3 ways remote-first companies can show teams the love on Employee Experience Day

At The Mintable, we know from experience that HR/People/Culture teams and the managers they work with have a million and one priorities.

We also know that appreciation is vital to the performance of the employees that fuel the organizations we’re all a part of. In fact – the standard recommended ratio of positive to constructive feedback is 5:1.

And for many organizations that are shifting to a remote-first environment, those casual moments of off-the-cuff recognition – like, “you did a great job in that presentation” or “I really liked the way you handled that question” shared in an elevator ride or walk back from a meeting – might be less common.

That’s why Employee Appreciation Day, coming up on Friday March 3, is the perfect time to celebrate your employees, and recognize and show appreciation for the contributions each individual makes to your organization.

To lighten the load, we’ve put together three tips (and a template!) that HR/People teams can use yourselves, and share with your managers, to help you get ahead of your plans and make the day a success, especially when in a remote environment.

1. Mark your calendars for Friday March 3 now (we’ll wait!)

Give yourselves and your managers enough time to get ahead of planning. Don’t stress, it doesn’t need to be months in the making! Use this opportunity to proactively share tips and tactics with managers to help them get their own plans in motion.

Better yet – do you have a manager Slack or Teams channel? Encourage managers to share their plans with each other to spur activity within the broader leadership team.

2. Send a gift or note to mark the day (remember to plan ahead!)

If you have the budget, give your managers ideas about potential thoughts they can send to their remote teams. These don’t have to be expensive – they could include:

  • Their favorite snack
  • A coffee/tea
  • A virtual card with a meaningful message

Another option – do you have existing swag that’s a little bit fancy? These could also be awesome gifts to share with your employees and help them feel the love.

Remember: appreciation doesn’t have to cost anything! An email will do the trick. See our recommended template below.

3. Recognize individuals and/or teams – publicly where appropriate!

Hopefully we’ve all had the experience of what it feels like to be acknowledged for our contributions. And when it comes from a leader? It’s a great feeling that makes you hold your head a little bit higher.

Encourage your managers to recognize their team members – whether it be via a personal email, or publicly in a meeting, on LinkedIn, or in Slack. They should take the time to reflect and share examples of what they appreciate about employees, or where they’ve done a particularly awesome job. Check out the template below for an example of how to share great feedback!

One call out – we know not everyone enjoys public recognition. Ensure your managers know how their direct reports like to be celebrated and meet them there.

Template:

Subject: I appreciate you!

Hi {NAME},

Happy Employee Appreciation Day!

It has been incredible to see your growth over the past {TIME}. Specifically, I’ve loved how you’ve developed {SKILLSET}. One example of when you’ve done this is {EXAMPLE} and the impact of that was {IMPACT}.

I’m grateful to have you on the team and can’t wait to see what you do next!

Pro tip: You don’t have to wait until Employee Appreciation Day to do this! Let your managers know about scheduled send features in email and Slack so they can get ahead of it. 

That’s it! Taking the time to show your appreciation and gratitude will go such a long way in helping your employees feel valued and seen – and will help boost team morale, culture and engagement as a result. 

Interested in hearing more about how The Mintable helps leading HR and People teams give their managers the training, tools, and community they need to succeed? Book a demo and talk to our team!