Adapting Your Employee Appreciation Strategies For A COVID-19 World

Employees in any organization appreciate being recognized and rewarded for a job well done. Normally, those displays of gratitude happen in more formal settings, such as an award presented at the staff meeting, a team lunch, or a spontaneous celebration out in the hallway following a big client pitch. However, due to COVID-19 and work from home protocols, these confidence-boosting, camaraderie-building moments are increasingly happening via video calls, Slack messages, and through other digital channels. 

These deliberate showings of gratitude and appreciation are even more important during COVID-19, when people are craving the interpersonal interactions and direct recognition they lost during the shift to remote work. But as important as the gesture is, it’s just as important to be genuine when making it. With that in mind, we’ve collected some tips to help you during this holiday season as you give back to your teammates, for the little things, the big things, and all the things in between.

Personalize your outreach

Everyone likes to feel recognized for their specific efforts and contributions. So, whether you write individual thank you cards to your team or order gift cards that align with each person’s interests, always try to find ways to make your appreciation more individualized. 

Did one of your teammates stay up late formatting the deck for a big presentation, or help you with computer trouble when IT was unavailable? By including these specific moments in your offer of thanks, it helps the employee feel more connected to their colleagues and the team or company’s shared goals. Did you know that they ran a marathon last month, or that their daughter graduated from college? By mentioning these personal moments, employees feel more valued as individuals and validated in their authentic selves. You’ll be surprised at how impactful a little personalization can be. 

Consider hand-written thank you notes to your team following a difficult project. Mention one thing that each person brought to the group and why it helped you reach your goal. Not only does this help build lasting relationships, but the genuine nature of the card can strengthen the bond between an employee and their manager at a time when feeling truly connected can be more difficult than ever.   

Another area of focus is social media. When posting a photo or story from an employee, tag their handle and mention them in the post copy. It will add a human touch to your post, and make your employee feel instantly and more deeply connected to the company’s mission. 

Make an effort to continue all recognition

Just like with weekly status meetings and going to the gym, it’s important to stay on a consistent schedule with the things that are important in your day to day. The same is true for recognition, where regular efforts can help keep employees consistently motivated and focused on upcoming milestones. Whether it’s once a quarter or project-based, try to build it into your routine. Employees will look forward to the chance to be recognized, and the constant communication will spur more camaraderie, empathy and compassion within your team, not to mention offer some of the interpersonal relationships that have been missing since COVID-19 protocols began. 

A quarterly virtual catered lunch can be a great way to bond with your team despite the distance. Select a restaurant with many options and allow people to expense their meal. The quarterly cadence can help new team members assimilate to the group, and the light, non-work conversation can give people a needed midday break. 

Track progress as a team and promote appreciation broadly

Allowing people to recognize each other can promote feelings of belonging and teamwork. By creating a system where employees can recognize others for their contributions, the team will feel more connected to their work and to the company’s broader mission. Consider a Slack plugin like Kudos, which allows for recognition to be sent instantly, and for managers to link rewards and other goals. Programs like this, even if the prize is company swag, can prove valuable for long term team wellness, engagement and alignment metrics. 

Focus on real problems

With so much uncertainty in the world today, there is an opportunity to shape programs around areas where employees are struggling. To promote time off, you could offer a menu of activities for a mandatory afternoon away from their desk, or a stipend to upgrade their home office. Whether to combat feelings of burnout and screen fatigue after months spent on Zoom or to improve working conditions in dark, creaky extra bedrooms, by targeting solutions at real problems, appreciation will be felt more acutely and be valued more. Listen to your employees, understand their concerns both in and out of the office, and try to target small and large programs around these new, but likely misunderstood and underserved, pain points.

Especially during remote work, it’s more important than ever to show appreciation to those around us who matter most. We hope these tips prove useful to you and your team as we all work through the challenges brought on by the rapid shifts in our work patterns this year.