How to Reward Your Hard Working Remote Staff

Reminisce with us. You wake up (hopefully not too late) and rush through the morning routine of letting the dog out, packing a lunch, and trying not to spill your coffee on your custom work polo shirt as you drive in rush-hour traffic on your morning commute. You get into the office just in time for the 9 a.m. catered business meeting where you congratulate your team on a job well done last week. Later in the afternoon, you have a touch base with a new hire, and you buy them a coffee in their new custom company mug. When you return to the workspace, someone brings out a cheese and sausage platter (your football team has a big game tonight and it is tailgate food season!) and staff gathers around to socialize until you decide it’s close enough to 5 o’clock and tell everyone to hit the road and get home before kickoff! Ahh, office life…

Okay, maybe all this doesn’t happen in one day, but you get where we are going. In traditional business settings, it’s easy to reward your staff in seemingly small and inexpensive ways. The catered breakfast, praise in meetings, buying a coffee, impromptu social hours, letting staff leave early… It was the little things you did in your day-to-day that came as second nature and also made your staff feel valued, appreciated and rewarded.

Today, things look pretty different for most businesses who have gone remote. Employees are logging into their computers from their homes while juggling homeschooling, care giving and their own personal lives. Over time, what once felt like a sudden and sharp turn of events has fallen into a new rhythm, a new norm of business as usual. Some companies are even thriving in their new work settings. In fact, we’d say your employees likely deserve some recognition for their flexibility, adaptability and output.

But with everyone working remotely, how do you reward them? We’re so happy you asked. Below are four prompts with suggested answers that will get you thinking about how you can reward your hard-working remote staff.

When you don’t see your staff working every day, what is there to reward?

Look for new types of accomplishments that deserve praise. Because you can’t see your staff working hard every day, you’ve learned to trust they’re doing their jobs and doing them well. This trust provides employees the freedom and confidence to thrive in their roles. However, this also leaves room for many accomplishments you would normally see to go unnoticed.

Make up for this by actively calling out the work you do see. You can do this in a team email chain, a video conference or individual chat. Make a point to notice someone stepping up, taking initiative or simply consistently delivering great results. Acknowledging immediate actions is more meaningful and impactful than sending out an overarching “Good job, today.” Specific recognition provides immediate gratification to your staff.

Additionally, it is important to remember that what once used to be a routine task may be more difficult due to the change in workplace environments and processes. You simply no longer know what challenges your staff overcome to deliver their results. Even if your staff don’t express these new hardships, they will appreciate you noticing the potential for adversity every day as they keep up with business needs. So, don’t be shy about showing recognition for the completion of routine tasks!

How often are you communicating positivity?

This is an easy one! With an increased reliance on technology for our communicating needs, replying back to emails or chats with a “Thanks!” or “Good work!” no longer seems frivolous, tedious or unnecessary. Today, quite the opposite holds true and thus provides a great way to reward your remote staff. Make it a practice to communicate positive feedback to your staff more frequently. It only takes a few seconds to hit reply and type out a quick note of gratitude, but it can make a lasting impact on your employees.

How can you provide perks at (virtual) work?

Remember the good ol’ day we reminisced about in the beginning, where staff had an impromptu social hour that turned into an early end of the work day? Why not bring that energy to the virtual world? Sure, you can’t bring everyone physically together to eat sweets and leave the office as a jovial group. But you can make a point of bringing everyone onto an impromptu video call to tell them you’re giving them the afternoon off! If you do, make sure you enforce it. There will undoubtedly be employees who don’t take it seriously – make sure they know you mean it as an earned reward and that they won’t be punished for taking time for themselves.

Take it one step further. If your office doesn’t already participate in a seasonal hours program, consider adopting one for your new remote workplace. Ideas include allowing workers to flex their work day hours, or implementing summer hours that allow employees to leave early one day a week. Let your employees know you recognize the hard work they have put in and that you trust them to continue working hard while also being rewarded with a small perk.

How can you go the extra mile?

Gone are the days of bringing in a carafe of coffee and box of bagels. Here are the days of finding new ways to go the extra mile in order to reward your remote staff. This can be as simple as mailing your staff a handwritten card or sending a branded company work shirt to let them know you appreciate the hard work they’ve been doing from home. You can also think outside the box. Instead of the original in-office catered lunch, use a delivery service to send lunch to employees’ homes. If that’s not feasible, consider sending an e-gift card to local coffee shops or cafes near where your employee lives. Even a small token of appreciation can go a long way when workers are not physically interacting with one another, like sending them a small business gift. The more comfortable, appreciated and acknowledged you can make them feel, the better your remote workplace morale will be.

So there you have it! Four detailed ideas on how to find unique and practicable ways to reward your hard working remote staff. Most of these ideas don’t take much effort, but they can make a huge difference in the way your workers perceive their remote working situations.

Take action today. Pick one of these ideas to reward your remote staff, or come up with your own. Your employees will certainly appreciate it!