In employee appreciation day you have a chance to show your people how much they mean to you. Gratitude for those who spend their time and efforts to scale your business goes a long way. But how do you show you care, especially if you have a remote team? Employee appreciation day is just around the corner. But don´t worry! Here, we will discuss some great and affordable remote employee appreciation ideas your team will love. Take note and figure out the best ones for your team.
10 Affordable Remote Employee Appreciation Ideas
Send Personalized “Thank You” Cards
Writing a thank you card is a thoughtful yet simple concept. Its always good to show gratitude and receiving a letter, especially one from your boss, is always a pleasant surprise. This not only strengthens the manager-employee relationship but it also increases a sense of belonging. Sending a fun e-card instead will add additional animation and fun effects.
You can find some amazing e-cards on American Greetings.
Buy Them Lunch
One of the best virtual employee appreciation ideas is to buy your remote employees a hearty meal! Who doesn’t love good food? You can give your remote team a gift card for a local restaurant in their area. If you´ve hired remote employees, you’d want them to feel very special, you could even send the allowance for a family dinner too!
Check out more job-sharing ideas here.
How About A Vacation?
Employees benefit from time off because it minimizes burnout and allows them to return feeling rested and inspired, ready to take on new challenges. Spending quality time with family or friends enables people to return to work with a fresh outlook.
A week off or a vacation allowance is a great virtual employee appreciation idea because employees love being rewarded for their devotion to meeting high-pressure deadlines. They spend that time making sure everything about your business runs smoothly, and now it’s your turn to reward them with some time off. It simply shows how much your company cares about wellness. Even if you’re not sitting next to them at work, it indicates you still appreciate their efforts.
Employee Recognition Ceremonies
Employee of the month ceremonies and company-wide meetings are still possible in a remote setting. They’re vital to business culture in a remote team context.
A company-wide bonding event fosters a sense of belonging among employees, making them feel appreciated and psychologically safe. How about a virtual party for your remote team? You can’t go wrong with some entertainment to help folks relax, whether it’s rewarding the best performers or hard workers in your remote team, a magician act via zoom, or virtual karaoke.
Upgrade Their Home Office
Because of the rapid move to remote work, many have makeshift workstations. On remote employee appreciation day, reward your employees with an upgrade to a more productive home office. This is one of the best virtual employee appreciation ideas to show them that you care and want them to work in the best environment possible.
With an indoor plant that they can keep on their desk, a branded corporate mug, or even a cool gadget, you can help them improve their workstation.
A Virtual Book Club
A virtual book club is a terrific employee appreciation idea if you have a bunch of literary employees that are passionate about reading and writing. Employees enjoy having a social outlet to discuss their favorite books.
You can encourage this enthusiasm by scheduling a monthly recurring calendar invite to discuss all things books and award small prizes to those who complete the month’s reading. Start an internal discussion channel dedicated to what employees are reading, and assign the next month’s book club selection there.
Online Development Courses
Working from home every day doesn’t provide the same social benefits as working in an office. As in-person interactions with management decrease as a result of new remote work schedules, some employees are unsure about their next career move.
Don’t put your employees’ professional development on hold just because they work from home. Even if your company doesn’t have a physical location, you may still engage in your employees’ professional growth. Offering online learning is one method to show your appreciation for your employees and guarantee that they have a clear grasp of their career prospects.
Here’s where you can find career growth courses for your employees:
Wellness Packages
One thing that the pandemic has taught us is that everyone’s health is a top priority right now. Employee wellness should be a critical aspect of every business as more and more people have become “wellness conscious”.
There are a variety of wellness bonuses and perks that would improve your employees’ lives. Make this remote employee appreciation day special by offering your virtual employees one of these:
- Meditation and fitness app subscriptions.
- Snack baskets for the whole family.
- Healthy meals subscriptions.
- Remote team yoga sessions on Zoom.
A Virtual Game Night
Since you can’t really go bowling with your remote team as they’re based in diff parts of the country or world, a virtual game night is a great remote employee appreciation idea!
Who doesn’t love games? Figure out the kind of games all employees like and narrow down on the one everyone votes for. Organize a virtual game night where everyone plays the game together. This is going to be a fun night full of laughter, bonding, and delight. It’s a great way to give your remote employees a break from work and also focus on team bonding.
Here are some virtual games you can play:
- Two truths and a lie
- Video charades
- Virtual scavenger hunt
An Employee Appreciation Video
You can film a heartfelt appreciation video for each of your employees. Make it personalized and share instances where you felt like your employees worked hard for you and helped you accomplish something.
Sending personalized videos is one of the best remote employee appreciation ideas as during work meetings there is hardly any time to appreciate everyone’s efforts on an individual level.
Here’s what you can talk about in the video:
- The important place the employee holds in your team.
- Their individual efforts and how these efforts help the team work smoothly.
- Their special achievements.
- Why are you grateful to have them on your team?
- Maybe surprise them with a bonus or raise in the video?
Why is Virtual Employee Recognition Important?
Working from home can be isolating at times. In a virtual office environment, your employee may struggle in their new role, bonding with other colleagues, and feeling like they’re part of the team. When virtual employees don’t get the chance to meet face-to-face with their managers, other coworkers, or teams, they can feel alienated.
Virtual employee appreciation is a great way to help virtual employees overcome loneliness in a remote work setting and make them feel like they’re a part of the team. While it is easy to appreciate or show gratitude to colleagues that you meet in person regularly, it’s not the same for remote teams. For a virtual team, it’s important to make special efforts and focus on special events and rewards for all their hard work.
Here’s why and how it helps:
- Removes feelings of loneliness.
- Makes remote employees feel more aligned with your vision.
- Helps remote employees stay focused on their work to achieve more as they look forward to newer career growth opportunities in your business.
- Instill a sense of loyalty and pride in working for your company.
Happy Employee Appreciation Day!
It’s almost employee appreciation day and with these ideas, you’ll be able to plan something quickly. Keeping your remote employees happy and making them feel appreciated and important will help them thrive in their field of work. If they thrive, you’ll thrive too because great organizations are made of people who feel valued.
Appreciate their efforts and be grateful for an amazing remote team!
