Flexibility has become a priority for employees and job hunters all around the world. From increased productivity to reduced time spent commuting to the office, the advantages of hybrid work have made the model more prevalent over recent years.
Of course, implementing a hybrid work model at your workplace requires adapting existing company strategies to align with new employee needs. Establishing how to recognize hybrid employees upfront will create a positive, consistent experience for everyone at your company. To help keep your hybrid employees feeling happy and fulfilled in their roles, we’ll discuss six best practices for hybrid employee recognition:
- Prioritize transparency in hybrid employee recognition.
- Provide opportunities for face-to-face interactions.
- Offer informal and formal ways to recognize hybrid employees.
- Facilitate peer hybrid employee recognition.
- Create opportunities to build connections outside of work.
- Gather data and feedback.
According to Forbes Advisor, the number of employees choosing hybrid work rose to 28.2% in 2023. To account for this shift, creative and cost-effective ways to appreciate hybrid employees have emerged.
With thoughtful planning, your company can implement a hybrid employee recognition program that appeals to workers in all locations and workspaces, regardless of what type of organization you run.
Prioritize transparency in hybrid employee recognition.
Hybrid work provides a host of benefits for employees and employers alike, making it much easier for people to collaborate and complete tasks efficiently. Research indicates that 52% of employees believe their efficiency and productivity have increased thanks to hybrid work.
When recognizing the accomplishments brought on by this boost in efficiency and productivity, it’s critical to be as transparent as possible. That way, all of your hybrid employees can feel like they have an equal opportunity to receive recognition. To maximize transparency, be sure to:
- Have a well-defined hybrid employee recognition program. Decide on measurable criteria for acknowledging hybrid employees, and make these available for everyone to read and reference. This ensures that all employees have an understanding of the standardized guidelines for recognition from the very start.
- Explain how each hybrid employee’s work contributes to the company’s overall success. With a deeper understanding of their direct impact, your employees will be more motivated and capable of producing outstanding outcomes.
- Offer consistent feedback on performance in the context of company values and goals. By providing feedback, you’ll allow hybrid employees to make positive adjustments to their work and help them better align their priorities to further your company’s goals.
Furthermore, take the time to share your hybrid employees’ noteworthy contributions with their colleagues as well. Include details about the reasons for their recognition to help others understand what to aim for in their own performance at work.
Provide opportunities for face-to-face interactions.
For your hybrid employees, opportunities to socialize and collaborate with their colleagues face-to-face can be essential to their productivity and sense of fulfillment. As HubSpot discovered in its recent Hybrid Work Report, 52% of employees would prioritize having great relationships with their colleagues over a 10% salary increase.
Keep your hybrid employees engaged and excited to work each day by implementing:
- Video meetings. While working from home, employees will feel more involved and connected to their colleagues when communicating through video calls, where they can read facial expressions and naturally generate positive interactions.
- One-on-one check-ins. Making more time for one-on-one manager check-ins assures hybrid employees that their efforts are noticed and presents them with opportunities to ask questions and problem-solve issues.
- In-office days. By designating specific days of the week for gathering in the office, you’ll make it easy for hybrid employees to look forward to commuting to work and socializing with their colleagues.
All of these practices provide spontaneous, casual opportunities for team and leadership members to socialize, give urgent updates, and exchange feedback. This expanded communication allows your hybrid employees to feel more connected and recognized within their roles.
Offer formal and informal ways to recognize hybrid employees.
Your employees all have their own skill sets, interests, and preferences. When determining how to recognize and retain your hybrid employees, come up with multiple strategies that will appeal to everyone. For instance, some may value more formal, publicized displays of appreciation while others may prefer more informal, spontaneous methods.
Here are a few formal and informal recognition ideas to help diversify your recognition practices:
Formal hybrid employee recognition ideas
Although these methods of recognition typically require more intensive planning, they can go a long way toward making an employee feel appreciated and valued for their contributions. A few popular examples of formal hybrid employee recognition ideas include:
- Gifts. There are many suitable occasions for sending employee gifts, such as work anniversaries or specific achievements. From branded company merchandise to gift baskets, select a variety of cost-effective options that will serve as lasting and memorable rewards for hybrid employees.
- Awards. Employee recognition awards, such as “Employee of the Month,” can be a meaningful way to acknowledge hybrid employees for all of their contributions. You can boost the award’s significance by presenting it at a special ceremony as a certificate or plaque.
- Employee Appreciation Day. Depending on your company’s resources and priorities, there are a variety of ways to make your hybrid employees feel appreciated on this special day. For instance, you can host a company lunch or arrange food delivery for those working remotely.
Feel free to go beyond these ideas and get creative! Find formal recognition practices that resonate with your company values and employees’ interests to maximize their impact.
Bonus: Check out our ultimate list of corporate gift ideas to spark inspiration for your employee recognition gifts. You’ll find more than 170 ideas that suit everyone’s lifestyles and hobbies!
Informal hybrid employee recognition ideas
At the same time, it’s essential to develop a culture of appreciation built upon smaller, more spontaneous acts of recognition within your company. For instance, consider implementing:
- Social media shoutouts. This is a convenient and cost-effective way to value your hybrid employees online. With their permission, create a post that includes their picture and a brief summary of their contributions in a social media post to share publicly, even with those outside of your company.
- Gift cards. Boost employees’ morale with gift card rewards. You can even send these digitally for added convenience and ease of access.
- eCards. With the right eCard software, you can email visually appealing eCards to your hybrid employees promptly and easily. This option makes recognition both quick and thoughtful, allowing you to include personalized messages that specifically reference what you’re recognizing each recipient for. Check out the video below to find out more about how you can recognize your hybrid employees with eCards:
Get your hybrid employees accustomed to regular recognition and appreciation with these informal practices. This will lead to a more favorable and productive work environment for everyone, whether they’re in the office or at home.
Facilitate peer hybrid employee recognition.
Hybrid employee recognition can come from peers as well. In fact, peer-to-peer recognition is vital to sustaining enthusiasm for collaboration and teamwork throughout your company. Make it easy for your hybrid employees to recognize one another by making eCards available for everyone to send.
eCards are a convenient and prompt tool for hybrid employees to acknowledge their colleagues, regardless of where they’re located. Additionally, if you’re looking to add an in-office option, you can create a recognition wall featuring pictures of your employees. When they’re in the office, employees can put up sticky notes to give shout-outs to their peers.
Create opportunities to build connections outside of work.
Organizing events and activities for your hybrid employees outside of work can be an enjoyable and memorable opportunity for them to strengthen their relationships. Brighten up their work day by bringing employees together for a fun-filled afternoon or evening. Whether you’re celebrating a work anniversary or birthday, these engaging ideas are bound to be rewarding for your hybrid employees:
- Escape rooms
- Board game night
- Bowling
- Volunteering
- Potluck
Prioritize convenience for your hybrid employees by incorporating virtual team-building and socializing activities, such as virtual book clubs or trivia contests.
Gather data and feedback.
Just because your hybrid employees are spending part of their time working from home, doesn’t mean they don’t need support just like your in-office team members. Once your hybrid employee recognition program is in full force, ensure that your employees continue to feel visible and valued by seeking their feedback in surveys.
This way, you’ll be able to measure the success of your recognition efforts and make adjustments to achieve greater results. Each improvement you make demonstrates to hybrid employees that you’re dedicated to optimizing their work experience as much as possible. Plus, you’ll create a positive work culture that invites hybrid employees to speak up and share how they feel about different aspects of the workplace.
Your company’s hybrid employees are essential contributors to your overall success. With flexibility and productivity on the rise, it’s time to adapt your employee recognition strategy to the hybrid work model. By doing so, your hybrid employees will not only experience heightened morale working at home and in the office, but they’ll be more invested in your company in the long run.
For more best practices on engaging and retaining your employees, take a look at these detailed resources:
- How to Motivate Employees in the Workplace: 10 Easy Steps. Reduce employee burnout and enhance their performance by applying these 10 steps for motivating employees.
- How to Improve Company Culture and Why It’s Important. Learn how to create a positive company culture that engages and retains employees in this guide.
- Top Corporate Gifting Companies & Platforms to Consider. Maximize gift-giving as part of your hybrid employee recognition efforts by leveraging some of these corporate gifting companies and platforms.
