Employee Appreciation in Uncertain Times
Employee appreciation days used to mean communal bagels in the break room where everyone gathered around and shared breakfast that the boss brought in to say ‘thank you.’ However, now that communal food is all but banned and people are working from home, we wanted to give you some ideas on how to show your team you appreciate them. We promise none of these include food and they can all work for a remote team.
Now more than ever it is imperative your people know you appreciate them and that you have not forgotten them.
- Send them a gift card!
- This does not have to be pricey, even an Itunes card can make someone’s day. With social distancing get creative about what types of gift cards might be most useful. Your favorite online retailers will be thankful for the business and your employees will love the thought.
- Give them the gift of time.
- We know that everyone who has children, has them at home right now. People are trying to keep up with their work while helping their children home-school and also hunting for toilet paper and meat at the grocery store. We are all spread thin and maybe it’s time to encourage your team to take a vacation. Now, we know they cannot go anywhere but being able to focus on their families may make all of the difference on their stress levels.
- Encourage Professional Development.
- If your team knows that you are investing in them, they are more likely to stay with you. In fact, 94% of employees say they would stay at a company longer if they invested in their career. If this means that you support them towards a professional certificate, or you hold group training classes, your team will know they matter to you.
- Stay connected!
- Find a way for your team to stay connected. This will look differently for everyone. It may be doing Zoom calls where you can see each other and say hello to the new office dogs that will be staples in conference calls now, or stay connected on messenger. Whatever you do just make sure everyone knows that there is life out there. Staying connected will also keep teams focused on work versus watching the next episode of Diners Drive-ins and Drives.
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- At ALT HR Partners we love to send sunshine in the mail. Greetable is a great website to use for that. You can choose a custom box design and fill it with anything from candy to socks! It is a way to let someone know you are thinking of them. You can even fill the box with confetti, although we do not recommend this!
We are all walking through history and the truth is we are all just doing the best we can. By doing one small thing for you team, you may be lighting up their day or week and giving them hope for the road ahead of them. If you have a way you spread joy to your remote workers please let us know, we would to hear them.