How to Give Shoutouts 🎉

How to give shoutouts in Slack

Jared Ellis avatar
Written by Jared Ellis
Updated yesterday

What can I learn from this page?

How to give shoutouts in Slack

Who is this guide for?

All Users

Enable values-driven work, build engagement and foster team appreciation in Slack with Shoutouts. Shoutouts is a real-time recognition tool that helps celebrate, socialize, and reinforce behaviors that build an intentional culture around appreciation for you and your team. In this article, we'll cover:


How Shoutouts Works

When the Culture Amp app is added to a public Slack channel, you can give recognition by including the word "shoutout" anywhere in the body of your message and tagging one or more of your colleagues.

The Culture Amp app responds with an emoji, as well as a short reply in the thread of your message. You can find shoutouts given and received by navigating to the Shoutouts feed in Culture Amp.


Getting Started with Shoutouts is Simple

1. Invite the Culture Amp App to Slack Channels

If the Culture Amp app hasn't been added to a channel where you want to give a shoutout, add the app to any public channel. Simply type "@cultureamp" and hit Send.

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You can also add the Culture Amp app to a channel by selecting Add an App from the Integrations tab in the channel's details.

2. Give a Shoutout to a Colleague

Give a shoutout by including the word "shoutout" in the body of your message, like this: “shoutout @teammate and the awesome thing they did.” Make sure to mention one or more colleagues in your message as well!

Additionally, you can trigger a shoutout by adding a # in front of the word "shoutout," or including . or , after it.

Note: In addition to the word “shoutout”, your company may have tailored Shoutouts by adding other keywords to listen for (for example, mad props, kudos).

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💡Tip: Shoutouts is not a slash command, so no need to start your message with "/" or even start the message with the word "shoutout".

If your company has added custom values to Shoutouts, consider including a value in your shoutout. Add a value by:

  • Including the value’s emoji in your message

  • Reacting to the message with a value’s emoji

  • Selecting the value from the dropdown in the message thread

3. Say Thanks!

If you’re active in Slack when you receive a shoutout, you’ll see a message in the Slack channel where the shoutout was sent asking if you’d like to say thanks. This message is visible to only you. Saying thanks adds a short message to the app’s response letting the author know that you appreciate their shoutout!


Shoutouts feed

When someone gives you a shoutout in Slack, you'll find it under Mentions & Reactions. You can also check all your shoutouts anytime on the Shoutouts feed in Culture Amp, under the Feedback menu.

Your view on the shoutouts feed depends on your role. Everyone sees You and Company tabs. You shows your personal shoutouts, while Company displays shoutouts across the whole company.

If you're a Manager, you get an extra Direct reports tab to see shoutouts your team members received.

In the Company tab you will see the below views:

  • Shoutout Usage: Shows the total number of shoutouts given and received company-wide.

  • Top Channels: Displays the number of shoutouts per Slack channel.

  • Values: Highlights the most shared company values tagged in shoutouts.

  • Leaderboard: Shows users who gave and received the most shoutouts.

  • Company tab filter: Lets you filter shoutouts as needed, like by all shoutouts, shoutouts given, or shoutouts received.


View Shoutouts on the Home Page


When you receive a shoutout, you can also view it in Your feed on the Home page under the Recent section.


FAQs

How do I view my shoutouts?

When you receive a shoutout, it will appear under Mentions & Reactions in Slack. You can also access your shoutouts at any time on your Shoutouts feed in Culture Amp, which you'll find under the Feedback menu in the navigation. Additionally, shoutouts are also visible under Your feed on the Home page under the Recent section

How do I view shoutouts for my direct reports?

People managers can access their team’s shoutouts on the Direct Reports tab of their Shoutouts feed in Culture Amp. This is where you’ll see all of the shoutouts given and received by your team – perfect for reviewing before a weekly 1-on-1 or during a performance review cycle. You can also access your direct report’s shoutouts from their profile during a performance review.

How do I delete shoutouts?

You can easily remove a shoutout triggered in error by selecting Unmark as shoutout from the dropdown in the message's thread. Deleting the message will also remove the shoutout from Culture Amp.

Can I only give shoutouts from Slack?

Yes, shoutouts can currently only be given from Slack. You'll soon be able to give shoutouts from Microsoft Teams too.

Can I give a shoutout in a private Slack channel?

No, currently shoutouts can only be given in public Slack channels. We do have plans to support private channel shoutouts in the future.

Can I give a shoutout to more than one person at a time?

Yes, shoutouts can be given to as many individuals as you’d like! In order for shoutouts to work, at least one colleague must be tagged in your Slack message. Shoutouts currently do not work for user groups in Slack.

Is it possible to edit a previous Slack message to include the word "shoutout" and give recognition to a colleague?

Editing a previous Slack message won't retroactively trigger a shoutout. The shoutout feature typically relies on specific triggers or commands within Slack, so editing a message after the fact wouldn't activate it.


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