It would be almost impossible to understate the impact that the Pandemic of 2020 had on the workplace, globally. While it’s certainly true that remote working was steadily gaining in popularity, the pandemic hurried things along. Almost overnight, tens of millions more people began working remotely and companies had to struggle to come up with ways of managing the new reality.
Now that the pandemic is behind us, remote workers as a percentage of the total workforce has declined, but only marginally. The new normal seems to be focused on hybrid work, with a significant chunk of employees appearing in-office for some number of hours per week, then working the rest at home.
That’s all well and good, but the surge in remote and hybrid employees has stressed the corporate environment in an unexpected way. Specifically, reward and recognition programs.
While remote workers have always been a part of these programs, it would be fair to say that many, if not most, were designed with in-office employees in mind. The surge of remote and hybrid workers has put strains on that model and made them somewhat less effective than they had been because the strategies that are optimized for rewarding remote and hybrid employees tend to be at least a bit different.
In this article, we’ll talk about specific strategies you can employ to make sure your recognition program is doing what you want and need it to do, for both your in-office and remote employees.
Let’s start with a general review. A well-run recognition program is beneficial to your company because it increases employee engagement, reduces turnover, and improves morale. Those are all good things which will improve your bottom line, no matter what business you’re in. That’s what’s at stake, so now let’s talk about exactly how you can make sure your recognition program keeps doing that, even in the face of growing numbers of remote workers:
Do More Virtually
If a significant portion of your workforce is remote, lean into that, rather than making them bend to the old way of doing things. Hold recognition ceremonies remotely, so they don’t have to come into the office.
In addition to that, consider building a “Virtual Recognition Wall” that does the same basic job as hanging “Employee of the Month” signs in the office. A virtual platform for that kind of persistent recognition.
Beyond that, build in a means for other employees to comment and congratulate the people who are recognized “on the wall.” Peer-to-Peer recognition is a powerful component of any good recognition program.
Build a Swag Store
Incorporate a points system into your recognition program to gamily (or at least partially gamify) the recognition process. Then, build a Swag store, stocked with a wide range of goodies, allowing your employees to pick and choose their own rewards as they earn sufficient points. If you’re struggling to come up with ideas for what sorts of products to stock the swag store with, start here for some great ideas!
Virtual Badges
These can be given in addition to conventional reward and recognition prizes. You’ve almost certainly got someone with an artistic flair working with you who can help design these. The custom badges would appear next to the user’s name in chats and emails, giving their recipients what amounts to virtual bragging rights.
There are plenty of other things you could do, but if you start here, with these three specific strategies, you’ll be miles ahead of most of your competition and the effectiveness of your recognition program will soar with your remote employees!