Ideas for Employee Appreciation Day
We all like to feel appreciated, especially during difficult times.
Showing employees that you care about them and appreciate their hard work is more important now than ever, but Covid19 provides some additional challenges. With everyone working remotely, you can’t organize a fun team bowling trip, a casual clothes day (people already wear their pajamas now for every work meeting), or a nice meal at a restaurant.
So how can you show your employees that you care whilst everyone is working remotely?
Here are 10 ideas and suggestions from the Vistasuite team:
“Use a snack service to mail them a snack pack,” suggests co-founder of Vistasuite, Jason Schoepke. Snack packs come in a variety of options, depending on the person’s preference: Candy, sweets, savory, or a healthy option snack-pack. “Happiest office workers are those who get free snacks,” according to a survey by ORC International and peapod.com, so brighten up someone’s day with this show of appreciation.
“Send an e-card through Hallmark or another site. it's a simple, but nice surprise to see in your inbox and you can personalize them with favorite characters/styles,” says Katie Ryan, Social Media Manager at Vistasuite. We also love these animated e-cards by Jacquie Lawson.
If you’ve had a birthday during lockdown, you might agree that they are a bit strange, so why not “Surprise your colleagues with a zoom video birthday call,” says Jason. It’s always nice to know that people remember you on your birthday, particularly when parties and birthday gatherings aren’t allowed. It’s also nice to “recognize colleagues and team members on their work anniversary”.
Katie Ryan says, “When my last role went remote in March, my managers pooled together to have mini cupcakes from Baked by Melissa delivered to my apartment. This is obviously no small task, but having something physically delivered while I was in quarantine made it so much more special!
Tracie Reinke, Project Manager at Vistasuite suggests “sending old school postcards with a note on it. Our gym, Crossfit Tricities, does this when we hit a personal record and everyone loves it and posts it on social media when they get one. If you ring the PR bell and list the PR on the board, then you get a postcard.”
If you’re a small outfit with a limited budget, simple gestures also count. “Highlight something they did in the next team call,” says Jason. “Tell them they are appreciated with a simple “Thank you”. Katie recommends, “Sending your team a shoutout via slack with a kind, uplifting message would go a long way in boosting morale. Letting people know they are appreciated, especially when working remotely, is always so important!”
When researching ideas for youth sports, Tracie Reinke liked the idea of using high-fives and emojis to build out a recognition program for the players. The same could apply to employees who are remote. We like this site: https://www.highfivereward.com/
Create a Thank You Video with a montage of photos/video footage of the team and all their best work. Videos are easy and quick to create and provide a lasting and fun way to say thanks.
Organize a themed background Zoom team coffee chat, where everyone uses a background from their favorite movie. We love these Star Wars backgrounds from a galaxy far, far away. Host your next meeting from the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.
Invest in their growth and development. What better way to say thanks than to actively encourage someone’s ongoing professional and personal progression and growth. Give your employees the opportunity to learn a new skill or improve on an existing talent.
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