one where people feel seen, milestones don't go unnoticed, and everyone has what they need to do their best work.

It's not just a recognition tool. It's how your team connects, celebrates, and grows together, every day.

Pro Tip: This guide is designed for Culture Leaders ready to launch their programs. If you still need to set up your account, sync your HRIS, or invite your team, please complete our Getting Started with Bonusly guide first!

Why team culture is worth investing in

The best teams don't just execute well. They trust each other. They notice each other's contributions. They celebrate wins: big and small. They have honest conversations about how things are going. And they get better over time, together.

That kind of culture doesn't happen by accident. It takes the right habits and the right tools.

  • Contributions need to be visible. In any team larger than a handful, most of the good work happening is invisible to most people. The colleague who unblocks a deployment at 9pm. The new hire who writes documentation nobody asked for. The support lead who de-escalates a tricky customer situation.
    ​    When those moments stay invisible, people feel underappreciated, even when the work is exceptional.

  • Connection needs to be intentional. In distributed and remote organizations, it's easy to feel isolated from people outside your immediate circle. Without intentional touchpoints such as celebrations, shared recognition, visible wins people drift into silos.

  • Growth needs real conversations. Performance doesn't improve through annual reviews alone. It improves through regular feedback, honest check-ins, and 1:1s where people actually talk about what matters not just status updates.

  • Culture needs consistency. A single team-building event or appreciation week doesn't create culture. Culture is built by the small things that happen every day: a thank you in Slack, a birthday celebration that doesn't get forgotten, and a 1:1 where someone feels genuinely heard.

Bonusly brings all of this together in one place. So building great team culture isn't a separate initiative. It's just part of how your team works.

Learn More

Bring your team closer together

Connection doesn't happen by default, especially when your team is spread across time zones, offices, or Slack channels. These tools make it easy to notice each other's work, celebrate it publicly, and build the kind of visibility that turns a group of coworkers into an actual team.

Peer-to-peer recognition

Recognition is the foundation of a connected team. When people regularly call out each other's contributions not just managers, but peers, cross-functional partners, and individual contributors. Everyone gets a clearer picture of the great work happening around them. A single recognition can invite add-ons, comments, and a moment of shared celebration, turning a one-to-one thank-you into a many-to-one acknowledgment that the whole team sees

Every recognition in Bonusly includes a message, points, and at least one company value hashtag. That structure turns a simple thank-you into something richer: a visible, searchable expression of what your team values in practice. And recognition doesn't have to come with points, a thoughtful, specific shout-out is valuable all on its own.

Pro tip: Encourage your teams to be specific. "Thanks for rewriting the onboarding docs so new hires can get started on day one" lands far better than "Great job this week." Specific recognition shows people exactly what behaviors matter and makes the recipient's day.

When this helps:

  • "Great work happens on my team but nobody outside our group sees it."

  • "I want to thank someone on another team who helped me hit a deadline."

  • "We need a way to reinforce the specific behaviors our company values."

Learn More

Company values in everyday work

Your company values aren't just labels in Bonusly they're the tags people attach to every recognition. Over time, this creates a living record of how your values actually show up in real work.

Which values get used most? Which teams lean into certain values more than others? Are there values that rarely come up and does that mean they need to be rethought? Values data answers questions that surveys and self-assessments can't.

Pro tip: Keep your values list to three to six. Use language your team actually speaks. Review which values get used most each quarter to see if your stated values match your lived culture.

When this helps:

  • "I want to know if the values we talk about actually match our day-to-day culture."

  • "We're running a big cross-functional initiative and want to see who's contributing across teams."

  • "I want to create a temporary hashtag for a company-wide push so we can track momentum."

Learn More

Recognition in Slack and Microsoft Teams

The biggest predictor of whether a culture tool gets used is whether it lives where your team already works. When Bonusly is connected to Slack or Microsoft Teams, recognition, celebrations, and announcements flow through your channels automatically. People see it, react to it, and join in without opening a separate app or remembering to check a dashboard.

For people on the go frontline teams, traveling employees, or anyone who lives on their phone. Bonusly mobile app puts recognition, celebrations, and check-ins right in their pocket. Give a shout-out from the parking lot, check in between meetings, or browse the rewards catalog on your commute. No laptop required.

This is what turns culture-building from a program into a habit.

Pro tip: Set up a dedicated channel like #recognition or #shoutouts so appreciation stays visible without cluttering project channels. Pin the Bonusly app in your sidebar for quick access.

When this helps:

  • "We have too many tools already -- people forget to open a separate app for recognition."

  • "I want appreciation to happen where my team already works, not in a silo."

  • "We tried a recognition program before, but nobody used it because it wasn't in Slack."

Learn More

The recognition feed

The feed is where your team's culture comes to life. It's a running stream of contributions, celebrations, and shout-outs visible to everyone.

People browse it, add on to it, and comment on it. In a remote or distributed team, the feed is often the best window into what's happening outside your immediate circle. It's how people stay connected to the broader organization, even if they never meet most of their colleagues in person.

Pro tip: When you see someone recognized for something you've noticed too, add on. Add-ons turn a single moment of appreciation into a chorus -- and they show the recipient that multiple people see their impact.

When this helps:

  • "I have no idea what's happening on other teams -- we're all in our own bubbles."

  • "New hires tell me they feel disconnected from the rest of the company."

  • "I want a quick pulse on company culture without sending another survey."

Rewards that make appreciation tangible

Points earned through recognition can be redeemed for gift cards, charitable donations, company swag, curated gifts, and more. Rewards add a tangible layer to appreciation.

But the real value isn't only the gift card. It's that people earn rewards by being recognized for genuine contributions—creating a direct link between great work and something meaningful.

Admins can also create company exclusives the custom rewards that reflect your company's personality. Think branded swag people actually want, unique experiences like a coffee chat with a company leader, or charitable donation matches. Exclusives show up first in the catalog, so your team sees them right away.The catalog is browsable from the Bonusly app, Slack, or Teams, so redeeming a reward takes seconds.

Pro tip: Add a few custom rewards alongside the default catalog -- company swag, an extra day off, a team lunch. Custom options that reflect your company's personality make the rewards catalog feel like yours, not generic.

When this helps:

  • "I want appreciation to feel tangible, not just words on a screen."

  • "We need something that actually motivates people to engage with the program."

Learn More

Automated celebrations

Birthdays, work anniversaries, and new hirewelcomes happen automatically in Bonusly. The team gets a notification and a chance to join in. No one needs to remember dates, create calendar reminders, or organize anything.

This matters more than it sounds. Celebrations create consistent, positive moments that don't depend on anyone initiating them.

For remote and distributed teams, where milestones can easily go unnoticed, automatic celebrations make sure nobody feels invisible.

Beyond the built-in types, admins can create custom celebrations for any date that matters to your company. A founding anniversary, a seasonal appreciation day, a team-specific milestone whatever fits your culture.

Custom celebrations work like the built-in types: set a date, choose an audience, write a message, assign points, and let it run. They're a flexible way to mark the moments that are unique to your organization.

Pro tip: Customize milestone anniversary points so bigger years get bigger recognition. A 10-year anniversary should feel different from a first. Encourage your team to comment on celebration posts to turn an automated message into a genuine moment.

When this helps:

  • "We keep missing people's birthdays and work anniversaries."

  • "Our remote team's milestones go completely unnoticed."

  • "I want consistent, automatic celebrations so nothing falls through the cracks."

Learn More

Help your team get better every day

Recognition and celebration build connection but growth requires a different kind of conversation. The tools in this section help managers and teammates stay honest about how things are going, give feedback when it matters most, and keep goals visible enough that they actually drive the work.

Check-ins that surface how people are really doing

Check-ins are a lightweight pulse. A score from 1 to 5 and an optional message. They're not surveys or performance evaluations. They're a simple signal that helps managers notice patterns before small concerns become big ones.

Is someone consistently checking in lower than usual? Is the team's energy shifting before a big deadline?

Check-ins show up in 1:1s, giving both people a real starting point for conversation instead of defaulting to status updates.

The check-in prompt is the same for everyone by design. A consistent format tested to surface honest signals without overcomplicating the moment.

Pro tip: Use check-in trends to open conversations, not as a performance metric. A dip in someone's check-in scores is an invitation to ask "How are you really doing?" not a red flag to escalate.

  • Frequency is the lever you control. Admins choose the cadence -- daily, weekly, or somewhere in between -- so you can dial it to what fits your team's rhythm.

  • The optional message is where flexibility lives. The score is standardized, but the open text field lets people share whatever context matters to them.

  • Pair check-ins with 1:1s for the real payoff. The trend data becomes a conversation starter that's already there when you sit down together.

When this helps:

  • "As a manager, I can't tell how my team is really doing until it's too late."

  • "Our 1:1s default to status updates because I don't have a better starting point."

  • "I want an early warning system for burnout before someone hands in their notice."

Learn More

1:1s that build real relationships

1:1s aren't just for managers and direct reports. They work just as well with an onboarding buddy, a project partner, or a cross-functional colleague you collaborate with regularly. Any recurring conversation worth having is worth having well.

Bonusly handles the prep, note-taking, and follow-up for your 1:1 meetings. Connect your calendar, and Bonusly creates a space for each meeting automatically.

Before the meeting, you see shared notes, the summary from last time, and your partner's recent check-ins and recognition. During the meeting, transcription captures what's said so you can focus on the conversation. After, AI generates a summary with action items.

The result: 1:1s stop being isolated calendar events and start being a continuous thread. Feedback happens regularly, not annually. People stay connected to each other's experience. And the relationship not just the task list gets real attention.The emphasis is genuinely placed on the relationship, extending beyond the mere task list.

Pro tip: Let the other person lead the agenda -- the best 1:1s are driven by the person who needs the most from the conversation. Short on prep time? Ask Bizy to pull together context in seconds so you can walk in ready.

When this helps:

  • "I spend more time taking notes in 1:1s than actually listening."

  • "Every meeting feels like we're starting from scratch -- I forget what we discussed last week."

  • "I want my 1:1s to build on each other instead of being isolated calendar events."

Learn More

Advice that helps people grow

Feedback helps someone do even better next time. Bonusly's Advice feature makes it easy to give, request, and receive feedback: privately, thoughtfully, and in the flow of work.

Anyone can request feedback from a peer or cross-functional partner. Managers can give proactive feedback to direct reports. And Bonusly's AI tools help you find the right words when you're not sure how to phrase something. The result: feedback becomes a regular habit, not a dreaded annual ritual.

Pro tip: The best feedback is specific and timely. Instead of waiting for a review cycle, use Advice to share observations while they're still fresh and request feedback from the people closest to your work.

When this helps:

  • "I want to give my team growth-oriented feedback, but there's no good time between review cycles."

  • "I know I need to share constructive feedback with a colleague but I'm not sure how to phrase it."

  • "We want to build a feedback culture, but people only give feedback when HR makes them."

Learn More

Goals that connect effort to outcomes

Goals in Bonusly live alongside recognition, check-ins, and 1:1s. They're part of the same conversation, not a separate system.

Admins can set company initiatives. The big-picture priorities the organization is focused on right now. Individual and team goals align under those initiatives, so everyone can see how their work connects to what the company actually cares about. Goals can also be collaborative: multiple people can chip in on the same goal, making cross-functional work visible instead of siloed.

When goals are visible in the same place where appreciation and feedback happen, the connection between what people are working toward and what they're being recognized for becomes obvious.

For the team, this creates clarity: "I know what I'm working on, I can see how it connects to what the company cares about, and the work I do gets noticed."

Pro tip: Review goals in your 1:1s regularly, not as a formal check, but as a natural part of the conversation. When goals live alongside recognition and check-ins, progress updates happen organically instead of in a separate review cycle.

When this helps:

  • "Our goals live in a separate tool and everyone forgets about them by week two."

  • "There's no connection between what people work on daily and what the team is actually trying to achieve."

  • "I want goals to be part of the conversation, not a box we check once a quarter."

Learn More

What a strong team culture looks like in practice

When these pieces work together, something shifts. Culture stops being a program and starts being how the team operates. Here's what changes:

  • People appreciate each other without being reminded. Recognition isn't a monthly checkbox. It's something people do naturally because the tools make it easy and the culture makes it normal.

  • Everyday contributions don't go unnoticed. The person who always helps behind the scenes, the teammate who mentors new hires, the cross-functional partner who goes out of their way -- they're visible now. Not just to their manager, but to everyone.

  • New hires experience the culture from day one. When someone joins a teamwhere people are genuinely celebrating each other, milestones are acknowledged automatically, and the 1:1 on their second day has real context -- they know they're in the right place.

  • Company values become observable behaviors. Values stop being abstract concepts and start showing up in hundreds of specific, peer-driven moments. "#Customer-obsession" isn't a poster anymore -- it's something the team recognizes each other for every week.

  • Managers have better conversations. Performance reviews are grounded in a year's worth of peer-sourced data, not a manager's imperfect memory. 1:1s have real context. Check-in trends surface concerns early. The data is already there -- managers just use it.

  • Remote and distributed teams feel connected. The recognition feed, automatic celebrations, and visible shout-outs create a shared culture that doesn't depend on being in the same office. People feel seen, regardless of time zone or location. Teams become more engaged and more effective.

FAQs

  • How do I get my team to start using Bonusly? The most effective lever is visible leadership participation. When people see their managers using Bonusly giving thoughtful recognition, joining in on celebrations, showing up prepared for 1:1s, they follow. It's not about mandating usage. It's about modeling the culture you want.

  • Is Bonusly just for recognition? No. Recognition is a big part of what Bonusly does, but it's one piece of a broader picture. Bonusly also handles celebrations, check-ins, 1:1 meetings with AI summaries and transcription, goal tracking, and rewards. Think of it as your team's culture tool the single place where connection, celebration, and growth all happen together instead of being scattered across a dozen apps.

  • How is Bonusly different from a Slack shout-out or a mention in a meeting? Slack messages and meeting mentions are great but they disappear. Appreciation in Bonusly is persistent, searchable, tied to company values, backed by points, and visible to the whole organization. It creates a record that compounds over time, not a moment that fades.

  • Does this work for remote and distributed teams? It's often where it matters most. Remote teams don't have hallway high-fives or spontaneous office celebrations. Bonusly puts connection, celebration, and growth tools in the places where remote teams already work Slack, Teams, and the web app.

  • How do I know it's working? You'll see it in participation rates, but you'll feel it in conversations. When people reference recognition in 1:1s, when new hires mention the culture in their first week, when check-in scores trend upward, when a team channel buzzes with genuine appreciation after a big launch that's the signal.
    Bonusly's analytics also give you data on participation, recognition patterns, and collaboration across teams.

  • What do company values have to do with team culture? Everything. Values are meaningless if they only exist in an onboarding deck. When people attach values to recognition every day, those values become a living, visible part of how the team operates.
    Bonusly turns your values from aspirational statements into observable behaviors.

  • What features does Bonusly include? Bonusly includes peer-to-peer recognition, company values hashtags, a recognition feed, automated celebrations (birthdays, work anniversaries, new hires), check-ins, 1:1 meetings with AI summaries and transcription, goal setting and tracking, and a rewards catalog with gift cards, donations, and custom options. See Understanding Bonusly Plans for a full comparison of what's available on each plan.

Related Articles
Why Bonusly is a good investment
What Bonusly Does for Your Team
Your Bonusly Trial
Building a Recognition Culture in Microsoft Teams
Understanding Bonusly Plans
Did this answer your question?