Expressing gratitude to your staff for a job well done can motivate and inspire them to continue to perform at that level. Spending time and money showing your team that you appreciate them is a worthwhile investment that your company can see positive returns on.
1. Do Social Recognition Frequently
Acknowledging an employee’s contributions is a powerful way to motivate your staff and encourage positive attitudes and behaviors. You can express your appreciation publicly on your company’s social media platforms, or send a company-wide thank-you on the organization’s message board. You may choose to take your social recognition to the next level by organizing a virtual award show for the company.
The beautiful thing about social recognition is that it’s one of the forms of expressing gratitude that doesn’t have to cost the organization any money. You can make social recognition a daily habit, which allows remote teams to feel a sense of connection that they may not experience with each other otherwise. The team may feel more connected when you merge your social recognition with the company’s mission.
Expressing gratitude for employees that are going above and beyond expectations can make them want to continue doing their best work and encourage their colleagues to do the same. If you’d like help making gratitude a part of your daily routine, you may be interested in learning about some Android apps that will help you practice daily gratitude.
2. Provide Redeemable Points
You may have more impact when you pair the right rewards when you express appreciation for a remote team member. Using a platform that allows staff to collect reward points on a weekly or monthly basis is an effective and straightforward way to use monetary recognition in a remote employee appreciation program.
Employees can redeem the points for a reward of their choice from the platform’s catalog. Using a points reward program allows the employee to choose a reward that they find meaningful, taking the pressure to find the right gift out of the employer’s hands.
As an employer, you can use a dynamic internal rewards program to increase company loyalty and engagement with your remote team. It’s also an excellent way to recognize hard work and let employees know that you value their contributions in a way that goes beyond sending an email.
3. Offer Incentives
Incentive programs are an excellent way to show appreciation and encourage positive employee behavior. For example, you can create contests for top performance in different departments. You could also provide client or employee referral incentives or offer tuition reimbursement.
You can offer digital incentives, including wellness and health challenges or hackathons. These types of programs can include support for professional development, and employees can take advantage of them regardless of the time zone they’re in because they are online.
Virtual wellness programs can show your remote staff that you care about their health and well-being. You can create a community for your remote workers that give them a sense of collaboration and connection by offering activities, competitions, points, rewards, or games.
4. Personalize the Recognition You Give
When you recognize an employee for a job well done, they should be sure that the recognition is for them. If you’re writing a note to let an employee know that you appreciate their hard work, you should be specific and detailed about what you appreciate about what they did.
The more detail you provide in your recognition, the more you can reinforce that you view the behavior as a positive trait and encourage the recipient to do more. A nice touch to giving recognition to remote employees is to send them a handwritten letter.
Receiving a handwritten note is an excellent surprise rather than receiving an email. You can include something with the message, such as tea, coffee, magnets, or stickers. Sending a note of appreciation in the mail is a great way to strengthen manager-employee relationships.
5. Give the Gift of Food
Everyone loves a surprise, and a free lunch is no exception. Depending on your remote staff’s preferences, you can send a food delivery gift certificate or some cookies or cupcakes. Sending a delicious gift is a personal gesture that is generous and an excellent way to show your remote staff that they’re a valuable part of the organization.
If you’re considering this option, you may be interested in learning how to send somebody a DoorDash. You may go the extra mile and give your staff a gift certificate to take their family out for a memorable meal.
Including the family shows your remote team that you care about them outside their professional lives. If possible, you can also do a virtual lunch via a video platform, choosing a time that works for everyone across the different time zones.
6. Support Professional Development
Employers that support professional growth opportunities can strengthen their workforce and provide them with the tools to solve problems more efficiently. You can support professional development by inviting remote staff to events and industry conferences. You can also create new growth and learning courses that they can take in-house.
Organizations can also offer workshops and lunch-and-learns to review new insights that affect the company. Teams can experience the best team building when they overcome steep learning curves and continuously grow together. If you’re looking for courses, you might be interested in reading about the best LinkedIn Learning Courses on professional development.
7. Give an Extra Day Off
Providing remote teams with an unexpected day off is the best surprise you can give them. An unscheduled day off that doesn’t count towards their paid time off can be effective when there are slow periods after a time when things are busy.
While you can give a single employee a day off or the entire team, you want to make sure you provide advance notice of the day off so the employee or team can make plans. If you can’t remember the last time you took advantage of your time off, you may be interested in learning how to fully disconnect from work before a vacation.
Express Gratitude in Your Personal and Professional Life
Gratitude can help you put any day into perspective. Regardless of how difficult the day has been, there is always something to be grateful for if you look hard enough. Expressing your appreciation to your remote team is an excellent way to express gratitude, but there’s more than your team to be grateful for.
If you want to make gratitude a part of your daily routine, you might consider introducing a gratitude journal into your practice. Whether you choose to do it old school in a notebook or feel more comfortable using an app, you can start your gratitude practice whenever you’re ready!
