Launched in 2017, Matter is a top-rated employee recognition and rewards platform with native integrations to Slack and Microsoft Teams.
With features like peer-to-peer kudos, employee celebrations, and pulse surveys, Matter helps organizations easily foster a culture of appreciation and engagement.
At a glance
Since adopting Tango’s solution in March of 2022, Matter has achieved the following results.
The employee experience
Matter makes it easy for employees to feel recognized and rewarded.
Team members earn Matter Coins which they can redeem for digital gift cards via Tango’s global catalog. Because Matter is fully integrated into Slack and Microsoft Teams, employees can give and receive recognition, track rewards, and redeem gift cards without needing to log into a separate platform.
Matter is also unique in offering survey incentives. By rewarding employees for completing pulse and engagement surveys, the platform has driven a dramatic increase in completion. “We’ve seen participation rates go up 37% overnight by giving 20 coins, which is around $2.00,” says Brett Hellman, Matter founder and CEO.
Matter’s popularity continues to grow, especially within Microsoft Teams, where it is the highest rated HR app. Its seamless, in-channel experience and high usage—three to four times per week per user—make it a standout in the employee engagement space.
The challenge
At launch, Matter was exclusively an employee recognition product. However, when the product took off during Covid, users began asking for rewards.
“We did research on the best platform and Tango felt like the most pragmatic choice because the brand was established. I didn’t want to spend time integrating with a provider, finding all the bugs for them, and worrying about them going away or pivoting,” says Hellman.
Tango helps us offer a wide breadth of rewards across all the countries we operate in. It gave us a turnkey solution to immediately serve all our customers, less than half of whom are in the US. And even the companies that are in the United States have large global teams.
The solution
Matter integrates Tango’s gift card API to power its global rewards catalog, enabling seamless gift card fulfillment for customers.
As a reseller partner, Matter delivers Tango rewards directly through its platform, enhancing the value of its recognition and engagement tools.
“A lot of HR tools are built for HR teams and employees don't necessarily like the products. With Matter, on the other hand, employees are really happy to use the software, which makes the HR person really happy that they bought software people like. We have a very high satisfaction score, and I believe Tango’s gift cards are a big part of that,” says Hellman.
The results
For Matter, the value of Tango’s partnership is related to three primary areas: selection, scalability, and cost-savings.
A diverse, robust catalog
By embedding Tango’s rewards into its recognition flow, Matter meets global demand and delivers a seamless, satisfying experience for employees.
Since launch, the platform’s reward catalog has expanded from just three options to over 1,500 merchants across 10 currencies—providing unmatched variety and flexibility for distributed teams around the world.
“Tango helps us offer a wide breadth of rewards across all the countries we operate in. It gave us a turnkey solution to immediately serve all our customers, less than half of whom are in the US. And even the companies that are in the United States have large global teams,” says Hellman.
A reliable solution that scales
For Matter, timely and dependable reward delivery is critical to the platform’s success and positive user experience.
Supporting thousands of companies, Matter relies on Tango to automate reward delivery with speed and reliability.
“Tango has phenomenal reliability. We have not had any service or downtime issues at all,” says Hellman.
That reliability has allowed Matter to focus on growth without worrying about infrastructure. The company has doubled its business year over year, and Tango has scaled right alongside it.
“We haven't run into any issues with Tango related to growing faster than we expected. It's been great and Tango is scaling nicely for us,” he says.
Cost efficiency and ROI for end users
For a fast-growing platform like Matter, keeping operational costs low while delivering high value is essential—especially given that the company processes millions of dollars in reward value each year. Tango’s partnership model made it easy for the company to get started and scale.
“There were no integration fees, no onboarding costs. With other platforms, you pay up to $10,000 to get integrated, on top of monthly fees. Tango’s partnership model is set up for mutual benefit,” says Hellman
Tango also helps Matter’s customers save significant time and money. Many were previously managing rewards manually, often dedicating an entire day each week to fulfillment.
“Matter’s ROI couldn’t be easier to justify—especially if you’d rather not have your team wasting hours on work that should be automated. When you free up your high-value employees from repetitive tasks, they can focus on the strategic, creative work that truly drives your business forward,” Hellman says.
The impact goes beyond efficiency. Customers who use rewards are more engaged, more loyal, and more valuable overall.
“Our customers who use rewards are by far our most engaged. They have the happiest employees and see the best results across their organizations—a massive boost in morale, higher retention, and measurable gains in productivity. We love seeing customers succeed with rewards, and employees love being recognized—it’s a win-win for everyone.”
Working with Tango
Matter also appreciates Tango’s hands-on approach to customer experience—especially the support provided by their dedicated representative, Sophie.
“Sophie is phenomenal and very proactive. She’ll reach out ahead of time—whether we need to know about new brands or just helpful updates,” says Hellman.
Her proactive communication and willingness to handle tasks like brand additions and reporting have saved the Matter team valuable time and reduced manual effort.
“She’s responsive, available, and just really pleasant to talk with. Everyone on our team likes her,” says Hellman.
That level of partnership has been key to Matter’s success—and it’s something they’re eager to build on as Tango continues to expand its catalog and global offerings.
When asked if he would recommend Tango to someone personally, Hellman doesn't hesitate:
“Absolutely, yes, 100%.”
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