One of the difficult aspects of remote working is finding the time and best way to celebrate your team’s personal or professional milestones. In an office setting, there are natural ways for us to learn things about each other, to celebrate one another. Maybe you have a work calendar where you have highlighted birthdays and company milestones to celebrate. Maybe you all come together at lunch hour, find out about what’s going on for everyone – here is where you get to learn about exciting milestones in your colleague’s lives.
When we feel seen and appreciated, we are more fulfilled. This can benefit your team on a personal and professional level. Feeling isolated or lonely can be a downside of remote working and feeling like you still belong to a wider work community can help with this feeling. If you know your employer or team leader is willing to look out for you, to care about ‘mundane’ things outside of deadlines, you are more likely to feel happy at work and with your colleagues. Recognize your employees not just for the work that they do, but for what they bring to your organization.
Unhappy colleagues are more likely to be willing to accept other employment offers and are less likely to care about your company’s overall mission. Happy employees that are fulfilled and satisfied at work are not only more likely to be effective and productive employees and report higher levels of employee satisfaction, but they are also more likely to have positive mental health.
Here are 5 ways that you can celebrate your employees:
1. Make time for non-work-related hangouts
We may all attend weekly meetings, but how often do we get to just hang out? While this may not be everyone’s cup of tea, extending the invitation and even scheduling it in the middle of the workday can make it more intentional and effective. Create a space within the work environment to break up the routine - these hangouts can be themed such as Coffee and Cakes for a mid-morning meeting where you can chat and wind down from the workload.
If your team was an avid fan of happy hour, make time for a happy hour at the end of a workday. You can elevate the experience by sending out cocktail kits to their home, having a live instructor teach a mixology lesson, or even have them help with designing a company liquor label, something that represents your brand. You can toast to your success by having a drink together!
2. Give a gift
Most people love receiving a gift – even more if it is unexpected. If you are going to give a gift though, make sure it is something your employees will want and appreciate. You should also take into consideration some social and professional guidelines for gift-giving in the workplace whether it is a product or a service.
Some things may be appropriate for friends and family such as clothing or alcohol, and similarly, gag gifts may work for your buddies, but maybe not your team members. When in doubt, functional is best – this may be a cool print for their home office, an Audible or Skillshare subscription or even a handwritten letter may be appreciated.
Everyone loves food, so this is an easy one. You can design gourmet food baskets that can be custom-made to suit your employee’s needs such as vegan or gluten-free. It does not have to be a massive hamper to be effective – something small and personal can be just as effective.
Another alternative is to send out food delivery gift cards such as DoorDash or PostMates. This can be a treat for your employees and an opportunity to take a night off cooking – they are bound to appreciate it.
If your team is all about tea or coffee, you can sign them up for a coffee subscription – this can be not only a wonderful treat, but it may be an opportunity to discuss what your coffee this month was, your favorites and you can even host a paring event.
Trade Coffee offers a curated selection of over 400 coffees – you take their quiz, and they will hand-pick coffees to be delivered on a schedule of your choice. Sips By is a female-founded subscription box that will deliver custom kits of loose or bagged tea, herbal or caffeinated, and deliver four new teas to try every month. The possibilities are endless, and learning a little bit about your employees will make gift giving all that more special.
3. Celebrate the milestones
Milestones are a big deal – and in a traditional office setting, we may unintentionally hear about what is going on in our colleague’s lives. This may be work-related such as a promotion, leading a work conference, or a work anniversary, or it may be personal such as an engagement, a baby on the way, or a big move.
For professional milestones, give them a shout out on your social media, your company’s newsletter and at your morning meeting, and for big milestones, you can take it one step further and give them a day off, record a special video from your team or even have them choose a way to celebrate their milestone.
Personal milestones may be a little trickier as there are some boundaries to uphold, especially if this is your company’s culture. Some crowd-pleasers are appropriate such as a flower arrangement being delivered, a Groupon voucher gifted, or a charity donation in their name may be appreciated. If you are lost, ask them – chances are a day off may be a great birthday gift and will make employees feel more rested and relaxed.
4. Employee Recognition Program
While management recognition is important, being celebrated by your close peers is equally as meaningful. Peer recognition is a way to include other employees in celebrating your staff. If you create a culture of recognition, it will become the norm, and this will boost your employee engagement and improve employee satisfaction.
You can even have award shows - if you have a colleague who is constantly being praised by clients, the Most Recognised Employee Award may be appropriate. Rookie of the Year may be a fun way to show their hard work is seen and appreciated for a new hire that’s gone above and beyond. You can showcase these on your company newsletter or even add a place on your website under Our People – where you can show off all the great people that work for your company.
A peer-to-peer network platform like Nectar allows for direct peer-to-peer recognition – anyone in the organization can collaborate on posts and give rewards to show their appreciation for one another.
The recognition can be more personal, and you can even share how a core value of your organization was demonstrated by this employee. Their Reward Suite allows for employees to choose their rewards – gift cards, company rewards, and charitable giving. Similarly, Nectar can give you statistics on your employees, the values they are demonstrating, the behavior they are engaging in, and what they are saying about one another.
5. Be consistent and sincere
Shocker, right? The most effective way to carry out employee appreciation is to voice it and to be genuine. If someone does great work on a project, let them know. If someone steps up and helps while a staff member is out sick or on leave, say thank you for stepping in. If you can, try to do this on video-call, while a message or an email is nice, it will be that much more impactful.
Similarly, do not leave your employee recognition for special occasions or only for employee appreciation day. Big milestones are important – but so is the day-to-day work your teams do.
Did you just launch a new website? Let your developer know just how much more effective it is and how it is helping your company. Did your social media manager come up with a great new campaign? Compliment how creative and innovative it is. It is the little things that surprisingly mean a lot.
A simple thank you at the end of a long project or a big deadline can make all the difference. Show your employees you care, everyone could use a virtual pat on the back from time to time.
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