Core values help define how your company works, makes decisions, and shows up for customers and teammates. Many organizations use values to align teams, guide behavior, and reinforce what great work and impact looks like in practice.
Value-based Shoutouts make it easy to recognize teammates in ways that reflect those values. When employees send Shoutouts, they can tag them with a company value to highlight why the recognition matters, helping your values show up in everyday work—not just during reviews or all-hands.
Admins set up values once, and employees can use them directly in Slack when sending or reacting to Shoutouts.
New to Shoutouts? Learn how Donut supports peer recognition in Slack.
How to set up Shoutouts Values (Admins)
Log in to the Donut dashboard
Go to Shoutouts settings
In the left sidebar, navigate to:
Shoutouts & Points → Shoutouts settingsOpen the Values tab
Add your company values
For each value, fill out the following fields:Value tag
The hashtag employees will use (for example:#ListenToOurCustomers)Emoji
The emoji associated with the valueDescription
A short explanation of what the value represents
Add more values as needed
Click Add row to create additional values
Avoid using the name of an existing Slack channel as a value tag
Manage values
Delete values using the trash icon
If a value has already been used in a Shoutout, Donut will show a confirmation prompt before deleting it
How to send a value-based Shoutout
Go to a Slack channel where Donut is installed
Send a Shoutout
Tag a teammate
Add a message explaining what you’re recognizing them for
Add a value
You can attach values in any of the following ways:Add the value tag (for example:
#MoveFast) in the messageAdd the value emoji directly in the message
React to the Shoutout with the value emoji
How value points work
Values are counted as points only when:
No Shoutout emojis are included in the message itself, and
The value emoji is used as a reaction
This allows teams to recognize values without always attaching points.
Where recipients see value-based Shoutouts
My Points & Shoutouts page
Recipients can view all Shoutouts they’ve received by going to:
Profile → My Points & Shoutouts in the Donut dashboardValue details
Hovering over a value tag in a Shoutout shows the value description set by the admin
Leaderboard
Top value recipients appear on the leaderboard, making it easy to see which values are being recognized most often. Learn more about the Leaderboard here.