Powering recognition

According to one study, life milestones cause employees to re-examine their life choices, causing job hunting to increase:

• 12% before birthdays
• 9% on the anniversary of a promotion
• 6% on the hire-date anniversary

These epiphany moments can clearly be catalysts for employees to consider moving on to the next thing. So that's just one reason why organizations should preemptively enhance their efforts to ensure a positive employee experience and foster a sense of belonging across the organization. It's even easier when teams use workplace technology like rewards and recognition platforms that automatically remind managers. These platforms notify managers of birthday and anniversary dates, and give them plenty of time to prepare for meaningful celebrations.

Even then, you need to remember that not everyone feels appreciated and recognized the same way. By offering authentic and personal recognition and understanding each employee's "language of appreciation," you can customize that appreciation more effectively. This attention to each employee can go a long way during major milestones such as birthdays, work anniversaries, and personal milestones. Authentic recognition can also boost their confidence in their work-life choices.

Find new ways to celebrate

Although we might not be able today to decorate work stations or bring donuts to share, it's important for organizations to be supportive and focus on a fun culture during these times. Here are some ways to celebrate employees virtually to make their days special:

Remote surprises: At the beginning of the month you can reach out to team members who have certain milestones that month and ask them about their favorite treat. Then have it delivered on their special day to kick off the celebration. Team happy hours also offer a fun, interactive way for employees to celebrate together — remotely. Make it more engaging by offering bonus points for attending virtual happy hours that have a theme around them such as a mixology competition, trivia or simply inviting your furry friends to help celebrate!

E-giftcards to their favorite shop: U.S. companies spend $24 billion on gift cards annually. Why? Because it's a simple and effective way to show employees they're appreciated. These cards also allow the recipient to treat themselves to the award of their choice. Even better, the Incentive Research Foundation found that the preference for cash (including open-loop gift cards) and reward-earner salary are negatively correlated. This means a "closed loop" gift card (e.g., for Amazon or Target) allows employees to buy something more personal and meaningful to them, compared with a prepaid Visa card, which is more likely to be spent on things like gas for the car, paying off credit card balances, or paying for home needs.

A charitable donation in their name: It's been a strange year to say the least, but people have been increasingly more generous than in years past. In fact, charitable giving in Bonusly increased by more than 800% from last year! By making a donation to a charity of the employees' choice, you're showing them you care about them personally. This offering provides a much more meaningful impact.

A coordinated drive-by celebration in front of their house: Who doesn't want to sit in front of their house while their favorite coworkers have a parade just for them? This can be a fun way to get face-to-face interaction while maintaining social distancing.

Pile on the praise: It's important for team members across the organization to rally behind an employee's special day. Creating a space to pile on the praises and well wishes, such as a fun email chain or by using your rewards and recognition platform, is a small way to make a big mpact on someone's day. By doing this, you're creating a sense of community and camaraderie — something we are all in desperate need of these days.

In addition to these celebrations, organizations should consider focusing on employees' mental well-being and perhaps offer flexible scheduling and remote volunteering — supporting things that employees care about most. These little to no-cost celebrations go a long way and ensure employees are getting personal and authentic experiences for their special days.

Celebrate the everyday, too

Before the pandemic even started, Harvard Business Review reported that 40% of people felt lonely. It's not a secret that we're all craving more human connection. With employees working from home, organizations need to apply innovative thinking for everyday communications — not just the major milestones. Why? Celebrating the everyday part of life helps keep employees engaged, and engagement matters.

Recent Bonusly research found that engaged employees are 2.8 times more likely than actively disengaged employees to be recognized the last time they went above and beyond at work. Try these creative ideas to keep your team engaged and excited to log on and get to work each day:

• Use informal communication channels: Channels such as Slack offer a fun way to connect with each other outside of email and Zoom chats. You can dedicate different channels to weekly trivia, weekend hobbies, or initiate friendly competitions like a step challenge.
• Enable sending honest, real-time feedback: Whether it's top-down or peer-to-peer, recognition can get individuals out of their workplace silos and into nourishing and building relationships with other people and teams. This will increase flexibility, productivity, and employee satisfaction at your organization.
• Host a hack-a-thon: Hack-a-thons are great for letting individuals work on things they haven't been able to, and they can also bring colleagues together to work collectively and produce new ideas for the organization. It's a win-win!

Small everyday wins are something to celebrate to foster human connections, and they're essential during these times of uncertainty. Whether we're working from home or working in the office and separated by plexiglass, employee celebrations and recognitions are here to stay. While it's important to celebrate those special moments, it's also essential to celebrate the day-to-day contributions.

All of these celebrations are welcomed to combat the stress and anxieties we are all facing and bring about the human connection we are all craving. Give yourself and your team a break. Find time to celebrate the accomplishments and milestones in each other's lives!

Raphael Crawford-Marks is founder and CEO of Bonusly.

Read more:

• The real reasons employees quit
• Compensation or validation: which matters more to employees?
• 2 trends that will transform employee rewards programs in 2019