Tips to achieve employee recognition in a remote team

Do you have employees working remotely? Does your team have questions like: Why is employee recognition in a remote team important to the company? What are the rules for achieving employee recognition in a remote team?

Some organizations have embraced and adapted to the concept of employee recognition in a remote setting. The most significant challenge they can face is to instill a feeling of belonging in every team member, despite the distance between them. Seeing how much employee recognition is valued by organizations these days, I thought it would be helpful for more people to know more about what you can do to keep their employees motivated.

A remote team is not more challenging to manage than the classic office, but it requires a different approach towards management, which can be daunting for those who did not work remotely yet. This post will not be about how to achieve recognition and reward in a remote project, as this subject has already been covered multiple times in the past.

Employee Recognition – table of contents:

1. Why is employee recognition important?
2. Tips on how to create an environment that promotes employee recognition in a remote team:
3. Wrap Up

Why is employee recognition important?

Some people are better at giving, and some are better at receiving. The thing that binds them both is the thought. Recognition is a unique, one-of-its-kind word with particular meaning within different areas of study. Still, at its core, it is meant to acknowledge and reward someone for doing something good. It rewards acts of kindness, loyalty, or exceptional work.

When it comes to employee recognition, you can’t just give a gift card and call it a day. You must ensure your team feels appreciated, engaged, and inspired.

Tips on how to create an environment that promotes employee recognition in a remote team:

1. Have regular meetings with your remote employees so they can connect with their colleagues and feel like part of the team.
2. Make sure everyone knows what’s happening in different teams and departments so they get to know each other better and feel connected with the company.
3. Give employees autonomy over their work, but make sure they have enough guidance to achieve their goals. If you give them too much freedom, they may feel overwhelmed or unproductive; if you don’t provide them with enough space, they may feel bored or underutilized.
4. Encourage collaboration among your remote teams by hosting video calls every few weeks and asking everyone what they’re working on at the moment so that people outside of their departments can learn about what other people are doing and get inspired by their ideas (and vice versa).
5. Communicate clearly. It would be best if you knew what you’re looking for from each employee. If you want them to achieve specific goals, let them know precisely what those goals are. That way, they can keep track of their progress and know when they’ve done something good. But don’t just communicate with them once — continue doing it throughout the year so they know exactly what they need to do next time.
6. Make sure everyone knows how vital their role is. If you want someone to feel like their contributions matter, make sure that everyone else knows how important their role is too! This goes back to communicating — if someone feels like they’re part of a critical team, they’re more likely to feel recognized when they get praised by another team member (or even by you!)
7. Create specific criteria for recognition that align with those goals, but make sure everyone understands what you mean by “recognition.” You don’t want people thinking that getting a personal email from their boss means they’re being recognized as a valued employee when you say, “you did a good job on this project.”
8. Make sure your managers understand how important it is to regularly recognize their direct reports’ efforts — especially if they’re doing something that doesn’t come naturally to them (like praising someone publicly). If they’re not comfortable publically recognizing their reports, give them other ideas of how they can show appreciation in different ways (like taking them out for coffee or lunch).
9. Always be positive — even when things go wrong! Most people turn into pessimists when they’re frustrated with work or dealing with problems at home, so look for opportunities to encourage your team members when things aren’t going smoothly instead of being negative about everything yourself — even if it’s just by sending an email or text message letting them know you’re thinking about them during a hard time.
10. Be consistent. The most important thing is to be consistent in your communication and recognition of employees. Asking additional questions to get to know your employees better can be an effective way for you to put active listening to work. Don’t forget those who work remotely just because they’re not sitting in the same office as you. Keep them updated on what’s happening at work, ask how they’re doing, and let them know when they’ve done something well.
11. Use technology wisely. Technology can make it easier for us to connect with our teams, but it can also make it more complicated if we don’t use it properly! For example, if you want to send an email from home on Saturday night, think twice before sending it from your account using your mobile device — this could look like an unprofessional message coming from an employee’s private email address!
12. Use an Employee Onboarding Tool

Onboarding tools can be used to track everything from training to performance goals. They’re designed to help new hires get up to speed quickly, so they’re great for assisting remote employees in getting acclimated.

Onboarding tools can also be used by managers working remotely. It’s an excellent way for them to stay on top of their team’s progress without meeting face-to-face every day or week. For example, if someone needs help building their website or marketing plan, an onboarding tool could send that person a video walkthrough of how to do it themselves in just a few minutes. This is much easier than sitting down with them over Skype or Google Hangouts whenever they have a problem with their project—especially if you’re managing multiple teams simultaneously!

Wrap Up

Recognition is proven to be an essential part of employee engagement and performance. It is also established that teams like to be recognized publicly when they do great work. When you are a remote team, I believe the most convenient way is through a digital continuing education platform. If your company implements a digital continuing education point system, you can use it as motivation for employees to perform better. They can see their rank on the leaderboard and their score for points for internal stimulation. Moreover, the digital system becomes more transparent than a physical one because employees can log in and check their latest scores whenever they want (provided they stay online).

Employee recognition is a non-negotiable part of any employment relationship. Acknowledging employees for their work helps build employee satisfaction, engagement, and loyalty toward your organization. Staff members who feel appreciated will go above and beyond in their role to help the company. Make it your goal to recognize every team member regardless of department, seniority, location, or job function. Say thank you, let them know how much they are thought of, and appreciate their work.

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