How To Recognise and Reward Your Employees From Afar

Normal, every day aspects of office life are turned on their head right now. But isn’t it amazing how quickly and creatively we’ve all adapted? We’re working from the home office rather than commuting far and wide to the company HQ; we’re meeting over video instead of face-to-face; and we’re innovating over collaboration tools, sharing support for our favourite ideas with ‘likes’ and engagements.

It’s important to reflect on how our adaptability helps us to thrive, even when times are hard and we’re in the middle of a crisis.

That said, one aspect of working life that’s proving hard to decipher during lockdown is how to recognise and appreciate staff remotely, especially if a company’s culture relies on face-to-face interactions.

 

This was the topic in question during a virtual talk between Claromentis CTO Mike Christian and other local business owners, who recently discussed how they can best support and value their staff remotely during the pandemic.

In fact, there are many ways that business leaders can recognise and reward staff remotely. It just requires that creative spark and ability to adapt we mentioned earlier, as well as utilising the right tech, to make it work.

Here’s our take on how you can recognise and reward your employees from afar:

Say “thank you”

It sounds simple, but saying ‘thank you’ to your staff or coworkers can do wonders for morale.

Whenever someone does an amazing job, receives great feedback from your customers, or delivers an important project, always recognise their achievements. Make it public too, so that others can share their kudos as well.

‘Thank you’ apps that are usually found in online intranet software make light work of this, and help you to recognise your staff remotely. Use it to tag and thank individuals or teams, as well as link up thank you messages to your core company values – if people feel that their efforts are making a tangible difference to your organisation, they will feel motivated to keep up the good work.

Boost motivation with staff rewards

Rewarding employees for their hard work is crucial for motivation, engagement, and productivity. And as motivation wanes the further we get into lockdown, keeping attention spans as high as possible is more important than ever.

Employee reward apps help you to make staff successes official. You can use the software to create your own digital badges, add a message of congratulations, and award them to staff. Afterwards, badges will be proudly displayed on the team member’s intranet profile, like a virtual trophy cabinet. Personalised and instant feedback like this will give staff a real confidence boost.

Digital staff rewards play into the gamification experience too, which is a known motivator – the instant feedback and sense of “winning” an award contribute to a rise in dopamine, prompting staff to progress and keep going.

Celebrate birthdays and work anniversaries

Cake and balloons in the office might be off the cards right now, but that doesn’t mean you should forego birthday and work anniversary celebrations altogether!

Birthday and anniversary intranet widgets allow you to acknowledge remote staff on their special day, so that they feel valued and appreciated.

Use these widgets as a reminder to host virtual celebrations too, or to share a news article about the team member in question. This gives others the chance to join in, either over video calls or by sharing messages of support.