How and where people work continues to evolve as workers and workplaces adapt to post-pandemic life.
Some companies will continue to allow employees to work remotely. Others will adopt a hybrid model whereby employees work from home 2 or 3 days a week. And many will want their employees to return to the office full-time.
Even if employees do return to the office full-time, they may still be located in offices across the country or around the world. So recognizing remote team members for their contributions and accomplishments can be challenging …but we have some ideas for you!
Celebrate’s group video app is an easy and affordable way for managers to let their employees know their hard work and effort are appreciated.
Why is recognition so important?
Recognition programs are an ongoing process for acknowledging organizational contributions, valued behaviors and good efforts of employees. Rewarding employees can be a powerful force; it can elevate morale and motivate employee performance. Conversely, thoughtless and/or ineffective reward efforts can trigger long lasting cynicism and negativity.
When done well, employee recognition programs foster a culture of reward by acknowledging and formally recognizing the contributions, exemplary performance, and continuous service of employees to the company. They spotlight employees’ behaviors and accomplishments as a way of illustrating and reinforcing the company’s values.
Easy and affordable ways to recognize remote employees
Here are four easy and affordable ways to recognize employees working remotely:
- Send a handwritten, personalized thank you card or note.
Handwritten notes are one of the most underused and yet most appreciated gestures that a manager can give to an employee.
- Organize a team meeting and publicly thank your employees.
Thank your employees for their contributions to the team, let them know their efforts have not gone unnoticed and how their contributions contributed to the team’s or company’s success. Make sure you recognize all employees on your team, and not just one or two.
- Create a team Celebrate group video.
Use Celebrate to create a group video and arrange to have each of your team members talk about their proudest achievement over the last month. Share the video with the team – you will be amazed at how much it will energize your employees! And remember, you can use Celebrate to recognize special events in your team’s lives, such as a wedding, new birth, or retirement.
- Use Celebrate to make a recognition video for an employee who went above and beyond.
You can invite other managers or members of the leadership team to contribute to the group video. This way, the employee will have a lasting memory of the event and what they did to deserve the accolades. It also allows them to share the recognition with their friends and family — something that often does not happen when the recognition event takes place at the office.
7 Best Practices
When creating your employee recognition video gift, keep the following best practices in mind:
- Make sure you link the recognition to performance and goal achievement.
- Be timely by recognizing the employee as soon as possible after desired behaviour.
- State why the recognition is being given to ensure clarity and repeat behaviour.
- Be sincere by reflecting genuine appreciation for the accomplishment
- Target behavior and accomplishments that align with the company’s and department’s values, goals, and priorities.
- Be inclusive and equitable. All employees should receive the same respect and opportunity. Remember to recognize the value of smaller achievements and successes.
- Remember the golden words: “Thank you”
Celebrate’s group video app is an easy, affordable, and effective way of providing meaningful recognition to your employees, letting them know their hard work and efforts have not gone unnoticed.
