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Employee recognition ideas for virtual teams
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Crown for the Crowd:
This is a system of verbal praise followed by a round of applause on a video calling platform. You need not institute a formal process for it; it's just a matter of taking note of developments over the last week and identifying top-performers. Making a meeting-wide announcement puts the spotlight on the person(s) who did well, and serves as an example for others to follow suit.Socialize digitally:
depending on living arrangements, set aside a session featuring the coworker’s family members, friend, partner, or even a pet. Seeing how a person lives on video can replicate the feel of being there in person with them. It can take everyone’s minds off the work, even if it's just for a few minutes on any one day of the week! This system, of course, hinges on people being comfortable introducing who they’re living with to the rest of the team!Personalize rewards:
schedule virtual facetime with remote members one by one and ask them leading questions about their personal interests. You can then treat them to gift coupons for merchandise that they are certain to love and get use out of!Reverse mentoring:
flip the roles and launch a program inviting participants across all levels for personalized, and reverse mentoring. Here, an older, experienced employee benefits from the knowledge and insights on trending news provided by a junior hire. This kind of partnership introduces people better, and to those who they may have heard of or passed by in an office without speaking to them. In other words, reverse mentoring can make people more accessible to each other and less intimidating.Praise in-time:
Remember to weigh in with everyone at least once every day of the business week to see how they’re getting on, and whether any drastic improvements have occurred since you last spoke to them. From resolving a stubborn bottleneck to finding a smarter, or creative solution, catching the person behind solving a problem and praising them on time is key to letting them know you appreciate them!Reinstate the office pantry:
Feeling nostalgic about raiding the kitchen supplies at the office for caffeine? Reach out to restaurants that can deliver meals for certain days of the month. Or, gives out food coupons. Your remote team can avail of these according to their convenience and preferences. It saves them the trouble of fixing a meal and also supports restauranteurs who are struggling to get customers in light of the Covid-19 restrictions on dining and takeaway. Win-win!Appoint ambassadors:
Evaluate how your team works, their strengths, and their weaknesses. Those who play by the rules, or those who bend them when the situation justifies it. You can create a non-monetized position of ambassador for things such as their contribution to cross-project collaboration, helpfulness to a teammate, how active they are on charity drives, or quite simply, how they champion your business. It also keeps your remote team accountable for newer expectations.Publicize customer feedback:
Performance on client-facing roles such as sales hinges on the quality of service, previous interactions, and existing engagement on the buyer journey. The feedback your customers give you can be an enlightening experience for both you, and the team handling the account. Publicizing reviews to the team can help them know what they’re getting right, and what measures they can take to do better.
How do I Recognize an employee remotely?
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- Better work-life balance, or work-life integration
- More time for self and family
- Reduced office costs in terms of rentals, equipment, food, and utilities.
- No more rush-hour commutes and the fear of reaching work late or staying back longer than needed.
- Being present to attend to personal matters (such as a house service).
- Reduced sick days and unplanned absences.
- Controlling your work environment and taking appropriate measures to keep the noise and distractions to a minimum.
What’re the worst and weirdest parts of it though?
- Isolation and loneliness
- Self- troubleshooting technical snags(and not always getting it right the first time).
- Falling victim to power outages or unscheduled maintenance.
- Impromptu, and agenda-less meetings.
- Not paying attention to appearances.
- Setting reminders to workout and stay fit.
- Zoom bombing and uninvited chaos.
- Happy hours online that just isn’t the same as it's in person.
- Going off the grid and missing messages related to a deadline
- Going off the grid/disappearing from view
- Information inequality
- Absence of social cues
- The lure of social media
- Work fatigue and burnouts
How do you celebrate wins for remote teams?
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