Christmas is the perfect opportunity to show appreciation for your employees and strengthen team connections. This year, instead of getting your team, clients or customers another bottle of wine, dive into our curated list of corporate Christmas gift ideas to make this festive season an unforgettable one.

The Kroger eGift Card opens up a world of choices, from groceries to housekeeping essentials, while the Target eGift Card is a ticket to the treasure trove of affordable trendy goods, home decor, and gadgets. The Sheetz eGift Card is all about convenience, designed for those who are always on the move, offering fuel, handy essentials or maybe a hot meal on the go. These gift cards add a personal touch to your corporate gifting, allowing recipients to choose exactly what suits their preference.

Tech and entertainment corporate Christmas gifts

Tech and entertainment gifts can bring a dose of fun and innovations to your employee's holidays.

Gifting a Best Buy Gift Card offers a wide range of options, from gadgets to books. Or, a Hulu Gift Card can help your colleagues or clients binge-watch their favourite shows and movies during their well-deserved downtime. For the tech enthusiasts, a Crutchfield eGift Card is a gateway to the latest electronics and entertainment gadgets.

The everyday treats

A tasty corporate Christmas gift can also go a long way in making your team feel valued these holidays.

A Prezzee On The Go Eats Smart eGift Card can provide a festive lunch at the office. A meal shared with coworkers can help celebrate the silly seasons and  make your employees feel valued and taken care of at work. Or, let them take the festivities to the next level with a fine dining experience. A Bloomin Brands eGift Card is one card that can be used at a number of America’s favorite eating destinations such as Bonefish Grill, Outback Steakhouse, and many more.

Luxurious corporate Christmas Gifts

Luxurious corporate Christmas gift cards add a touch of glamor to the holiday season.

A Delta Air Lines Gift Card is certain to wow your employees, and is the perfect invitation to relax and enjoy a well-deserved holiday state-wide or overseas. Or, for those who would rather travel by sea, the Holland America Line Gift Card is a ticket to pure indulgence and adventure, allowing your recipients to unwind and recharge in elegance. And if there’s a desire to enjoy an unforgettable meal, a Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse Gift Card is certain to have your employees reminiscing once the holiday break is over.

The company Christmas gift of choice

The Prezzee Smart eGift Card is the ultimate employee Christmas gift of choice that enables your recipient to swap and shop for one or more eGift cards from hundreds of top brands instantly.

If you’re looking for unique corporate Christmas gift ideas, this is one card that can unlock all of them.

What to consider when choosing corporate Christmas gifts for employees?

When selecting company Christmas gifts for your employees, several crucial considerations come into play to ensure that your gesture is thoughtful and well-received.

Diversity and inclusion

First and foremost, it's essential to consider the diversity of your workforce. Consider cultural and religious backgrounds to ensure that your company Christmas gifts are inclusive and respectful of everyone's beliefs and traditions.

Gift type

Additionally, think about the practicality of the gift. A useful and functional item, such as a customizable calendar, premium coffee products, or gift cards, tend to be appreciated.

Everyone likes to be recognized, and your employees are no different.

The good news is that you don’t need any fancy employee recognition software to make your team feel seen and heard. The more that you verbalize positive feedback, the more it shows you’re paying attention — which results in more trust earned from your team.

According to Forbes, a study showed that nearly 90% of employees who were shown recognition from their boss felt higher levels of trust in that manager. However, only 48% showed signs of trusting the authoritative figures of those who did not receive recognition.

Ready to be seen as a better people leader, increase business results, and make your team feel appreciated? Keep reading to find out how simple it is to accomplish all three with the right employee recognition ideas and strategy.

What is employee recognition?

Recognition is defined as “the acknowledgment of something's existence or validity.” This might sound like a simple and easy act — because it is! All you need is some organization (a simple calendar to start) and a little creativity.

In terms of your business, showing your employees recognition can come in an array of forms, whether it’s a mentioning an outstanding employee in a speech given at a company-wide meeting, or, through an employee recognition gift sent to their email. Each form of employee recognition has its own unique advantages, and knowing what’s the best way to show recognition will be specific to the wants and needs of your business and the employee themselves.

The benefits of employee recognition

Among many more examples, the top reasons to make employee recognition a priority include:

• Positive business outcomes
• Employee retention (decreased employee turnover and creates a positive environment for top performers)
• The encouragement of core values

Do employee recognition programs work?

Let’s take employee retention as an example, as it can be one of the most cost-saving areas for your company. Glassdoor’s Employee Appreciation Survey showed that 53% of employees reported appreciation from their boss motivated them to stay longer at their company. What might surprise you is that from that same group, 68% of respondents said their manager was already actively displaying a sufficient amount of appreciation.

This proves what we learned before: appreciation can’t be reserved for merely one holiday out of the year. Keep it continuous — in this case, more is more!

What are some measurable criteria for employee recognition?

Whist it’s important to regularly show your company’s teams and individuals recognition, having a measurable employee recognition criterion can make giving recognition easier and more valuable. This isn’t to say the act of giving recognition should be overly formalized, more that a criteria can help guide you and make noticing important employee moments easier to recognize.

The top criteria for employee recognition include:

• Reward sales performance
  It’s an effective motivator when we remind our top performers that we notice and appreciate their hard work and ability to excel within the sales team. By celebrating and rewarding these employees, we can incentivize them to continue to push on and reach their sales goals.
• Recognize individual progress
  While leaderboards and Employee of the Month awards are fantastic, you want to bring a human element to this. It's important to recognize individual growth and progress to maintain employee retention. Personalized, face-to-face expressions of gratitude from leaders make a lasting impact. By appreciating our employees when they improve or show growth, we remind them that their hard work and progress are noticed.
• Celebrate exemplary attendance
  Recognizing punctual employees is important, as attendance directly impacts productivity and profitability. Absences and tardiness can lead to decreased profits and negatively affect team dynamics. The CDC said that absenteeism costs roughly $1,685 per employee every year, for a total of $225.8 billion in the United States alone.
• Acknowledge important milestones
  There are many corporate milestones that are worthy of recognition in an employee’s time at your company. These include passing probation, yearly work anniversaries, and birthdays. Although not directly tied to company efficiency (like sales performance), employee recognition gifted for milestones tells your employees that you value their overall contributions to the team.
• Appreciate effective team work
  Real, honest, compassionate teamwork is something that can transform workspaces. When employees feel they can rely on one another or lean on each other, you’ve created a positive network of support where a business can thrive. Those who contribute to this positive culture of teamwork deserve to be recognized.
• Reward a positive attitude
  Recognize employees who consistently maintain a positive attitude, lift spirits and contribute to a cheerful work environment. It is not easy to wear a happy face to work all year long, especially with the many difficulties and stressors that come with daily life.
• Recognize compassionate customer support
  Your customer support team takes on the responsibility of being the voice for your business. They face a variety of different clients, all with different moods, stress levels, agendas, and so on, being careful to represent the company with respect and patience. Those that go out of their way to help customers reflect positively on the entire company as a whole.

How to create an employee recognition program

Now that you have some criteria for what events warrant employee recognition, it’s important to strategically plan how you intend to execute your company’s recognition program. Below are some key steps that will help you in developing an effective, productivity-driving employee recognition program.

Use a survey to guide the development of your recognition program

Poll the experts — your employees. You won’t know what will motivate your team the most until you ask.

An easy way to do this is by sending a Slack message (or whatever messaging software you use) to team members with a link to an online survey. Remember to keep it anonymous so your employees won’t feel reluctant to submit ideas.

Ask specific questions to help guide responses, such as the following:

• What motivates you the most?
  • For example, fun events, monetary rewards, time off, or social recognition.
• How long should a rewards program last?
  • For example, a month, quarter, year, or ongoing.
• What do you need the most motivation for?
  • For example: hitting sales targets, obtaining new clients, or reaching a new career milestone.
• What type of rewards system do you prefer?
  • For example, company-wide contests, incentives, a personal structure to challenge themselves, or teams vs. teams.

You can use the examples we gave here in a multiple-choice format or leave it open-ended.

Determine an employee recognition program budget

Setting a budget is crucial to setting realistic expectations for you and your employees and will also help structure the employee recognition program.

Once you have considered the employee-submitted ideas, start grouping common entry types into themes. Determine which themes will accommodate your budget.

Identify meaningful employee recognition rewards

Once you’ve established the rewards system, time frame, and budget, it’s time for the fun part — determining the reward. Make it easy on yourself and keep it simple — a meaningful reward can also be easy.

Employee gifts don’t have to be complicated, expensive, or grandiose. A meaningful reward will make your employees' lives easier or be a perk they couldn’t obtain otherwise.
Examples of valuable employee recognition gift ideas can include:

• Gift cards: The functionality of gift cards is famously easy. Make it even easier with instant digital delivery with Prezzee eGift cards. With options like Target, Chevron, HelloFresh, Airbnb, and hundreds more in Prezzee’s catalog, you can send your employees rewards they’ll actually use.
• Performance swag: Whether we want to admit it or not, a new wireless keyboard can be exhilarating. A customized mousepad with an image of their pet? Even better. You’ll earn some brownie points by providing an option to make their workday a little easier.
• Extra PTO day: Some may say an extra day off might be more valuable than a monetary reward. (Check with your human resources contact first to ensure that granting additional PTO days is approved.)

Ask for employee feedback over the course of the program

Asking for feedback is an essential step in ensuring the adoption of your employee recognition program. It’s always a good idea to keep your employees in the loop to keep them involved and further invested in the reward system. When a teammate feels like they are being heard, they are much more likely to stay engaged and participate.

Try periodically emailing a survey link to your team’s distribution list to monitor the program’s effectiveness and perception. You can use a ranking system (1 through 5 is best), multiple choice of provided answers, or an open reply box for responses.

Examples of questions you can use for the feedback survey include:

• What about this program is keeping you motivated?
• What would you like to see continued? Discontinued?
• What is a feature or roadblock of the program that is hindering your usage, if any?
• What’s one feature you wish could be added to the reward platform?
• Does the timeframe of when points must be earned to redeem prizes work for you? Why or why not?
• Do you enjoy working independently towards rewards, or would you rather join forces in groups? (or vice versa)
• What are more ways you’d like included as opportunities to earn points? Are there any service awards you’d like to incorporate?

Look at critical themes across the board — what do most responses have in common? Don’t throw away outlier answers: this is an opportunity to understand what certain employees may need differently to be set up for success.

Prezzee is here to help with employee recognition ideas

At the end of the day, don’t overthink it. If you put effort towards showing up and bringing purpose and encouragement through appreciation each day, your team will notice. Remember: if you stay continuous with your signals of appreciation and keep them genuine, timely, and specific, you can’t go wrong.

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Sources:

• ‍Why Employees Need Both Recognition and Appreciation | HBR‍
• Anniversary Gifts by Year: Our Traditional and Modern Guide
• ‍How Recognition Makes WorkHuman | SHRM‍
• 3 Reasons Why Employee Recognition Will Always Matter | Forbes‍
• Employers To Retain Half Of Their Employees Longer If Bosses Showed More Appreciation | Glassdoor ‍
• Formal and informal employee recognition – which works best? | HRZone‍
• It’s about time: Immediate rewards boost motivation | Cornell Chronicle‍
• What is Homeostasis? | Scientific American‍
• Positive Reinforcement and Operant Conditioning: Examples | Verywell Mind

A majority of business leaders believe that promoting wellness can affect employee and productive performance, according to Forbes.

It’s unsurprising that of the same leaders, who represented more than 500 U.S. companies of varying size, CNBC reported that 87% of businesses consider health a business investment or an essential part of their organization’s business strategies.

These findings prove that the value placed on employee wellness should be considered an effective business strategy. While already a popular belief held by most business owners, this number is only expected to grow, according to CNBC.

Let’s dig into the positive effects on business that are causing such a trend to develop in promoting health and wellness in the workplace.

Mental Health in the Workplace

First, how exactly could you define mental health?

Mental health encompasses anything that falls into our emotional, psychological, and social well-being buckets. If you aren’t experiencing physical pain, chances are it’s the state of your mind making you feel off.

Our mental health directly dictates how we deal with stress, interact with others, maintain energy levels, and make decisions. It’s no wonder companies have started to take this area of health just as seriously as the physical!

Leaders should never blame poor employee work performance with the accusation of laziness or disengagement because they could lose the trust of a productive worker. Instead, ask yourself if this could indicate mental burnout or distress.

Watch for early warning signs, including low energy, irritability, unusual forgetfulness, and anxiety. If you feel there could be an issue, contact your human resources department for guidance on how to aid the situation.  

Why is Health and Wellness Trending?

The National Alliance on Mental Illness of Massachusetts found that 62% of missed workdays can be attributed to mental health conditions.

In addition, 50% of full-time employees reported leaving a job for mental health reasons, while mentally distressed workers are 3.5 times more likely to have substance use disorders.

Ways To Maintain Positive Mental Health

Those with positive mental health are more likely to realize their full potential — in and out of the office. The positive contributions that a happy, mentally healthy person contributes to your company will far outweigh the costs of maintaining this headspace. The cost of unhappy employees is high: The CDC estimates that missed work days due to depression costs employers $17 to $44 billion a year.

With support, employees can more easily handle stress, cope with setbacks, connect with teammates, and stay positive. Mental wellness doesn’t have to only be improved by regular physical exercise and maintaining a healthy diet. Don’t limit the options that could benefit your employees in case the one area you decide to focus on doesn’t click for them.

Experts agree that meditation, social interaction, volunteering, and even learning to improve one’s financial health can help alleviate mental distress and promote mood.

3 Ideas for Wellness Gifts for Employees

So, how can you use this growing trend to improve the health of your employees and your business?

Supercharge the employee rate of adopting mental health habits by implementing a gift card incentive program. One way is to view mental health practices as a fun micro-vacation at the office.

Hold mini-events throughout the week and award those participating with a raffle ticket. Pull a winning ticket for a gift card at the end of whatever period you decide. Appropriately, ensure the gift card focus falls within the health and wellness genre.

Keep reading for sessions and events you can host for your team.

Run or Walk Club

Establish a weekly run or walk club. This can be held during lunch or after work (you can even coax folks out starting at 4:30 pm to get an early end to the day). Don’t go crazy with the distance or pace — start slow and steady and gradually build up if the group likes.

Distribute tickets to each attendee per session, then hold a raffle to win a gift card at the end of the week (or month, depending on your budget.)

A very motivating eGift card idea is a spa day to help ease sore muscles from the progress of their new hobby.

Meditation Session

Grounding exercises such as yoga, mindfulness practice, meditation, and deep breathing are great options to combat stress.

Establish a meditation session during lunch hours — the easy element of this is that it should only take 15 minutes max, and no one gets sweaty (great counter option if run club participation is hindered by the excuse of “I forgot my change of clothes.”)

Give participants a raffle ticket for a drawing frequency of their choosing. Consider a food and drink eGift card to encourage healthy habits by learning how to cook new fresh favorite meals.

Volunteer Day

Experts believe finding purpose at work and helping others is a significant mental health booster. Choose a few Fridays out of the year to volunteer at local charities. If you decide to go more frequently, say once a month, ask employees to nominate organizations with a special meaning or tie to their lives.  

Because this is a rare occurrence that requires more effort by the employee, hold a raffle after each volunteer session, and don’t be afraid to go a bit bigger with the digital gift card value.

Give the Gift of Choice

To support your employees' mental health and wellness, it’s often best to let them choose their reward. While this can be difficult to implement, Prezzee’s eGift card options are here to help.

Additionally, you could consider Prezzee’s Smart eGift Card — essentially the ultimate swap card. With the Smart eGift Card, recipients can choose from the over 360 brands and retailers in Prezzee’s catalog. They decide where they want to utilize their reward, meaning this eGift Card offers a tangible gift and the gift of choice.

Count on Prezzee

No matter what practices you decide to adopt for your team, Prezzee is here to support your future healthy habits.

With Prezzee, you can pleasantly surprise employees by customizing their newly earned eGift cards with an inspirational message or words of encouragement. We’re always here to help you keep going, so you can lead a happy, healthy team.

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Sources:‍

‍What Is Mental Health? | MentalHealth.gov‍

10 Tips to Boost Your Mental Health | BC Mental Health‍

Wellbeing Positively Impacts Firm Performance | Forbes

Mental health stigma at work - why it's a problem | Kaiser Permanente

How to Improve Mental Health | MedlinePlus

Depression Evaluation Measures | Workplace Health Strategies by Condition | CDC

Employers boost mental wellness benefits amid the Great Resignation | CNBC

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.

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.

1. Double Down on Flexibility

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

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.

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).

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.

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.

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

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.

3. Send eGift Cards to Remote Workers

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?

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.

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.

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

4. Send Remote Workers Company Swag as an Initiation Gift

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

6. Acknowledge Remote Workers’ Birthdays and Anniversaries

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.

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.

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

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.

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).

8. Give Out Some Extra Vacation Days

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.

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.

9. Invest in Professional Development

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.

10. Prioritize Peer-to-Peer Recognition

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.

11. Gift Gym Membership Subscriptions

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.

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.  

12. Send Thank-You Notes

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).

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.

13. Gift Work from Home Equipment

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.

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.

14. Pay for Software Subscriptions

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.

15. Send Balloons or Surprise Presents

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.

16. Forward Customer Praise for Their Work

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.

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.

17. Share the Company Profits

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.

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.

18. Write Endorsements or Recommendations

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.

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.

Rely on Prezzee for Employee Recognition Programs

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.

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.

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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