The word “unprecedented” has probably been used more during this past year than ever before and with good reason. The novel coronavirus has altered the way we live, work, and play. And for business owners, there is the added need to engage, motivate, and encourage employees – for many from a distance.
So, in the midst of a pandemic, how do you demonstrate appreciation and inspiration for personnel? If not already, invest in the tools that will make your remote workers’ jobs more efficient. Increase VPN connections, make use of video conferencing, take advantage of collaborative tools like Microsoft Teams. These and more are available to help guide us through the “new normal.”
Technology has made it easy to give thanks for a job well done; there are numerous mobile recognition apps that can show that you value and appreciate staff with instant recognition features like eCards, award delivery and social recognition.
How about a virtual catered lunch? Send each member of your staff a gift card for $25 or so and ask them to spend it on getting lunch from a local restaurant that delivers or offers take-out. Then set up a time when everyone can sit down, relax and connect over lunch via Zoom.
Of course, something as simple as a t-shirt, polo or sweatshirt with the company logo can help to bolster team spirit. Encourage a “company t-shirt Thursday” or the likes; it might just be that small sense of normalcy that makes the difference to some. You might also consider sending a swag bag of company branded items to your workforce. After all, those mugs, water bottles etc. that were intended for this fall’s expo aren’t going to be used, so why not share the goods with employees.
Encourage online team building activities to increase communication, motivate and build a virtual company culture – one good thing to come out of 2020 are the improvements in the variety of online games virtual teams can participate in.
Recognizing individual contributor and company achievements carries a lot of weight right now. Use a public channel, company intranet or a recognition platform that includes a social feed so everyone can see the type of “high five” work being conducted.
Also, a virtual celebration to convey how much your employees are appreciated during this extraordinarily challenging year could be an ideal way to connect with and validate the importance of the work all are doing during these testing times.
Need a few more ideas? Drop us a line at info@pulsetechnology.com
