"Sushi Bonus" Fully Introduced to Will Group, Approaching 1,800 Employees Company-Wide. Visualizing a Culture of Gratitude with "Sushi" on Teams

Polycome Inc. (Headquarters: Itabashi-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Takuya Yukihisa), the operator of the employee engagement improvement service "Sushi Bonus," has released the second installment of an interview article with Will Group Inc. (Headquarters: Nakano-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President & CEO: Yuichi Kado; hereinafter referred to as Will Group), a user of Sushi Bonus, on the official Sushi Bonus website.

Will Group initially conducted a trial introduction of Sushi Bonus for approximately 200 employees from July 2025 to March 2026, and then fully introduced it to the entire group (approximately 1,800 employees, including contract employees) starting in April 2026. This article introduces the background leading to the full group rollout from the trial phase, changes in on-site communication after implementation, and the organizational connections revealed by visualizing gratitude and praise.

View the full interview article

From left to right: Ms. Sasano, Ms. Okuyama, Mr. Kobayashi, and Aoki from Sushi Bonus

"Sushi Bonus" is a service that allows employees to send each other points as expressions of gratitude and praise, which can then be exchanged for digital gifts and other rewards. With its unique fun and ease of use, such as "simply sending a sushi emoji (🍣) on your usual business chat tool," it has supported employee engagement improvement for companies using platforms like Slack and Microsoft Teams.

We interviewed Will Group, a major comprehensive human resources service company, about their full-scale introduction of Sushi Bonus to their entire group after approximately a 9-month trial. In the article, Mr. Kobayashi, who promoted the implementation, Ms. Sasano, who has been using it since the trial period, and Ms. Okuyama, a new graduate who joined in April 2026, discuss the changes brought about by the service and their impressions after the company-wide rollout.

Full-scale introduction to approximately 1,800 employees across the group after a trial of about 9 months

Will Group has identified "enhancing the well-being of each employee" as a key management objective. As part of this initiative, they have been implementing Sushi Bonus as a system to visualize praise and gratitude exchanged among employees.

A trial was conducted for approximately 200 employees over about 9 months, from July 2025 to March 2026. Confirming the ease with which gratitude could be exchanged naturally in daily work and a high activity rate, the service was fully introduced in April 2026 to approximately 1,800 employees, including contract employees, in addition to general employees across the group.

For the company-wide rollout, ambassadors were appointed in each company and business unit, promoting its adoption by having each organization independently plan and drive revitalization measures.

Maintaining an active usage rate of approximately 60% even after company-wide deployment. A culture of enjoying gratitude itself has taken root.

The deciding factors for implementing Sushi Bonus were its usability, which could be completed within Microsoft Teams, a tool used daily, and its affordable cost. Since gratitude can be sent by simply adding a sushi icon to a regular chat without requiring screen transitions, it can be used without increasing the burden on employees.

After the company-wide rollout, the target user base expanded from approximately 200 to about 1,800, yet the proportion of actively using individuals remained around 60%. This usage level is almost the same as during the trial period, indicating that a culture of enjoying the act of giving and receiving gratitude is taking root. Furthermore, in post-implementation surveys, the score for "feeling that it contributes to employee engagement improvement" was 4.23 points (out of 5), and the satisfaction with the service itself was 4.69 points (out of 5), receiving high marks from users.

Additionally, in surveys conducted during the trial period, there were very few comments mentioning monetary rewards or gift exchanges; instead, many expressed "joy from giving and receiving gratitude itself."

Visualizing the contributions of "unsung heroes" and cross-departmental connections

With Sushi Bonus, who sent gratitude to whom is visualized as a log. At Will Group, this visualization has shed light on the contributions of indirect departments and back-office staff, whose efforts are often not recognized in awards ceremonies.

Among the approximately 200 trial members, it was found that about 40 employees, who typically do not receive awards, were receiving a significant amount of gratitude. The visualization of gratitude has led to psychological security and expanded communication, such as enabling back-office employees to feel "my work is also useful to someone."

Furthermore, it became clear that there were more cross-departmental interactions than imagined, including between business units and indirect departments, and between different business units. The friendly sushi icon serves as a catalyst, bringing to light previously unseen connections within the organization.

Reducing the psychological barrier to communication for new hires

New employees who joined around the same time as the company-wide rollout in April 2026 have reported that the sushi emoji has lowered the psychological barrier when communicating with their superiors and seniors.

It allows them to naturally convey their feelings of "Thank you for always." without needing a formal email or direct address. While the written language is polite, it's easy to add a personal touch, contributing to an environment where they can interact with seniors and superiors without feeling overly constrained.

Sushi Bonus can be utilized as a system to foster a culture of gratitude without disrupting the flow of daily work, for companies with multiple locations, companies that collaborate across multiple departments, and companies facing challenges in improving employee engagement in remote environments.

Details of the Sushi Bonus implementation case study can be found here

Results of Will Group's implementation: Full-scale introduction to approximately 1,800 employees across the group

【Quantitative Results】

Trial Period: Approximately 9 months from July 2025 to March 2026

Trial Participants: Approximately 200 people

Perceived Contribution to Employee Engagement Improvement: 4.23 points (out of 5)

Service Satisfaction: 4.69 points (out of 5)

Unsung Heroes Visualized: Approximately 40 individuals (among approx. 200 trial members)

Details of Will Group's implementation case study can be viewed below.

Implementation Case Study (Full Text): "I was able to say 'Thank You' that I couldn't before! Internal communication changed with just one sushi." (https://www.sushi-bonus.com/case-study/willgroup_2)

About Will Group Inc.

Will Group Inc. is a major comprehensive human resources service company that operates a diverse range of services, including temporary staffing, outsourced operations, and recruitment, both domestically and internationally. They supply high-quality personnel across various industries and employment types, such as sales, call centers, manufacturing, healthcare, construction, and IT engineering. Their strength lies in providing solutions that support corporate growth, backed by extensive operational experience and a diverse staff composition.

About Sushi Bonus

"Sushi Bonus" is a service that enhances workplace ease by enabling employees to regularly express gratitude and praise to each other. By sending messages with a "sushi (🍣)" emoji on existing communication tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams, these expressions of gratitude accumulate as points, which can then be exchanged for actual digital gifts.

By expressing gratitude through the "sushi (🍣)" emoji in daily work, which then transforms into tangible rewards, it leads to increased employee job satisfaction and motivation, thereby realizing a more comfortable organizational environment.

Sushi Bonus Service Site: https://www.sushi-bonus.com/

About the Operating Company: Polycome Inc.

Polycome Inc. is an HR tech startup company aiming to standardize sustainable work styles by leveraging technology to streamline society.

Headquarters: Room 102, Refua Minami Tokiwadai, 1-11-6 Minami Tokiwadai, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo

Representative: Representative Director CEO Takuya Yukihisa

Established: February 24, 2022

Corporate Site: https://www.polycome.com