DISCLAIMER: These videos were taken at a Halloween + Farewell party, so excuse the spiders ;)
"We have been developing and growing a lot. What I love about Hi5 is that it creates a sense of cohesion, so it brings the team together. It creates chats and healthy competition between the different departments - we also have a Johannesburg office, so it's that healthy competition between Cape Town and Jo'burg as well. I like that it brings the fun to both our Cape Town and Jo'burg companies.
"The change I've seen since we've taken on Hi5 is that the team is happier. Usually you're so focused on getting your work done and that it must be of top standard, that you forget to say thank you that you went the extra mile, worked overtime or worked over that weekend just to get something done. So, Hi5 is there because it's so cool, you can have it on your phone as well - we try and remind people not to forget to Hi5, even though you can't see the person at that point in time when you realise that you want to acknowledge them. You can do it quickly on your phone. Being a digital agency, it blends well with us.
"I think my co-workers love Hi5, because (besides the fact that they get prizes!) - besides them enjoying and having fun with it on their own and giving Hi5's and putting a GIF on it or a picture on it and creating a fun comment - they like the gatherings, also.
"We have an initiative where we have our monthly winners & we announce and recognise who gave the most Hi5's; not only the receivers. They like the fact that we have gatherings where we can kind of slip away from that "work mode" all the time, that Hi5 creates for us. Just switching off a little bit and speaking to each other - you know, sometimes we forget to appreciate each other as humans and not as colleagues and hard workers all the time.
"At the end of every month we pull the top receivers & givers for that month for Cape Town and Jo'burg, and I give it to Tania our MD. She announces the top 5, the winner and why the winner got the Hi5's that they got, and then also who the overall top Hi5 giver & receiver is to date.
"As rewards, [we give] our awesome trophy to keep for that month and also they get a shopping voucher and something sweet." - Rugshana Snyders, former HR Assistant & Office Manager
"What I like about Hi5 is the fact that recognition is not solely the responsibility of my manager, so my peers who see me doing awesome things around the office during my day-to-day activities can also recognise me and the fact that I can do the same for them, that's amazing.
"I feel like since we have started using Hi5 a lot of us actually value recognition far more, and I say that because I come from an HR background and understand that people are actually driven and motivated by various things and a Hi5 or a "well done!" doesn't necessarily motivate other people, but since we've started using Hi5 people are actually more inclined now to see that as a way of encouraging themselves & pushing themselves to the next level versus looking at other ways of feeling gratified in their daily duties.
"My co-workers like Hi5 because, firstly, the name is cool - Hi5! We keep each other accountable, because I do a great job and now it's up to you to actually see that I've done a great job and to recognise me for having done that great job. So it actually keeps us accountable and I think that's what we all like about it." - Zandile Adams, Client Relationship Manager & Exec Assistant
"I like Hi5 because of the transparency - you can see the positivity that's being given to other staff. You can also add cool GIFs and add your little personal touch to it, and also that there's an app, which is quite cool because obviously you can see everything on your phone whenever it happens.
"There have been a lot of changes since using Hi5, mostly because the whole idea of being able to give someone positive criticism is much easier now, because there's something that you can do it immediately - it doesn't get left out of your brain because now you're in a meeting... you can just pick up your phone, add a Hi5 and say thanks for helping on that customer and so it keeps things fresh in your mind.
"I think it does help, because sometimes when you say 'I'll send you a mail to thank you,' people forget, whereas this does aid that process quite a bit. It's made it easier for the staff, so there's been a lot more positivity and people trying to interact a lot more than before, so that's great!
"We obviously get recognised and [the staff] like that idea - you know recognition is important; if you don't have it you don't really feel like you're welcome and that you're doing something that's positively impacting the company. So, by there being that sort of a transparency tool that [Hi5] created, it's made it easy for people to actually feel like they did something cool for the day." - Wesley de Connick, former Project Manager
"Hi5 has made an enormous difference to us in our performance review process. We use it to get 360 degree feedback on all of our team members."
"Hi5 can be used to drive different streams of employee engagement... it's become a part of our culture and enabled us to reward people who really deserve to be rewarded."
"Everybody loves recognition and that was something that was lacking in our business."
"We use Hi5 because we believe in the power of recognition & showing gratitude to people who do great work and contribute to team members and building their careers."
"It’s very easy to get Hi5 kick-started in a couple of weeks ... really rich insights & data that we can use to better understand our own people."
"People are happier and they are willing to give each other feedback, which we didn't have before."
"It works for our business and it really has driven an amazing culture through the team."
"Hi5 motivates us; it gives us a positive outlook about ourselves, because other people are seeing it."
"Hi5 has been a breath of fresh air - it's easy, it's quick and gives immediate feedback."
“It pushes you to actually give recognition, which you wouldn’t usually do.”
"The app helps them, reminds them, to actually say thank you."