Show Some Love: How to Run a "Kudos Session" for Your Team
Valentine’s Day is coming up. In the corporate world, this usually means awkward chocolates or ignoring it completely.
But there is a better way to use this week. It’s the perfect excuse to focus on Appreciation.
A study by Glassdoor found that 53% of employees would stay longer at their company if they felt more appreciation from their boss. Not more money—more thanks.
Here is how to run a 5-minute digital "Kudos Session" using RiLiFi.
We live-host the three taps. One join code. RiLiFi’s free tier allows 100 participants per session, so a mid-size team is not cut off while you say thanks.
Keep the kit in smart folders. Duplicate next month. Change the name on the cloud. Monthly billing. No annual lock-in for a tool you run a few times a quarter.
1. The "Superpower" Word Cloud
Pick one team member (e.g., Sarah). Ask the rest of the team:
What is Sarah's superpower.
Watch as words like "Patience," "Coding Wizard," and "Reliable" fill the screen. Screenshot it and send it to Sarah. It’s better than any greeting card.
Moderate names used as a roast. Then let it grow. Warn people not to type a joke that punches down. The point is a named win, not a pile-on.
Keep the prompt to one sentence. Our questions cap at 250 characters. That is enough.
Hybrid: same poll, same screen. Remote people should see their word grow. If they cannot, they are a viewer. Viewers do not feel seen.
Harvard Business Review on meeting load is the reminder. Seat time is cheap. A named win on the wall is not.
Leave the code up for two minutes, not twenty. A kudos cloud that stays open through the budget slide is no longer thanks. It is a distraction.
Anonymous is the default so the intern can type. Named is fine if they opted into a shout-out. Say which.
2. The "Unsung Hero" Poll
Create a poll asking who saved the day this week behind the scenes.
Often, the quiet workers get ignored. This gives the team a chance to publicly recognize the people who do the heavy lifting.
Keep options short. Our poll options cap at 100 characters. Names fit. A paragraph roast does not. Three names. Not twelve. The room will check out.
Anonymous voting. Named options on the wall. Do not put “most likely to get fired.” Psychological safety is still a kudos rule. If HR would wince, cut the item. We have.
Say the rule before the first tap. This is a toast, not a review. Then honor it. A superlative that shows up in a performance packet in March is how you lose next year’s kudos.
Reveal after submit. If the bar is live while people still pick, they copy the room.
Gallup’s workplace research keeps pointing at belonging. A named thanks is a cheap belonging moment. Awkward chocolate is not.
3. The Gratitude Wall
Use an open-text poll. Share one thing a teammate did that made your life easier recently.
Read the answers out loud. It creates a massive dopamine hit for the whole room.
Moderate first. Then read. A slur in the corner will live forever. Crop or rerun.
Keep it specific. “Helped” is fog. “Stayed on the war-room call until 9” is a file. Prompt for one sentence.
Export the same day. Screenshot the wall. Put it in the recap. Sarah should not hunt Slack for “that cloud.”
Invite the backup host. View access. When the owner is packing the room, someone still has to leave the code up.
Conclusion
Culture isn't about ping-pong tables. It’s about feeling seen. Take 5 minutes this week to say "I see you."
Cloud. Hero poll. Wall. Then the chocolate can stay in the bowl.
We live-host only. We do not embed a poll widget in a third-party deck. The join view is the tap. The stage screen is the bar.
Test wifi. Put the QR on a slide that stays. Speak the code once. If join is slow, the kudos is a tech demo. Cut items. Do not talk over an empty bar.
Keep product facts honest. One workspace covers quiz, poll/Q&A, and the wheel. You do not need a second vendor for five minutes of thanks. Duplicate. Open. Join.
We have watched hosts skip the cloud because they were “already late for standup.” That skip is how Sarah never gets the screenshot. Cut a slide. Keep the two minutes. The PNG is the card.
Leave the code up while people type. Closing join after the first word is how you lose the late row. One session. Host close after the last submit.
Keep the prompt to one sentence. Our questions cap at 250 characters. Options cap at 100. Names fit. A paragraph roast does not.
Anonymous voting. Named options. Say the rule. This is a toast, not a review. Then honor it.
Screenshot the wall. Send it the same day. Culture isn't about ping-pong tables. It’s about feeling seen. Cloud. Hero poll. Wall. Then the chocolate can stay in the bowl.
Invite the backup host. View access. When the owner is packing the room, someone still has to leave the code up. That is the point of folders instead of a file on one laptop.
Five minutes. Three taps. One folder. Then Sarah gets the screenshot the same day. Culture isn't about ping-pong. It’s about feeling seen. Cloud. Hero poll. Wall. That is the whole session.
Say thanks out loud. Then close. The chocolate can stay in the bowl. The PNG is the card. Send it the same day.
**Spread the love. Create a Kudos Word Cloud for free.
Keep the kit in one folder. Duplicate next time. Change the stems. Leave the code up. Export the same day. The hour is not over until the file exists. We live-host only. One join code. One workspace. Quiz, poll, and wheel. Invite the backup host. View access. Test wifi. Speak the code once. Then start. Cut a slide if you are late. Keep the tap. The file is the point.
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