ARTICLE
baksheesh: the tool that celebrates people
6 minutes read
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Have you ever wondered what truly turns a group of people into a genuine community? I most certainly did, many times, to be honest. Although I don’t have a clear answer—human connections and relationships are far more complex than simple explanations—I want to share something I’ve observed within my team at HEITS.
When we put ‘the other’ in the spotlight, and the focus shifts from ourselves to recognize the achievements, contributions, small efforts, and good intentions of others, bonds tend to grow stronger.
At HEITS, my colleagues often take a moment to hop on Slack, whether in smaller project groups, or in the broader channels, and shoutout appreciatively to those who go the extra mile. And while those extra efforts can be anything from staying late to solve a tricky bug to simply saying “Thanks for picking up my office order” or “The chocolate you got me was delicious,” each gesture is valued.
These acts of recognition and appreciation did not go unnoticed, which is exactly why we created Baksheesh a few years back.
what’s Baksheesh?
Baksheesh is our internal tool designed to make public praising easy and immensely fun. Its mechanism is straightforward and only needs a few things:
- Our Slack channel dedicated to Baksheesh: #here-to-praise;
- Our internal currency, the sheesh;
- A monthly allowance that we get to spend wisely;
- Each individual’s digital wallet of sheesh;
- Achievements that grant you sheesh (in addition to the sheesh received from your peers);
- And last but not least, a catalogue of experiences and products that you can get in exchange for sheesh.
This simple recipe granted, on average, 20 new messages a day on our channel, #here-to-praise.
in a nutshell
The allowance
Everyone at HEITS receives a monthly allowance of sheesh to praise their colleagues. This allowance makes it easy to give praise—you use sheesh from the allowance, not your personal sheesh wallet. Any unused sheesh from the allowance vanishes, and the spending amount renews on the 1st of each month.
Your wallet
Sheesh, from the praises that you receive, go straight to your wallet. But, as mentioned before, you can also claim achievements.
Achievements
Here’s where we get to have fun! Sheesh can be claimed in a variety of ways. For sport enthusiasts, we have achievements such as Kilometozaurus, Calorie Burner or The Champ.
Baksheesh is integrated with Strava, tracking the level of activity, and through a bit of Math, translates them into sheesh.. For instance, with Kilometozaurus, every 50km of walking, biking, swimming, skiing, or similar activities earns you 50 sheesh.
Of course, achievements come in many forms. These include writing technical content, participating or speaking at different events, bringing people together for a coffee or a night out, mentoring colleagues, contributing to internal projects, and many more.
Rewards
When it comes to rewards, there’s a Romanian saying, 'După muncă și răsplată,' which translates to 'After the work comes the reward.' In the spirit of Baksheesh, every effort—whether big or small—is recognized.
Rewards are something we wanted to get the people involved in. They needed to reflect the diversity and authenticity of our people. I’ve already mentioned that we’re big in sports, so many reflect exactly these. Branded sports gear from brands such as Nike, Under Armour, or Waterdrop, to tech gadgets that make life easier, ranging from Oura rings to Remarkable tablets.
As a Romanian brand ourselves, we take pride in supporting others in the market who create high-quality products. That’s why the Baksheesh Catalogue features some of our favorite Romanian brands, such as Badea Neaos, Empath, and Delikates Accessories.
2024
in numbers
Baksheesh continues to grow bigger and better each year, and 2024 was no exception. This year, an incredible 99% of HEITS team members offered public praise—an indication of the amazing involvement of our team!
Throughout the year, we saw over 3,600 distinct praises, with 98,815 sheesh getting into people’s digital sheesh wallets.
On top of that, 669 achievements were claimed, earning a combined total of 86,100 points. These achievements celebrated football champions, sports enthusiasts, speakers, mentors, engineers dedicating their time to internal projects, and many more incredible contributors.
And last but not least, we can’t overlook the rewards! Over 85,700 points were spent on rewards, from gadgets to experiences, reflecting the diverse passions of our team.
We think it was an incredible year for Baksheesh, and not only that— we can’t wait to see what 2025 has in store. Until then, we’ll keep on building and praising!
FAQs
What is Baksheesh at HEITS?
Baksheesh is an internal recognition tool created by HEITS that allows colleagues to publicly appreciate each other’s work. Through a simple Slack-based system, employees can give praise using a digital currency called sheesh, encouraging a culture of appreciation and collaboration across the company.
How does the Baksheesh employee recognition system work?
The system combines public praise with a digital reward mechanism. Team members receive a monthly allowance of sheesh that they can give to colleagues through a dedicated Slack channel. The sheesh received from peers is stored in a personal wallet and can later be exchanged for rewards.
What are sheesh in the Baksheesh system?
Sheesh is the internal digital currency used in Baksheesh. Employees earn sheesh when colleagues recognize their contributions or when they complete certain achievements. The sheesh accumulated in their wallet can be exchanged for experiences, products, or other rewards from the Baksheesh catalogue.
What types of achievements are rewarded in Baksheesh?
Baksheesh rewards a wide range of contributions, from helping teammates and mentoring colleagues to participating in events, writing technical content, or staying active through integrations like Strava. These achievements can earn additional sheesh beyond peer recognition.
Why do companies use employee recognition tools like Baksheesh?
Employee recognition tools help strengthen company culture by encouraging appreciation, collaboration, and visibility of contributions. At HEITS, Baksheesh helps transform everyday acts of support into visible moments of recognition, reinforcing a strong sense of community within the team.