Article: Making virtual rewards and recognitions sustainable, scalable, and impactful

A Brand Reachout InitiativeBenefits & Rewards

Making virtual rewards and recognitions sustainable, scalable, and impactful

Below are some tested methods that organizations can use to make their virtual rewards and recognition programs more impactful and engaging.
Making virtual rewards and recognitions sustainable, scalable, and impactful

Loyalty within a workplace tends to skyrocket when the company expresses appreciation for its workforce and starts respecting and celebrating its employees' successes. It increases morale within each department and makes their job feel valuable. For employees, this amplification can lead to a much better frame of mind and positively impact their work-life balance. 

The current coronavirus crisis has seen an unprecedented shift to remote work, with organizations’ entire workforce having to self-isolate and do their jobs from home. But in a time like this, when the team is not together in the office, it is more critical than ever to recognize employees for their hard work— even if it can’t be done in person.

Fortunately, with technology platforms like Xoxoday available, multiple avenues have opened up to award employees and peers, even while working remotely.  The vast array of options at our fingertips are often integrated into one recognition portal or platform. Here is how you can make these virtual rewards and recognitions more sustainable, scalable, and impactful.

Embed recognition in your company culture

While traditional recognition has been top-down, it has never been more important to democratize the recognition activity if you have remote employees. Remote team members work in narrower silos - with very few cross-functional interactions otherwise possible in an office environment. 

Every manager and peer interacting with an employee needs to be empowered to recognize them by providing them with plentiful opportunities to appreciate each other - thus ingraining a culture of recognition. A social platform that allows peer to peer rewarding and spot rewarding is an ideal environment that nurtures a culture of recognition.

Recognize behaviors that drive values

A great way to recognize achievements is by going a step deeper and recognizing the behaviors that drive the values of the organization. By doing so, you are able to give presence to specific behaviors that drive the values of the organizations. Everyone in the organization can document these values sighting on an ongoing basis. The result will be a culture of recognition and achievements.

Know why 1000+ organizations globally trust Xoxoday to engage and motivate their users>>

Send your remote teams a surprise gift card or an experience reward

It is estimated that by 2028, 73 percent of all departments will have remote workers- in other words, engaging a remote team member will become an essential part of team management.

One of the great ways to appreciate your remote-working employees is with a surprise gift to let them know their contributions are counted. These gift vouchers can generally be redeemed on a range of brands and events - based on the employees’ interests like a favorite movie or a book.

Make them feel seen and honored

Beyond zoom parties and feedback, the most foundational recognition of an employee is that they are seen, and their goals and aspirations are honored. Each manager should know the three- to five-year career plan of his/her direct reports and be able to outline how they're going to help them get there. This takes daily recognition and creates a loyal, dedicated, motivated workforce

Schedule recognition time: 

While all the engagement activities are important, recognition deserves its own space and time. While callouts during team meetings or virtual town halls are necessary to truly provide a memorable and impactful experience recognition needs to be exclusive. Mark your calendars for a slot specifically for recognition.

While technology can provide organizations the ability to collaborate, innovate, and co-create with remote team members - trust plays an overarching role in it. Managers need to work extensively towards nurturing organization-wide trust and cohesion. 

Design the virtual rewards and recognition programs that your employees want. Click here to know how Xoxoday can help you engage your workforce as you did before the pandemic. 

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Topics: Benefits & Rewards, Employee Engagement, #PeopleFirst

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