Employee Appreciation Day is right around the corner. Confetti has a ton of virtual employee appreciation ideas that you can use to celebrate this March, and recognize your remote employees all year long!
National Employee Appreciation Day falls on the first Friday in March. This year, that makes it March 3, 2023!
It's a day meant for employers to provide thanks and recognition to their team. It was created in 1995 by Dr. Bob Nelson, a founding member of Recognition Professionals International. Dr. Bob Nelson's work studies of why managers recognize the works of their employees have helped thousands of companies implement a Culture of Recognition in their own company culture.
Research by Quantum Workplace shows that employee appreciation is one of the biggest influencers of employee engagement and that those who feel they can expect recognition for their work are 2.7x more likely to be engaged!
Creating a culture of appreciation and recognition is a surefire way to:
Looking for the most memorable virtual employee appreciation ideas? Here are some of our favorites!
Your employees put a ton of effort into their work. To appreciate your employees, you don't have to shower your virtual team with company swag all the time. One of the most effective and easiest things you can do is publicly (or anonymously) acknowledge your gratitude for them. At the same time, you need to ensure your appreciation is genuine and personal.
As an effective leader, it’s your responsibility to ensure each team member knows you see their contributions and strengths. So don’t hold back! 👏
By the way, you don't have to save these virtual employee recognition ideas for Valentine's Day or Employee Appreciation Day, you'll want to implement these free employee appreciation ideas all year long.
Why are these fantastic virtual employee appreciation ideas for remote workers? Even the best leaders can fall into the habit of only pointing out groups' accomplishments and not applauding individual efforts. Build the best manager-employee relationship with individual, specific praise. Employees want to feel special, and they deserve credit for their achievements. Always being lumped together can be pretty demoralizing. 😅
How to get started 👉 Create a virtual appreciation program that works for you. As an entirely remote company, we found a designated Slack channel was the best way to express gratitude. It’s casual, easily accessible, and you can ping people. Everyone (from our CEO to our new employees) uses it, whether to express thanks for a smooth onboarding process or celebrate someone’s work anniversary.
Yes, that’s right, an actual gift. The more personalized to your employee, the better!
At Confetti, we ensure an appreciation gift is given on days specifically associated with the individual. Our main giving days are work anniversaries and birthdays.
Of course, big team-wide gifts and care packages are always welcome. If you want to give everyone something for the upcoming Employee Appreciation holiday, consider treating the crew to team meal delivery credits or a team lunch, or a gift card, so they can treat themselves to whatever they’d like!
Why is this a fantastic virtual employee appreciation activity for your remote workforce? As we mentioned, people want to feel special. Giving employees personalized gifts ensures that the person knows we’re rewarding them and their accomplishments. Check out our guide to corporate gift-giving for more insight into the policies we’ve found to work.
How to get started 👉 Reward virtual employees with an Online Gift Card!
Surely, you've thrown many company-sponsored virtual party happy hours, and for good reason! A happy hour provides that special opportunity of kicking back at the end of the day or week with our colleagues, where we can leave remote work behind and connect about our personal lives.
This Employee Appreciation Day, why not add a creative element to your happy hour event? Try taking a virtual mixology class together, where you can enjoy your drinks and learn something together in the process!
Here's another idea to boost team spirit: combine your happy hour with an art activity, like an interactive blind-drawing class, where everyone can enjoy their beverage of choice while having some hearty laughs with their colleagues.
Why is this a fantastic virtual employee appreciation activity with remote employees? Adding an out-of-the-box activity to your virtual happy hour is a great way to boost creativity, a skill set that's highly expected in employees, but isn't always invested in.
How to get started 👉 Let loose in Drink and Draw!
Here's an employee appreciation idea: take a break from work and professional development events and enjoy the company of your colleagues with a team-building game. You know what they say: all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Bring some work-life balance to the office by having some fun with your team!
There's no better way to foster connections between team members than breaking up the day-to-day with entertaining, engaging events. Plus, employees who feel like they're encouraged to have fun at work experience higher job satisfaction, which leads to increased employee retention!
Team building activities have the most impact when they're fun and engaging, so why not throw a virtual game night for your remote team?
If your team isn't the gaming type, offer your remote employees a virtual group fitness class, a cooking class, or even a virtual happy hour!
Why is this a fantastic virtual employee appreciation activity for remote employees? Holding regular events helps you get to know your colleagues as people, not just as employees. Having that connection in the workplace boosts employee morale and makes your remote team members feel seen, one of the most critical aspects of employee appreciation.
How to get started 👉 Treat your remote workers to some laughs in a Game Night!
Encourage your remote workers and show them they're valued on Employee Appreciation Day and beyond. Use the virtual appreciation ideas in this article as a guide going forward and refer back to them as you revitalize your company's internal gratitude efforts in order to improve your company culture and boost employee engagement.
Check out our Employee Appreciation Day collection for more ideas!
Need help booking? Reach out to plan@withconfetti.com and we’ll happily organize your virtual (or in-person) company event on your behalf.
