Your remote workforce is just as important as your in-office employees. In some cases, they may be even more critical to your business operations, especially if you have an online enterprise or your business has many retail storefronts around the globe. In the wake of COVID-19, many businesses have hired clusters of remote workers or changed their schedules to enable part or full-time remote work for existing employees.

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Like traditional employees, remote employees need to know that you appreciate them from time to time. Days like National Work from Home Day on the last Thursday of June (June 29, 2023) shouldn’t go by without some celebration! If you’re not sure how to accomplish that, read on. We’ll take a look at 18 ideas for rewarding remote employees in detail.

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1. Double Down on Flexibility

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If you want to reward your remote employees, why not double down on one of the perks of their unique positions: schedule flexibility?

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In short, you can offer remote employees working hour flexibility and reward them for their time and attention. Many remote employees opt into these positions specifically so they can parent their kids, work a second job, or work for their favorite company despite being in a different time zone.

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Schedule flexibility is certainly something you can provide as a business owner or scheduling manager. For example, limit the restrictions on how many hours a worker has to be "in-office" each week or allow remote employees the option to hop on when it works for their time zone (that can be especially helpful if the time zone differences are significant).

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You can also implement a “work from anywhere” policy (like we have at Prezzee). For example, if an employee wants to travel to another country, encourage them to do so! Team members can work for a certain amount of time from different time zones and really enjoy the possibilities of remote work.

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By doubling down on flexibility, you may reward remote employees by giving them what they truly crave: scheduling freedom. Lots of employees got used to this during COVID-19, and they might be loath to give it up now.

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2. Hold Virtual or In-Person Team-Building Activities

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But you can also reward remote employees by holding team-building games and events. Here are just a few ideas:

• Hold a weekly game night over Zoom. That’ll bring everyone together and could help your remote employees feel more connected to the other office workers, especially if they don’t see them all that often. Games like Pictionary or a Trivia Night work remotely, but you can also send out a gaming-focused digital gift card and meet up with your virtual team and conquer your favorite games together.
• Schedule a monthly get-together. This idea only works if your remote employees are still relatively close to your other employees, but it still brings the office together. For remote teams, send out a food delivery eGift card and then dine together over a video call. This gives your coworkers a chance to connect and socialize.

These activities and gifting opportunities combine rewards and team bonding in a way that strengthens a work environment’s company culture. A focus on employee morale lets everyone know the leadership team cares about their well-being as individuals, not employees.

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3. Send eGift Cards to Remote Workers

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Gift cards are popular corporate goodies for several reasons. They’re easy to buy, easy to send, and fairly surefire gifts that won’t be rejected. After all, who can say no to a gift card for one of their favorite brands?

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But plastic gift cards have a few problems, too. For one, they contribute to environmental pollution. Even 50 gift cards can make a major impact in terms of whether your business is really eco-friendly (a key concern if your enterprise wants to minimize its carbon footprint). For another, physical gift cards need to be carefully sent to each recipient, which can be tricky if you have remote workers scattered around the country or the globe.

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eGift cards are much easier and more convenient, and they don’t come with the same environmental impact downside. With eGift cards from Prezzee, you can:

• Send a digital gift card to anyone, anytime, and any place in a matter of minutes.
• Send gifts to your remote employees without contributing to environmental pollution.
• Customize the gift cards with branded imagery, like your logo, to help complete the corporate gift.
• Personalize each gift card with a prerecorded video or text message. That way, each employee feels like you sent them a specific, personalized gift, not just the same gift everyone else received.

Even better, Prezzee’s eGift cards can easily be swapped out or changed from one retailer to another. So if you get one remote worker’s favorite brand wrong, it’s no trouble for them to swap the gift card and its value to another brand or brands, so they can go shopping to their heart’s content.

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eGift cards are a phenomenal way to show your workers that you care no matter where they happen to get the job done.

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4. Send Remote Workers Company Swag as an Initiation Gift

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Remote workers should feel excited to join your company when they're first starting out. Unfortunately, much of the first-day energy can be lost in translation if they clock in from a remote desk and don't get to meet everyone in the office or take an official tour of the corporate building.

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But you can reward those remote employees directly by sending them some company swag as an onboarding gift. Truly, they already deserve a reward for making it through the interview and hiring process! Successful onboardings result in successful employees; a solid onboarding program leads to 50% increased employee retention.

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Company swag works as an initiation gift because it brings your remote workers into the fold and may help make them feel like they're part of the team "for real." Company t-shirts will make them feel like part of the team, especially if everyone on group calls is matching! Other much-loved items that are evergreen trendy include branded dad hats, sweatshirts, sweatpants, or the classic insulated drink tumbler.

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5. Shout Out Remote Employees on Social Media and Video Conferences

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Productive remote employees deserve to be rewarded for their extra efforts. That’s why you should shout out those employees on social media and any collaborative videoconferences.

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In-office employees get tons of attention and recognition every day. Your remote employees can fly under the radar. Make sure this doesn’t happen by specifically shouting them out on your Facebook business page or LinkedIn. Ask before doing this — some employees adore public recognition, while others might shy away from it, preferring to fly under the radar.

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6. Acknowledge Remote Workers’ Birthdays and Anniversaries

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Reward your remote employees by acknowledging their important dates, like birthdays and anniversaries. Something as simple as a personal email written from you to them may brighten up their day and make them feel special.

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Alternatively, you can announce each employee’s birthday or milestone work anniversary as it comes up on a company message board or website. Again, this could be an excellent way to shout out remote workers and ensure they feel connected.

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7. Let Remote Workers Take a Half Day (When Appropriate)

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Remote workers are already not beholden to some of the same limitations as in-person employees. So don’t hesitate to reward high-performing employees by letting them take a half-day here and there or when it’s appropriate.

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Say that one of your remote workers did a stellar job wrapping up a project ahead of schedule, and they don't have anything else on the docket. Reward them by letting them log off early or take a half-day (provided they don't have anything else that demands their attention).

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8. Give Out Some Extra Vacation Days

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Dole out some extra vacation days. Many employees love extra time off, as it enables them to pursue their hobbies or spend more time with friends and family members outside of work. A healthy work-life balance is vital for us all.

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Suppose you want to inspire some healthy competition in the workplace. In that case, you might consider giving out extra vacation days as a reward to high-performing employees, like whoever wins a given month’s “employee of the month” competition or a team remote Kahoot quiz. An extra vacation day as a bonus prize could get all workers to participate.

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9. Invest in Professional Development

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Don't forget to invest in remote worker development regularly. Consider meeting up with rockstar employees who are looking for promotions. Or provide time and resources for remote workers to attend development seminars and conferences, even if they have to travel to do so.

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10. Prioritize Peer-to-Peer Recognition

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Peer-to-peer recognition essentially involves giving your workers a chance to recognize and congratulate each other while building each other up for long-term collaboration and team spirit. That's pretty easy to facilitate as a business owner or manager if you use peer-to-peer recognition software or platforms.

Such software solutions let your employees:

• Send kudos or congratulations to each other when they do good work.
• Send each other special digital gifts.
• Recommend each other for projects, which is an especially helpful feature if you have a large organization with many different departments in many different areas.

Peer-to-peer recognition is a reward for your remote employees, make no mistake. It can make them feel like they are a part of the office like never before, plus it may help to ensure that your entire global team members feel like part of a unified team.

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11. Gift Gym Membership Subscriptions

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Gym subscriptions can be handy rewards for remote and in-office employees alike. When you gift gym subscriptions to remote workers, double-check that they have a gym for that brand in their local area.

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A gym subscription could be the perfect jumpstart to an office-wide wellness program or initiative. Consider pairing this with company swag like labeled towels or water bottles.

Or, simply cross off that research from your to-do list and send an eGift card to top fitness retailers so everyone can boost their home gym or buy high-quality workout apparel.  

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12. Send Thank-You Notes

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Nothing says personal attention and appreciation like receiving a note from your boss. You can show appreciation by sending out a personal Slack message (or making a post in a company-wide Slack channel).

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Such a gesture could be especially impactful and important if you manage or oversee hundreds of employees. The remote worker who receives a thank you note might be seriously touched by the extra time you took to reward them for their effort. If you’re sending a digital gift card with your praise, you can even use Prezzee to include a custom note or video.

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13. Gift Work from Home Equipment

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Remote workers can only do the great jobs they manage every day with the right equipment, ranging from webcams to keyboards to office chairs. Therefore, bosses and managers can reward employees with work-from-home equipment to upgrade their home offices.

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Pay attention to whether your remote workers complain about webcam quality or office chair comfort the next time you all communicate over a video conferencing call. Consider rewarding those remote workers with upgrades or funds to spend at the nearest Office Depot (or sending a digital gift card to top home goods suppliers.

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14. Pay for Software Subscriptions

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Similarly, remote workers often need to subscribe to software programs to get the job done, like Microsoft Office or video conferencing software. Foot the bill for these to reward your remote employees and prevent them from having to pay extra costs that your in-house employees get to avoid by default. Video conferencing helps serve all work types — remote, hybrid, and in-person.

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15. Send Balloons or Surprise Presents

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There’s nothing wrong with the old-fashioned staple of surprise balloons or presents delivered straight to each remote worker’s door. Just be sure to send these out en masse or as a group instead of singling out any individual, lest the gift gives the wrong impression.

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16. Forward Customer Praise for Their Work

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From time to time, customers might send you direct praise for a single remote worker. This could be anyone from a customer service agent who helped them with a big problem or a remote salesperson who connected them to the ideal product for their needs.

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In these cases, why not let those remote employees know about the positive impact they had on that customer interaction? Not only may this boost their morale, but it will also be a lovely way to remind them that you see them as individuals, not moneymakers.

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17. Share the Company Profits

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Has your company done phenomenally well over the last business quarter or year? Then it’s only fair you share that prosperity with the people who made it happen: your workers.

Remote employees should also be included in any extra company profits you divvy out, such as stock options, holiday rewards/bonuses, and so on.

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Sharing company profits serves the dual purpose of rewarding your remote employees and motivating them to do an even better job next year. After all, if they know that ensuring the company performs well leads to a better bottom line for their wallets, they’ll be highly motivated to make more sales or drive better customer interactions in the next business cycle and beyond.

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18. Write Endorsements or Recommendations

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Lastly, you can and should reward remote employees who are planning to leave your company for one reason or another. If they’ve done a fantastic job at your brand for months or years, there’s no reason not to help them get their foot in the door at the next job.

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To that end, consider rewarding those employees with endorsements or recommendations. Write a recommendation letter for young remote employees who are looking to get into graduate school. Or write a job recommendation letter or LinkedIn recommendation for any other remote employee looking to break into a competitive industry or work for a company known to have a very competitive hiring process.

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Rely on Prezzee for Employee Recognition Programs

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In the end, any and all of these ideas could be excellent ways to show your remote employees that you care about their hard work and daily devotion. With the right rewards and incentives, your remote workers will be as effective and productive as your in-office employees, if not more so.

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That’s one more reason why you should think about sending eGift cards for birthdays, anniversaries, or just for doing a great job. Prezzee’s eGift cards are available for over 360 popular retailers and can be sent anytime, anywhere.

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Sign up for free and send some today!

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Sources:

‍COVID-19 Pandemic Continues To Reshape Work in America | Pew Research Center‍

Employee Motivation | Inc.com‍

Why Are Reference Letters Important for Getting a Job? | Entrepreneur‍

How to Boost Company Morale | Business News Daily‍

Onboarding Can Make or Break a New Hire’s Experience | Harvard Business Review

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